2026-11-04 - Board of Health

00:04Yes. Thank you.

00:45>> Okay?

02:53>> I know it's

03:03>> [clears throat]

04:48>> I call a meeting of the Board of Health

04:49of November 4th to order. First item

04:52under new business for approval of the

04:54minutes of the October 7th regular

04:55meeting of the Board of Health. Do we

04:57have a motion to approve the minutes?

04:58>> Sure, I'll make that motion.

04:59>> Second.

05:01>> [clears throat]

05:01>> All those in favor?

05:02>> Aye.

05:06>> The next item on the agenda for review

05:08is the tobacco control monthly report

05:10submitted by Caesar, program director.

05:13And the first item on the agenda are

05:15tobacco product sales permit suspension

05:18hearings for violations of a sale to a

05:20minor.

05:21[cough]

05:22Caesar?

05:23>> Yes. So the first one on the agenda I

05:25think is 7-11.

05:287-11 located at 63 Mammoth Road.

05:32They sold tobacco to a minor on August

05:3419th

05:36this pack of Marlboro cigarettes for $17

05:40and a compliance check we did that day.

05:42This is the first violation within

05:46a period of time. I mean, as you can see

05:49on the sheet in front of you, there's

05:50been several other violations. For

05:53example, there was a violation

05:56the first sale to a minor at that

05:58location under this franchisee happened

06:00on May 14th 2022.

06:03They sold tobacco to a 17-year-old

06:04[clears throat] youth.

06:06Then they sold again on May 17th of

06:092024. It was a second offense, so they

06:11got a fine of $2,000.

06:13They got the premise suspended for seven

06:14consecutive business days.

06:17There's been violations with DOR, 1 and

06:1811

06:2021st 21st of

06:22November 2024.

06:25DOR seized the tobacco products $6

06:29[laughter] without untaxed cigars

06:31basically.

06:32That happened twice. Actually, I only

06:34put one date, but that happened twice.

06:36And this time around, even though

06:39there's been violations recently, is the

06:40first offense again simply because the

06:42way the language reads in the

06:44regulation. It says you know, every

06:47subsequent violation they they they you

06:50determine that by looking at what was

06:52the first offense when they happened.

06:54So if you look at when the first offense

06:57happened, which was May 14th 22 22

07:00then this would have been a first

07:02offense all over again. If you look from

07:04the perspective of what happened in the

07:06last three years, this is a second

07:08offense.

07:09So the reason why this happens in Lowell

07:11is because we sort of like mimic the

07:13language in the state regulation. It's

07:16it's it's precisely what the state

07:17regulation says.

07:20For the city of Lawrence, I changed that

07:22to say, well, any you know, we count the

07:24violations within the last 3 years.

07:27I think it's it's a better language.

07:29Maybe at some point we can revisit that

07:30here.

07:31But for this particular case, it'll be

07:33the first offense all over again. So

07:35they opt for a 3-day suspension. They

07:37they received a notification

07:40about this hearing

07:42and I haven't received any

07:44communications from them

07:46whether they would attend or not, but

07:47they received it on October 16th

07:49and apparently nobody showed up

07:52has shown up yet to discuss this. So

07:56um

07:56>> can I ask you a question?

07:57>> Say it again.

07:57>> Can I ask you I just want to ask a

07:58question. So just about the

08:01we we've been very clear here as a

08:02board.

08:03We like to be consistent.

08:05We've really stuck to this first offense

08:08is the three days and we really haven't

08:11wavered from it.

08:12>> Yes.

08:13>> But are we beholden to that?

08:15Cuz this if I was going to make an

08:16exception, this is the one I'd make an

08:18exception for. And so do we not have any

08:20leeway to make this a more

08:23significant punishment than the standard

08:24because of the prior history despite the

08:26fact that it's older? Or are we

08:28prohibited by our own rules?

08:29>> You are because of the state law. We we

08:31basically follow the language of the

08:33state law. We we sort of like copied it

08:34to the local regulation. If the state

08:37law had something different

08:39and you had instead, you know, used the

08:42language that we have right now, then

08:44you could change it and do something

08:45different.

08:45>> Right.

08:46>> But the way it is right now, we sort of

08:47like stuck with with what we need to do.

08:50>> Okay.

08:50>> But my my recommendation would be for us

08:52to revisit this and change the language

08:54because if you look

08:56if you have a language that says, you

08:57know,

08:59you know, if there's a first, second, or

09:00third violation within the last 36

09:03months, then this would have been a

09:04second offense, a $2,000 violation,

09:08[snorts] a fine plus a seven day

09:10suspension.

09:11So but we can't

09:13I would advise against changing it.

09:15>> Right. I I we won't do that today, but I

09:16guess the question in terms of changing

09:18could there be a change in the language

09:19that states

09:21that prior

09:22instances beyond the two-year window can

09:25still be considered and may lead to a

09:26more severe punishment or something more

09:28vague than that or is that too vague to

09:29have in the

09:30>> You could. You can make the regulation

09:32[clears throat] a bit stricter.

09:33>> Okay.

09:34>> Uh locally.

09:35>> Okay.

09:36>> There's no preemption.

09:39>> Having said that, you're recommending

09:40the three days and there's no

09:41>> The three days of suspension, yes. My

09:42recommendation would be a three

09:43consecutive day suspension to begin on

09:45Wednesday, November 18th.

09:50>> I'll make that motion. Come on.

09:52>> A second.

09:53>> A made and seconded.

09:55>> Who seconded?

09:55>> Erin.

09:58Erin.

09:58>> Okay. So can we just get a vote? Joanne.

10:01>> Yes.

10:01>> Belle.

10:02>> Yes.

10:02>> Kathleen.

10:03>> Yes.

10:03>> Ally.

10:04>> Yes.

10:05>> And Erin.

10:05>> Yes.

10:07>> Do you have it too? So that

10:09>> starting on 11/18/1920

10:12through the 21st.

10:13>> November 18th, yes.

10:14>> Okay.

10:15>> Uh yeah, they can resume selling on the

10:1721st.

10:18>> Thank you. [clears throat]

10:20>> Next we have Lowell Quick Stop.

10:23Um

10:24this violation occurred back in March

10:28March 27th of this year.

10:30Uh this pack of cigarette was sold to an

10:3318-year-old male youth.

10:35At that time

10:37we uh thought that

10:39the establishment [clears throat] was

10:40still owned by Lazy Bones.

10:42So I issued a fine of $2,000 to Lazy

10:45Bones.

10:46And then when I checked uh I tracked the

10:49receipt of that notification that that

10:51cease and desist order and I saw that it

10:53wasn't delivered for some reason. So I

10:55went to the store to check. And that's

10:57when I found out they had changed hands.

10:59So I explained to them that they should

11:01disregard the cease and desist order

11:03that they are about to receive

11:04[clears throat] at some point and I'll

11:05be sending a different one for a lesser

11:07amount for the fine. So they were issued

11:09a fine of $1,000. You have a copy of

11:11that in in your hands.

11:13They paid the fine

11:14um and we just never had this hearing

11:18because they had no permit.

11:20So we waited until they were issued a

11:21permit. They were issued a permit on

11:22September 22nd

11:24and

11:26I met with uh the owner. We met Lisa and

11:29I met with the owner for about an hour.

11:30We reviewed all the regulations. She

11:32signed all the documentation she needed

11:33to sign and I informed her then that at

11:36some point there was going to be a

11:38hearing to suspend the permit for three

11:40uh consecutive business days.

11:42So they couldn't be here tonight. They

11:43provided a letter.

11:45I think the letter was provided to the

11:47board or Lisa is about to provide it to

11:48the board right now.

11:52>> And the request was that the chair would

11:54read the letter to the um the board in

11:58lieu of the owner and her husband being

12:01able to be at the meeting.

12:03>> Before we read the letter, I'm I'm

12:04working a little slow today. Apologies.

12:06Did you say they were selling tobacco

12:07without a permit too?

12:09>> Yeah, they sell out selling tobacco

12:10without a permit.

12:12>> Is there

12:12>> no fine

12:13or other recourse for doing that?

12:15>> Well, I found out doing doing a

12:17compliance check. So, they were issued a

12:18fine of $1,000.

12:20And then I went back there and they

12:21still had tobacco there on the shelves.

12:24She claimed there was a

12:25miscommunication. [clears throat] She

12:26claimed that I told her she could sell

12:28some tobacco products.

12:30Well, I find it hard to believe that you

12:31believe that, but that's what she said.

12:33But [clears throat] anyways, um

12:35so I used that that opportunity to just

12:38educate, make sure there was no

12:40misunderstanding. They removed the

12:42products.

12:43It wasn't a a heated exchange.

12:46But, you know, since then everything

12:47seems to be quiet. She She came to the

12:49office. We We talked for about an hour.

12:51Since then she called once. I spoke to

12:53her on the phone. It was uh

12:55a civil conversation, short

12:56conversation, no problems at all.

12:59But yeah, they were selling tobacco

13:00without a permit.

13:01>> And And just to be clear, are they the

13:03ones that sold to the minor? Cuz this is

13:04the part where I'm slow on.

13:05>> Yeah, they sold to I discovered they

13:07they they were selling tobacco without a

13:09permit because they sold to a minor

13:10doing a compliance check. What I did not

13:12do was to fine them for selling tobacco

13:14without a permit.

13:15>> That's what I'm saying to you. So, there

13:16was no recourse for that. It was just

13:17paying for the Do we not punish them for

13:19selling to a minor?

13:20>> could have issued a fine for

13:23for selling tobacco without a permit. Uh

13:25that would have been maybe a first here.

13:27I usually use the opportunity to educate

13:29them.

13:30>> Okay. All right. I don't mind you using

13:32your discretion. I just

13:34don't like people selling without a

13:35permit.

13:35>> Right.

13:37When I face situations

13:39>> Yeah.

13:40>> Oh, that creates Oh, sorry. Yes. Yes.

13:42I'm sorry.

13:43All right. Never mind. I remember that.

13:45>> So, when I face a situation where, you

13:46know, you've been to a to a certain

13:47location several times, the same

13:49violations happen over and over again,

13:51then I might fine them for several

13:53things at the same time.

13:55Uh

13:56but not in this case.

13:57>> That's fine. Yeah. Now that you remind

13:58me it was the case from before I'm on.

13:59Okay. Thank you.

14:00>> she came before you.

14:00>> Yep.

14:04>> As far as tobacco is concerned here

14:06is here. I think everything else is fine

14:07with Matt as well.

14:11So, my recommendation in this case is

14:13the three-day suspension to begin on the

14:15same date, November 18th, Wednesday,

14:18uh and ended the the close of business

14:20on the 20th.

14:22>> Okay, I'm going to read the letter.

14:24>> But it's

14:24>> Okay. She requested that we read the

14:26letter.

14:27>> Yes.

14:29>> My name is Abena Alwedyane. I first want

14:32to apologize for not appearance today. I

14:33had another court appointment that I

14:35cannot reschedule.

14:37This letter is an honest statement of

14:38the information presented to me back in

14:40March. During said month, Caesar came

14:42into my store, approached my employee

14:44with a piece of paper telling him he has

14:46to sign it. My employee told him

14:49he's not signing any paper

14:51just like that if he doesn't know what

14:53it's about. He then explained to him we

14:55received a ticket for selling cigarettes

14:57to a minor. However, the ticket

14:58presented was addressed to Lazy Bones.

15:01My husband then received a call from

15:02Caesar two to three weeks later stating

15:05we had a ticket for serving a minor. My

15:07husband asked what are you talking

15:08about? We never received a no ticket and

15:10first time he is aware of this. Caesar

15:12went on to explain we will receive the

15:15summons in the mail and we had 20 days

15:16to pay the fine or our store will be

15:18closed.

15:19I, Abena, received the summons and paid

15:22it. My rebuttal to the situation being I

15:24was not present

15:25for any of it. Fridays between the hours

15:27of 12:45 and 2:00 we are normally closed

15:30if I am not available to work because we

15:32are Muslims and prayer time at the

15:34mosque is between those hours 1:00 to

15:362:00. I accepted the fees attached to my

15:38business and paid it without inquiry.

15:41However, I never received a ticket in my

15:43actual name besides what Caesar said

15:45occurred.

15:46There are receipts for purchases from my

15:48store. I never saw any actual proof of

15:50purchase or the ticket of said incident.

15:52I initially paid a summons

15:54to a different business that was

15:56transferred to my business name.

15:58How am I to know that when the ticket

16:00was issued and if it's not an encounter

16:01from my store my business has been

16:03registered with City Hall Clerk's Office

16:05of the business

16:07change and lastly my store name has

16:08always been posted on the outside even

16:10before I

16:12repainted repainted the actual colors of

16:14the building. All signs of Lazy Bones

16:16were removed making clear evidence of

16:18business changes.

16:20Daily mistakes were made during said

16:21altercation, which I still accepted the

16:23responsibility of paying the fine.

16:26Caesar has then visited my store again,

16:28which I was there and he informed me of

16:30protocol measures we did not have

16:32[cough]

16:33measures we did not have for the city of

16:34Lowell and not just Massachusetts. I

16:36have moved forward and corrected such

16:38matters

16:39and don't feel I should be penalized

16:41further. The matters I did not have

16:43correct was told to me by the city,

16:46which I was not aware of moving my

16:48business from a different state. At this

16:51juncture, everything is done on my

16:52behalf to correct all my mistakes,

16:54including having a meeting with Caesar.

16:57Sincerely, Abena, Chief Executive

17:00Officer, Lowell Quick Stop Corporations.

17:05>> On the day of the compliance check, I I

17:07don't recall what sign was on the

17:10premises. Uh

17:11when I went in, you know, we take the

17:13product, I take the the the the the

17:16information from the kid, and then I go

17:18back into the store to confirm the

17:19description. When I went, the door was

17:22locked.

17:23And based on what the letter says, it

17:25was probably

17:26the time of that prayers.

17:27So I went back again at 2:00

17:30after I finished all the other stores

17:32and it was still locked. So I couldn't

17:34interact with them on the same day.

17:36Now, she did not receive

17:39the store did not receive a fine that

17:41was meant for Lazy Bones before I went

17:45to the store subsequently.

17:47Cuz when I went there, they had still

17:49hadn't received that one yet.

17:51And that's the reason why I went to the

17:52store because

17:54USPS tracking system was telling me that

17:56they couldn't deliver for some reason

17:58that notification that Caesar ordered

18:00for the Lazy Bones. When I got there,

18:02that's when I found out there was a new

18:04business. They hadn't received that yet,

18:06so I informed the person that was behind

18:07the counter that they were going to

18:09receive another cease and desist order

18:11with a fine for $1,000 and for them to

18:14disregard the first one that was meant

18:15for Lazy Bones cuz they had no knowledge

18:17they had changed hands.

18:19Uh Uh,

18:20they were in business. They had

18:22incorporated the business uh as of

18:24January of this year.

18:26And the compliance check was in March.

18:28So it was under their their ownership

18:30that the violation occurred for sure.

18:33The only mistake was that we didn't know

18:34that it had changed hands. So the first

18:36letter went to Lazy Bones, but then that

18:38was corrected.

18:39And once she received my letter, you

18:41know, she saw it was for $1,000 you

18:42know, they paid it within 21 days.

18:46>> Can you just typically you'll walk

18:47through the evidence, the date, the

18:48time, the date let's just do that and

18:51clarify the date that it was done so we

18:52have

18:53the date was when they were actually

18:54owning and selling.

18:55>> Right. So the date of the compliance

18:57check was March 27 of this year. Uh,

19:00it was the the violation occurred at a

19:03approximately at 1:02 p.m.

19:06So when I went in right after I

19:07collected the information from the kid,

19:09you know, the change, the the the money,

19:11you know, the information, the door I

19:14went there to check the description, but

19:15the door was locked.

19:17So I continued doing a compliance check

19:19check all the other stores that were

19:20still outstanding.

19:22Went back around 2:00 and it was still

19:24closed.

19:25So I sent a cease and desist order

19:28subsequent to that

19:29to Lazy Bones because that's what I

19:31thought the business was.

19:32And then I I keep track of when they

19:35received these notifications. So when I

19:37saw that USPS had tried to deliver but

19:39couldn't for some reason, I went to the

19:41store to find out why. And that's when I

19:43discovered they had changed hands.

19:46So I explained that a a new cease and

19:48desist order was going to be issued in

19:50the amount of $1,000 for the fine, and

19:53that's what happened.

19:54Um,

19:56and then I explained that they you know,

19:57at that time I

19:59I told them they had to remove all

20:00tobacco products because they didn't

20:02have a permit to sell it. They had some

20:04state licenses from DOR, but they did

20:06not have a permit from us.

20:09So uh and then later on in the year I

20:11went back there and there was still they

20:13still had some products there. And

20:14that's when we had the heated exchange.

20:18She was there at the store. I I found

20:20tobacco there. I explained and this was

20:23doing the compliance check again. They

20:25did not sell during the second

20:27compliance check, but uh we saw young

20:29people leaving the store uh and we had a

20:31feeling that maybe they were still

20:33selling tobacco. So I went inside the

20:35store and saw that there was tobacco uh

20:37on the premises.

20:39Uh she removed the tobacco from the

20:41shelves

20:42on protest and uh she did not remove it

20:45from the premises because she claimed

20:47she was alone. She couldn't leave the

20:49store unattended.

20:50And that was that.

20:52>> So I just want to direct that

20:55her owner her company that owned it sold

20:57to the minor. That's all that matters

20:58from my perspective.

20:59>> [clears throat]

20:59>> Yes.

21:00>> It's their responsibility to know the

21:01rules in the

21:02regarding it and they didn't know it.

21:04That's on them, not us. So

21:05I have no problem recommending the three

21:07days.

21:08>> Right.

21:11>> So is that a motion?

21:12>> Sure.

21:13>> Second.

21:14Second by Ally.

21:15>> Yeah.

21:19>> Joanne.

21:19>> Yes. Mel.

21:21>> Yes.

21:21>> Kathleen.

21:22>> Yes.

21:22>> Ally.

21:23>> Yes.

21:24>> And Mary.

21:25Thank you.

21:28>> Thank you very much.

21:28>> Nice to see you.

21:29>> Thank you.

21:29>> Thank you.

21:34>> Next item on the agenda for review is

21:36the Development Services monthly report

21:38submitted by Matt Machine,

21:40senior sanitary code inspector.

21:44>> Good evening, everybody.

21:45>> Good evening.

21:46>> Uh

21:47short report. Um we had two new

21:49businesses during this uh reporting

21:51time. One was a food truck. It's

21:53actually a coffee truck, which is

21:54amazing.

21:55[laughter] Guy wasted [clears throat] no

21:56money on this. Uh so you're going to see

21:58him uh hopefully at a lot of city events

22:00going forward.

22:01Um

22:03we did have two failures.

22:05[clears throat] Uh what they were both

22:06pretty much for uh kitchen equipment

22:09expiration.

22:10And during this reporting period, we

22:11actually had two fires in the city.

22:14Um both of which are now uh they're back

22:16open.

22:17Some were just closed for a couple of

22:19days, but thankfully uh

22:21you know nobody was hurt. Uh it was

22:22minimal damage. So

22:25like I said, they are open.

22:27Um

22:28what you don' see in the report

22:30uh that I wanted to bring your attention

22:31was uh we

22:33uh in the office are doing like a an end

22:35of the year

22:36uh re uh

22:37kind of like report to present to uh

22:40uh the city council.

22:42Um

22:43and in that report

22:45um from January 1st to yesterday

22:49uh we conducted 1,043 food establishment

22:53inspections.

22:54Um

22:55we opened up 51 new food uh

22:58we opened up 51 new restaurants.

23:01Uh we conducted 1,701

23:05rental unit inspections

23:07and we fielded uh along with the

23:09building the building inspectors

23:117,791

23:13complaints.

23:14>> Hm.

23:15>> So out of that, if it was like a pie

23:16graph,

23:17I would say that 90% was health related

23:19and 10% was building related.

23:21>> Mhm.

23:22>> Um so I just wanted to bring that to

23:24everybody's attention. That's all.

23:25>> Thank you.

23:26>> Um other than that, that's pretty much

23:28all I have for you fine folks tonight.

23:31>> What was the um fire in the Saigon shop?

23:33>> Um so the fire started in one of their

23:36convection ovens which went into into

23:37the ceiling

23:39which thankfully uh

23:41you know Lowell fire department got

23:42there.

23:43Um the staff at Saigon had put um fire

23:47extinguishers around it.

23:48So that helped but you know LFD got it

23:51knocked down pretty quick so it didn't

23:53go through the rest of the ceiling.

23:55>> [clears throat]

23:55>> I guess my question would be no concerns

23:58that it was because of code violations

23:59that led to the grease build up already?

24:01>> Absolutely not. No.

24:03This was just a uh

24:04>> Random bad luck.

24:05>> [clears throat]

24:05>> failed attempt at cooking.

24:09>> Is the Veterans Roast Coffee truck um

24:12like veteran operated?

24:13>> Yes it is. Yeah. He is. Uh

24:16um

24:17he's a very animated gentleman. It was

24:18fun.

24:19You know so like I said hopefully you

24:21know we'll see him at a a lot more city

24:23events.

24:23>> Cool. Thanks man.

24:25>> Great.

24:29>> Those 51 new restaurants that were

24:31opened, they opened in what time period?

24:33In the last year?

24:34>> So within the last well, less than a

24:36year. Between January 1st and yesterday.

24:38>> Oh.

24:39>> Yeah.

24:39>> Wow.

24:40>> And then we have

24:41[snorts]

24:43maybe before the first of the year,

24:45another six to 10 coming online.

24:48Yeah, a couple can't talk about right

24:50now, but

24:51there's and then of course we have

24:54where the old VFW was on Plain Street.

24:57That's a Popeyes and a Chipotle.

24:59>> Oh wow.

25:00>> So yeah, they're

25:02huh?

25:02>> Is it open now?

25:03>> No, no, no.

25:05Maybe after the first of the year.

25:07>> Okay.

25:07>> Like they just they started painting the

25:09facade and stuff like that, so I think

25:10they're going to start working inside.

25:12But yeah, that's it's going to be a

25:13[clears throat] Popeyes and Chipotle.

25:15And

25:17we have a handful of other cool concepts

25:19coming in another city.

25:21So it's exciting. I keep waiting for a

25:23Chick-fil-A, but nobody like no.

25:25[laughter]

25:26Yeah, the poor guy that's opening a

25:27Popeyes, I you know, he's at the desk

25:29and I was like Chick-fil-A.

25:31Like go get a new contract like go get a

25:32new contract.

25:34I'm I try. I try every week.

25:38>> Okay. Thank you. Any other questions

25:39from the board?

25:41>> Thanks everybody.

25:42>> Thank you.

25:43>> Thank you.

25:44>> [clears throat]

25:48>> Next item on the agenda as mailed was

25:50the Prize Star monthly opioid report.

25:55Any questions, comments?

26:03Report accepted as mailed.

26:06Mailed. The next item on the agenda is

26:09under old business, the departmental and

26:12division reports.

26:14And I'll turn it over to the director.

26:18>> So last month we did talk about the

26:20Hepatitis B, so I did I did rerun the

26:23report last month and it was correct.

26:25And I did run current month to

26:29to current month last year, And we are

26:31running down about

26:34150

26:36[clears throat] cases

26:38from where we were at last year. So we

26:40are running lower than where we were

26:42last year. So I did run that. Um

26:46And if you want us to change how the

26:47report runs, I'll show you afterwards

26:49what actually comes out because it comes

26:51out a little bit different. So we could

26:54run right now we run October, September,

26:58and then

27:00last year like 26 25. I thought at one

27:04point we ran like

27:08October of 26 and then October of 25. So

27:11we could compare like last October to

27:14this October and then last year to this

27:17year versus running last month to this

27:20month. So we could talk about running

27:24the report just a little bit different

27:25to see what last year ran to this year

27:28because

27:29>> Well Last year last year at this point

27:31in the day.

27:32>> Right. So we could run it and that is

27:34what it that is actually what it comes

27:36out to is year to date. And then we

27:39could look at last month to last month

27:42last year this month to this year that

27:44this month because it does look very

27:46interesting to look at like flu. What

27:48did flu look at look like last year at

27:51this point

27:53versus looking at just the full year?

27:56You know what I mean? So it does So I'll

27:58show you what this looks like afterwards

28:00if you want it changed up just a little

28:01bit. So it is a little interesting to

28:03look at that. And then one of the other

28:05things that Madam Chair asked about was

28:06the TB contacts. And this year we have

28:10had more non pulmonary TB than we have

28:14had in other years. And

28:17I hate to say this out loud and I'm sure

28:20she has probably already looked at this,

28:22but right now we're following five

28:25active TB cases. Um and a lot of the B1

28:31waivers that have been waiting for

28:33months to get into clinic are now not

28:36showing up. They've fallen off of the

28:38radar, which

28:40we are not surprised by. Um so so that

28:43is not a surprise to us.

28:45>> Through a backlog at clinic?

28:47>> Uh yes, probably probably by like

28:49months.

28:50>> are they meeting?

28:51>> Um they're there um

28:53they're [clears throat] there every week

28:54and they actually have a new provider,

28:56so there are two providers there uh

28:58weekly. And they've doubled up

29:00appointments.

29:02>> Oh, okay.

29:02>> So yeah, they're they're very busy at

29:05clinic.

29:06>> Oh, okay.

29:06>> Yeah.

29:07Yeah, they're very they're very busy at

29:09clinic. Very yeah.

29:11>> Okay.

29:13>> And they're calling people to remind

29:15them, which [clears throat] they hadn't

29:18called them before.

29:19So yeah.

29:21>> Can you remind us what the B1 waiver B1

29:23waiver you referred to? Can you remind

29:24us what that is?

29:25>> Uh B1 waiver just means that they either

29:28have a positive QuantiFERON Gold or

29:30they've come in out of the country and

29:32they just need to be followed up to see

29:34if they're um be worked up for TB.

29:38So it doesn't mean that they are

29:40have tuberculosis, but maybe just be

29:42followed up for TB and

29:44>> B2 might have an old scar you know an

29:46x-ray or something.

29:48>> But some of the people may not actually

29:49have to be followed up by the time they

29:51come. They may have been followed up at

29:53you know by primary care physician or

29:55local community health. They don't need

29:56to go to clinic so.

29:59>> How many waiver numbers are there?

30:01>> What?

30:01>> How many waivers?

30:03>> How many B waivers? So um on the report

30:06last year and we are doing the end of

30:08year report as well. Um so last year in

30:112025 there were reported 878

30:15and this year we're down to 567.

30:20>> Those are LTBI's?

30:22>> Right. But not necessarily B1 waivers,

30:25but

30:26they're they're included in there so.

30:28Yeah.

30:29>> It says that there's 54 pending B

30:31arrival evaluations.

30:35Could be B0, B1, or B2.

30:37>> Right, exactly. So

30:40>> And then we did

30:42we are giving

30:44flu shots. So we did increase

30:47the clinics that we have.

30:49And I gave you guys flyers. I don't

30:50don't have any for myself.

30:53So anybody can call the health

30:54department 978-674-4010

30:58and we can schedule appointments or we

31:01have clinics on Tuesdays, the 10th and

31:0417th from 3:30 to 6:30.

31:07But we'd like to let everybody know this

31:09is the time. Two weeks out from

31:11Thanksgiving is the time to get your flu

31:13clinic so that you are covered.

31:17[clears throat] Flu is here. We had I

31:19think when we opened up Maven on Monday,

31:22I think we had 35 flu new flu cases over

31:26the weekend. So

31:28this is the time to get your flu shot.

31:35There was a nice article in the Lowell

31:36Sun today about the co-op.

31:39Nice picture of the co-op. Some great

31:43comments

31:44from people who have either been

31:45affected by opioids or had contact with

31:49the co-op. So some nice nice feedback

31:52about the co-op. So I will give you my

31:54some of the tidbits for

31:57probably towards the end of the year

32:00some of the numbers of what what people

32:02have done

32:04through the

32:05through the year. And then we have

32:07finally after five years submitted for

32:11our public health accreditation.

32:13All of the documentation has been

32:15submitted and now we will wait for our

32:18site visit.

32:20>> That's awesome.

32:20>> My job my job here is done.

32:23>> [laughter]

32:28>> You're welcome.

32:30>> Just in follow-up to the public health

32:33nurses report.

32:36I think we all have seen in the news the

32:37cases of measles and the various

32:39outbreaks and recently in New York,

32:42upstate New York, a death from measles.

32:45And so, I wonder if maybe next month you

32:47could

32:48have the school nurse leader provide

32:51some vaccination rates for MMR

32:54and anything else that they would like

32:56to tell us about, but

32:58specifically looking at the vaccination

33:00rate for measles in the Lowell public

33:02schools.

33:03>> Yes. So, they actually

33:06there are a few grades that we have to

33:07report out to the state and it's usually

33:09in January, but because we're

33:11overachievers, we usually have it by

33:13December. So, she should be able to have

33:15those numbers for you by December. Any

33:17religious or

33:20or medical exemptions, we usually have

33:22that by December. So, we should be able

33:24to have those numbers for you.

33:26>> Okay.

33:27>> No problem at all.

33:28>> Thank you.

33:29Any other questions, comments?

33:32>> Can we do it? Should I do it?

33:33>> Go ahead.

33:34>> Move to adjourn.

33:35>> And a second?

33:36>> I second.

33:38>> Meeting adjourned.

33:39>> Thank you.

33:41>> Next meeting of the Board of Health will

33:42be December 2nd at 6:00 p.m.

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