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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-02-23-BOH-min February 23, 2021 Minutes 1 Board of Health LEXINGTON BOARD OF HEALTH MEETING MINUTES Tuesday, February 23, 2021 6:30 pm Conducted by Remote Participation Board of Health Members in Attendance Wendy Heiger-Bernays, PhD, Burt Perlmutter, M.D., John “Jay” Flynn, J.D., David Geller, M.D, Board of Health Member Absent Susan Wolf-Fordham, J.D. Office of Public Health Attendees Alan Perry, Interim Public Health Director Maureen Adema, Health Department Assistant Others Robin Chapell, Karen Rufo, and other interested persons Documents: Health Director Reports, EDS Plan staff edits (5) Sections, EDS Roles and Responsibilities and Roles member edits Meeting Called to Order Chair Wendy Heiger-Bernays read Governor Baker’s executive order regarding Open Meeting during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Chair, Wendy Heiger-Bernays declared a quorum via Roll Call. Jay Flynn – Yes, Burt Perlmutter, M.D. – Yes, David Geller, M.D. – Yes Wendy Heiger-Bernays – Yes. Sue Wolf-Fordham, J.D. will not be attending tonight’s meeting per Chair Heiger-Bernays Chair Wendy Heiger-Bernays stated the remote meeting rules for the record. I. Call to Order Board of Health meeting of February 23, 2021 was called to order by Chair Heiger- Bernays at 6:34pm. II. Vote to Approve Minutes of January 7, 2021 Mr. Flynn made a motion made to approve the minutes of January 7, 2021 as edited. Dr. Perlmutter seconded the motion. Roll Call Vote: Flynn - Yes, Perlmutter – Yes, Geller – Yes, Heiger-Bernays – Yes. Motion carried 4 to 0. III. Community Health COVID-19 1. Updates worked completed/ongoing Prior to the meeting Alan Perry sent the members the Monthly Health Staff Report. Alan summarized the report. Alicia McCartin, Health Agent has been attending weekly conference calls with MDPH for Local Boards of Health. She also has been managing the weekly COVID February 23, 2021 Minutes 2 Board of Health update for the Town along with the Town’s data dashboard. Alicia was also taken the lead in the PrepMOD which is the web application for vaccine management that helps vaccinators’ process residents/individuals data. Casey Mellin, Health Agent has received several inquiries for food permits from food establishments including two residential kitchens, a potential new restaurant and an existing food truck selling seafood. He inspected recreation camps for February and April vacations. He received a Body Art/microbading application. He visited an establishment after a complaint to explain the need for gloves for all food preparation. Chair Heiger-Bernays asked for the process on permitting a body art/micro blading application. Mr. Perry stated Health Agent Mellin is working with the applicant on an inspection and permit Mr. Perry stated he is not familiar with the regulations for body art/ micro blading in Lexington but will research regulations and history of establishments. Dr. Perlmutter thinks there are regulations for body art, put in place about 5 years ago. Chair Heiger-Bernays asked the permit not be moved forward without the regulations being reviewed by Mr. Perry. Alan informed the board he worked with the Arlington and Belmont Health Departments on many issues with particular attention to COVID-19 vaccine distribution planning. He attended Lexington TM, and LUHD planning meeting, as well as MA DPH COVID 19 and MEHA Executive Board meetings. 2. Update on Lexington Public School COVID-19 testing events Karen Rufo informed the Board that 50% of staff and 50% of students have participated in the pool testing at the schools. The wish is that the participation was higher. There have been a couple of positive pools. When a positive result is received the individual is notified and does not return to school. Dr. Hackett will be having the younger student population return to full time learning in the April. 3. Re-opening processes Alan Perry stated he did not know of anything new regarding the re-opening of Town buildings. A. Non-COVID Reportable Disease Update David Neylon, Public Health Nurse, sent a monthly update today to Alan Perry to share with the Board. Alan will send the update to the members after the meeting. David reported last month three Active TB cases. One of those has been transferred to another jurisdiction. The two other cases reported on last month continue on medication. He reported a suspect Active TB case in an elderly, non-US born individual last week. They’ve deferred starting medications on her unless her sputum cultures grow anything, she is considered low risk. February 23, 2021 Minutes 3 Board of Health David Neylon also informed Alan Perry there that has been a decrease in enteric cases and travel-related cases during the pandemic. Likely because people are eating out less and not traveling. Chair Heiger-Bernays asked the Boards members if they had any questions. Members did not have any questions. B. Communication Mechanisms Chair Wendy Heiger-Bernays spoke to using other means of communication methods to get information out in a more quickly and timely matter regarding health bulletins. She would like to keep this item on the agenda to discuss more at length regarding a social media presence and other communicate methods. Alan Perry stated he will speak with the staff about how communications are managed and ideas about adding to the communications. IV. Environmental Health A. Inspections completed Alan Perry did not have an inspection update. There has been only emergency inspections done since the moratorium adopted last spring due to the Pandemic. B. Discussions/Other Updates Alan stated, he would like the Board to consider revisiting and revising the moratorium regarding the inspections and permitting responsibilities of the Health Staff. The order to stop health department duties during the COVID-19 pandemic was necessary and done throughout the State but 12 months later should be revisited. Mr. Flynn stated the permitting system could determine the amount of inspections should be expected to be done Dr. Perlmutter asked is the staff ready to start inspecting and permitting, the staff should be asked about the impact on current work responsibilities. Alan and Casey Mellin, Health Agent feel the staff need to return to permitting and inspecting this spring. Chair Heiger-Bernays will have on the next meeting agenda to discuss. V. Public Health Emergency Preparedness A. EDS plan updates – Vote for Adoption Robin Chapell was logged in the meeting to review and answer members’ questions prior to the Board’s Vote for Adoption of the Town’s EDS plan. Prior to the meeting Robin sent the documents indicating her work/ edits to the EDS Plan. Documents sent were:  Revised Appendix C  Roles and Responsibilities  Flow Chart February 23, 2021 Minutes 4 Board of Health  Check List She communicated that the first version of the EDS Plan was drafted in 2011. The sections that are being asked for adoption are in the, Authorities, Planning Assumptions Introduction, Purpose, Scope and Considerations, Roles and Responsibilities, Concept of Operations, Training Exercises and EDS Operations Annex and other appendics. Robin communicated she was not charged with rewriting the whole EDS Plan, just specific sections. She reviewed the sections she did edit explaining the edits made. The Roles and Responsibilities were planned originally to be in the Memorandum of Agreements with other departments in the appendices that were reviewed last summer. But after discussions with Town Departments the appendices were removed and added to the Roles and Responsibilities. Appendix C was edited and updated. This is the contact list that identifies individuals and their roles. Robin said the Appendix C had contained people that were no longer valid contacts. Robin said it is necessary to review and edit this Appendix at least once a year. In the EDS ICS Structure all Health Staff have been given assignments. In the ICS Structure the Health Director is the Deputy EDS Director and the logistics Officer. The two health agents are the Operations Chief and the Clerical Unit Director/Documentations Chief. The Public Health Nurse is the Clinical Unit Supervisor. There is an added appendix to the ICS structure. These roles ensure that the Office of Public Health have major roles in any emergency dispensing event. The Job Action Sheets/Appendix L have update revisions such as the Information technology/communications coordinator. A job action sheet for functional needs support has also been added. The Field House is the location for the EDS site. Robin will be receiving aerials from the DPW and site plans that will be added to the EDS Plan documents. Robin also provided the Covid vaccine clinics with a checklist for what needs to be done to make the clinics successful. She informed the Board that questionnaires, in addition to hot washes identify how to make clinics more successful. Member John Flynn expressed a concern in the Roles and Responsibilities not having the Health Director as the principal agent of the Board of Health to direct as the responsibility to enforce the State Public Health Directives. Mr. Flynn shared a write up, (Reference A attached) prior to the meeting indicating amendments to the Roles and Responsibilities section of the EDS Plan. February 23, 2021 Minutes 5 Board of Health He said EDS planning and execution is a team effort, requiring the Health Director to have direct coordination with other Town Departments under the direction of the overall Emergency Incident Commander. Mr. Flynn offered the an explanation of the revision stating his amendments ensure that the Health Director has direct authority to implement the plan and resolve any issues in real time. The references to consult with the Assistant Town Manager of LUHD have been deleted from the Roles and Responsibilities section of the EDS Plan. Mr. Flynn wanted to be clear that the Health Director will consult with all Town Officials and the Board of Health as needed, but this consultation should not be confused with a limitation of the Health Director’s decision-making authority. Additionally, it was noted that the administrative role of the Assistant Town Manager for LUHD remains a necessary contribution for staffing, funding and special coordination. Dr. Perlmutter said he agreed with Mr. Flynn’s changes to the EDS Plan. This plan is used in a time of emergency. There is no time to wait for approvals, delays in an emergency are not okay. Dr. Geller also said he was in agreement with the changes proposed to the EDS Plan by Mr. Flynn. He noted that the Health Director is hired as a trained professional will the ability to handle the responsibilities assigned in the EDS Plan. Chair Heiger-Bernays called attention to the fact the member Ms.Wolf-Fordham had concerns and possible edits to the EDS Plan, mainly concerning ADA regulations. Ms. Chapell stated she did not received edits from Ms. Wolf-Fordham. But will reach out to Ms. Wolf-Fordham about her concerns. Dr. Geller asked who reviews the final document. Ms. Chapell stated after Health Board’s agreement, the Town Management is asked to agree. Alan Perry voiced an option to postpone the vote to adopt the edits to the EDS Plan to the next meeting because of remote meeting technical difficult and an absence board member. Dr. Perlmutter stated the vote should be done tonight. Dr. Geller to vote tonight. Chair Heiger-Bernays wanted to be clear what the Board was being asked to vote to adopt. February 23, 2021 Minutes 6 Board of Health Alan Perry the vote would be to accept the edits in the presented and discussed selections made my Robin Chapell to the EDS Plan of 2011, to be adopted in the plan. Robin Chapell state that the EDS plan is a working documents, edits and amendments can continue to be made. All versions of the plan are dated when changes are made. Alan Perry said the whole document is not being “adopted” as a final document. John Flynn made a motion to adopt the edits to EDS Plan sections of Authorities, Planning Assumptions Introduction, Purpose, Scope and Considerations, Concept of Operations, Training Exercises and EDS Operations Annex and other appendixes as edited and presented by Robin Chapell along with the Roles and Responsibilities as edited and presented in Reference A. Dr. Perlmutter seconded. Roll Call Vote: Flynn- yes, Geller –yes, Perlmutter –yes, Heiger-Bernays – yes. Documents Attached. B. Discussion Massachusetts Vaccine Roll Out Alan Perry stated at a Town Manager’s meeting it was stated that the Select Board scheduled a discussion item regarding sending a letter to the State about the COVID- 19 Vaccine Rollout. Chair Wendy Heiger-Bernays asked what the letter would say. Alan Perry, he did not know if the decision was made to send a letter, but a concern would likely be that the vaccine was not being sent to Town and Cities for local smaller clinics. Robin Chapell stated that the decision to send vaccine to bigger mass vaccination sites is because there is a bigger bang or the buck in mass sites. Jay Flynn asked if there would be at some point a Lexington Clinic for those that want to be vaccinated in Lexington and if so is a registration list to get on? Robin Chapell said nothing is schedule at this time. Burt Perlmutter Will there be a local clinic when more vaccine is available? Alan Perry – if the State reverse their decision to not ship vaccine to towns/cities, Lexington would likely to have its own clinics and continue it’s collaborative with Arlington and Belmont. Wendy Heiger-Bernays asked that Alan Perry to communicate the Health Office concerns if a letter is sent to the State. VI. Article 29 – Declare Climate Emergency Citizen Petition Alan Perry stated no vote of support has been asked for or required by the Board for Article 29 of the Town Meeting March 22nd warrant. There was an informational meeting held on Article 29 on February 9th. The Article does not to appear to have the Board of Health act as an enforcement of the Article. February 23, 2021 Minutes 7 Board of Health Dr. Bert Perlmutter introduced resident Dr. Herbert Ang who is interested in an appointment to the Board of Health if a seat on the board is opened. He has a MD degree and MPH in Public Health. Chair Heiger-Bernays informed that the members there is a Toxic Use report being worked on that will inventory the Town, Schools and DPW use of toxic items to be replaced or decreased in use. Chair Wendy Heiger-Bernays confirmed with the members the next Board of Health meeting will be on March 23, 2021 at 6:30pm via ZOOM. Members agreeable to the date and time. VII. Adjournment Dr. Perlmutter made a motion to adjourn at 8:36pm. Mr. Flynn seconded. Roll Call Vote: Flynn- Yes, Perlmutter – Yes, Geller – Yes, Heiger-Bernays- Yes. Motion carried 4 to 0. Documents Health Staff Reports Community Health Report - February 2021.docx BOH Monthly Report 2.23.21.docx EDS Edited Sections 1-26-21 Job Action Sheet for Information Technology-Communicatins Coordinator.docx 1-26-21 Job Action Sheet for FUnctional Needs Support.docx 2-19-2021 LHS FiledHouse Aerial.pdf 2-22-2021 ICS Structure for Lexington.docx 2-19-2021 Field house set up for clinics.pdf Reference A EDS Roles and Responsibilities Revised 2-23-20212232021 (1).docx