2026-08-03 - Board of Health

0:00I'm going to ask you to

0:04>> Okay, we're going to make sure our tech

0:06is okay.

0:10Uh and I'm going to start by inviting

0:12board members to introduce themselves.

0:13Mike?

0:15>> Michael Porado, board member.

0:18>> Patrick Lowe.

0:20>> Good evening.

0:22>> Joseph Carore, uh board member.

0:24>> And Francis Anties, board member.

0:26And now for our staff to

0:28introduce themselves.

0:30>> Good evening. My name is Dr. Jennifer

0:31Braford, the medical director of Health

0:32and Human Services.

0:34>> Simeon Dexter, Commissioner of Health

0:35and Human Services.

0:37>> Sherry Tangree, PHE Grant Manager, PHE

0:40for capacity building.

0:44>> Millie Houghton, Chief of Public Health

0:46Nursing.

0:48>> Thank you.

0:49>> Kyle O'Connor, Tobacco Prevention

0:50Specialist.

0:51>> Great. And um on this side?

0:55>> Lee Hall, Director of Health and Housing

0:57Inspectional Services.

0:59>> Kent Annavig, Commissioner of

1:01Inspectional Services.

1:02>> Okay, thank you. And in the room

1:04visitors?

1:09And online visit visitors or staff?

1:15>> Brenda Wright, Principal Clerk, Division

1:17of Public Health.

1:21>> Desiree Sutton, Business Manager and

1:23Burial Agent for the Division of Public

1:24Health.

1:28>> Uh the one that's chairing the meeting

1:30>> Oh, okay.

1:32Okay.

1:33Thank you very much. Thank you everybody

1:35for being here.

1:37Um

1:37we we have 2 minutes um as you are aware

1:41of from the packet information. So,

1:43first of all, I would look for approval

1:45of the minutes of the meeting on June

1:471st.

1:48>> Motion to approve, Madam Chair.

1:51>> Thank you, Mike.

1:53And I'm going to call for a vote on

1:54that. Joseph?

1:56>> Yes, Joseph Carl, yes.

1:58>> Patrick.

1:59>> Patrick Lowe, yes.

2:00>> Michael Porada, yes.

2:02>> Okay. And then, the second minutes are

2:07from the

2:08uh public hearing. Um I think there's a

2:10couple of corrections on this that I

2:12noticed uh

2:14on page two

2:17under the summary of written public

2:19public comments, number two, there's one

2:22sentence that is kind of repeated twice.

2:24So, I would suggest we eliminate the

2:27sentence that begins "The commentator

2:30also stated." Just take that sentence

2:32out and leave the sentence that says

2:34"The company also stated." Basically,

2:36just said the same thing twice.

2:39Um

2:41and on the third item, right on the same

2:43page, uh the third written comment came

2:46from Merrill's Safe Haven. I think we

2:48should probably add the word "who

2:49expressed some support" because as that

2:52item uh recognizes,

2:55it wasn't total support.

2:57And

3:00I think that's it. Are there any other

3:03corrections? Oh, I would do one other

3:05one.

3:05Um

3:07on page

3:10six

3:12where Sheryl Sabora, the executive

3:14director um

3:16for the Massachusetts Association of

3:18Health Boards

3:19um is speaking, she's actually comparing

3:22the number of smoking establishments in

3:24Worcester unfavorably

3:26to other Massachusetts communities. So,

3:28I would just add that word "unfavorably"

3:32if the board would go along with that.

3:36And so, I would just ask, are there any

3:37other um

3:40suggestions or amendments to the minutes

3:42from the July 13th meeting?

3:48Then, I think

3:49I'm looking for a motion to approve my

3:52suggested amendments.

3:55>> So so [clears throat] moved.

3:57>> Thank you, Patrick.

3:59Uh so we need to vote that, Michael.

4:01>> Why not? Michael Perrado, yes.

4:04>> Joseph Corry, yes.

4:06>> Patrick. [clears throat]

4:07>> Patrick Lo, yes.

4:08>> And Francis Anthes, yes.

4:11And then we're looking for a motion to

4:13approve the minutes as amended.

4:15>> So moved.

4:17>> Thank you, Patrick.

4:19Take the vote on that, Joseph.

4:21>> It is Joseph Corry, yes.

4:23>> Michael. [clears throat]

4:23>> Michael Perrado, yes.

4:25>> Patrick.

4:26>> Patrick Lo, yes.

4:28>> And Francis Anthes, also yes.

4:31Okay, I think then that we're

4:35moving on to our the rest of our agenda.

4:39And Amelia, you get to begin.

4:43>> Good evening, everyone.

4:45Um

4:47So I know you don't want me to read

4:49what's on the paper because you all have

4:51this, um and as a matter of fact,

4:54Dr. Bradford is going to go over uh one

4:57of the outbreaks um that we currently

5:00know about the St. Louis encephalitis.

5:02So unless you have specific questions of

5:05what's

5:06on my report,

5:09um

5:11I don't want to just regurgitate it back

5:13to you.

5:14>> I guess my only question would be we

5:15appear to be getting to a slightly

5:18concerning area with West Nile virus,

5:21which you have reported to us.

5:23>> Yes, today

5:24uh Worcester's

5:26um

5:27level has gone to moderate.

5:30Um this week, there were 57 new mosquito

5:34samples, positive samples in our area.

5:38Um

5:39well, in all the counties, but um

5:43Worcester especially has gone up.

5:46And I mean, this happens from time to

5:48time and it happens

5:50this time of year and after so much

5:52rain.

5:54But

5:55we still,

5:57you know, we're still surveying, we're

5:58still spraying,

6:00and we still recommend what is necessary

6:04to stop infections.

6:07And

6:08on the reports, we go through the links

6:12and all the recommendations for

6:16keeping mosquitoes at bay.

6:19And again, just a reminder to the

6:21public, this is a mosquito born

6:23issues.

6:25West Nile virus and so we advise people

6:27to cover up particularly at dawn and

6:29dusk. Is that correct?

6:31Dawn to dusk and make sure you use

6:36a good

6:38spray against mosquitoes, especially

6:41West Nile virus.

6:43And

6:44Yeah, sometimes we recommend you spray

6:46your clothes and then you can just put

6:49your clothes on versus just spraying

6:51your clothes when you're wearing them

6:53cuz that can also get in your face and

6:55in your lungs, too.

6:57So, like for children.

6:59And then of course,

7:02you know, cover up as much as you can

7:04when you're outside.

7:06>> Thank you very much, Amelia. I

7:07appreciate those reports.

7:34So, so these are the mosquitoes that

7:36have been identified, not people.

7:39Thank you. Cuz we would have those those

7:41would come across to us as cases. We

7:44haven't had any.

7:45>> Okay. Thank you very much and thank you

7:46for the clarification, Sima. And then,

7:49Dr. Bradford,

7:50>> Sure. So, I'll just mention some um

7:52little bit about the Cyclospora

7:54uh something that we've been hearing a a

7:56lot about on the news. I'll just give

7:57you a little bit of information of what

7:58it is.

7:58>> That would be wonderful.

7:59>> Okay. So, Cyclospora, that's is actually

8:02that's actually the microscopic parasite

8:04and that was causes the intestinal

8:06illness, Cyclospora.

8:08Um the cases typically increase during

8:10the summertime, so between well, late

8:12spring, early summer, late summer. So,

8:14between May 1st to August 31st. And so,

8:17this is a a parasite that is actually

8:20that that occurs from time to time.

8:22Um person-to-person transmission is

8:24uncommon because the parasite requires

8:27it to mature outside in in the

8:29environment. And then, um once it

8:31matures, an an individual um comes in

8:35contact with the with the parasite, then

8:37that's when infection starts.

8:38Um and so, the particular outbreak that

8:41we are um seeing is is affecting mostly

8:44the Midwestern states, not so much

8:46Massachusetts, although we do have we've

8:48had about 18 cases of Cyclospora in

8:51Massachusetts, but it's it's um

8:54it's the normal seasonal expectation. Um

8:57and so, um

8:59so, general just in general, the way

9:00that Cyclospora is transmitted is by

9:03consuming food or water that's

9:05contaminated by human feces.

9:08Um and so, some common foods that you

9:10might that well, at least in this in

9:13this outbreak is lettuce. That's that

9:15seems to be the the vector for um the

9:18the parasite. But, there's other types

9:20of vegetables and fruits that could also

9:22um contain the parasite. So, it's um

9:25like raspberries, um

9:27basil, fresh basil, herbs. And so, it's

9:30really important that if you have

9:31produce, to make sure that you're

9:33washing it or running it under water

9:35before eating it. Um there are some uh

9:38fruits that are considered safer, such

9:40as fruits like with like bananas, um

9:43watermelons that have the thick peels.

9:45Um, but again, you want to make sure

9:46that you're you know, you can use a

9:48vegetable scrub brush to to clean that

9:50outer surface of the of the fruit.

9:53Um, there is luckily there it

9:55So, the some symptoms Symptoms include

9:57um diarrhea, profuse diarrhea,

10:00um nausea,

10:02um

10:04Um, let me see. Loss of appetite, weight

10:05loss, abdominal cramping,

10:07and bloating.

10:09Um, it is treatable with antibiotics.

10:12Most people will not need antibiotics

10:14for treatment, but um some do. I think

10:17as of today, there's been two associated

10:20related deaths to Cyclospora. I mean,

10:22>> In Michigan.

10:23>> Yeah. Is it exactly, yeah. And so, you

10:25know, as information is

10:28is rapidly changing, you know, as this

10:30outbreak continues. And so, some things

10:32that we can do to keep ourselves

10:34as safe as as possible, washing our

10:36fruits, well making sure we're washing

10:38our hands before handling the produce.

10:41Um

10:42and I think that's that's pretty much

10:43how we can try to keep ourselves safe.

10:46Um, if you if there's an individual that

10:49presents with profuse diarrhea and um

10:52that's

10:53you know, it's it's wise to talk to your

10:55health care provider to see what next

10:56steps to take.

10:59>> Thank you very much. I know that yes,

11:01there's

11:01even though it is a small issue in

11:03Massachusetts, it's certainly a big

11:05issue in the US.

11:10Thank you. Anything else? And any

11:12questions from any of board members?

11:15>> Madam Chair, just a Is there any

11:16particular location in the city where

11:19you're seeing more of this

11:21of the mosquitoes?

11:25>> Oh, mosquitoes?

11:29Um, yes, yeah, that would require

11:32bringing up the map.

11:33>> Oh.

11:33>> Um I mean, I can get you the

11:35information.

11:36>> yeah.

11:37Okay.

11:42>> And the links that I send in the

11:44arbovirus reports have that. So, maybe I

11:47can get the consent to all of you.

11:49>> And the one you sent to us today then

11:51would have it?

11:52>> Yeah. I just sent it to you, but I can

11:54send to all of you from now on cuz I

11:56send them out weekly, the current

11:57reports, if that's okay with you.

11:59>> That's perfect. Thank you, Madam Chair.

12:02>> Any other questions

12:04for either of our medical

12:07reports there? Okay.

12:09Thank you. Then, I think we're going to

12:10turn to you, Kyle. I'm I'm assuming

12:13you've been on vacation, nothing as much

12:15has been happening in your department

12:18this month.

12:18>> Yeah, nothing at all. Um

12:21Sorry I was not at the last meeting. I

12:23had some

12:24hospital stay that I had to take care

12:26of, but my team was so great about

12:29stepping in and making sure everything

12:30was delivered, so I appreciate that. Um

12:32I'm here today just to provide a brief

12:34update on tobacco regulations, the new

12:36regulation, the applications that have

12:38come in, and then a general enforcement

12:40update. If you have any more specific

12:42questions, though, I can try to answer

12:43those as best I can.

12:45So, the Board of Health voted to update

12:47the tobacco regulations on July 13th.

12:49The regulations then became effective on

12:51July

12:51July 13th, and then they became

12:53effective on July 15th.

12:55We all know all the updates as we've all

12:57been in this process for um many months,

12:59so I won't um go over that, but just to

13:02update you, since the regulations became

13:04effective, one new tobacco uh sales

13:06permit has been approved um under the

13:093-year grandfather provision.

13:11So, only one has been added since the

13:13updated regulations, and so the current

13:16stance for retailers goes 12 smoking

13:20Excuse me, 12 smoking bars, 22 smoke

13:22shops, and now 187 general tobacco

13:25retailers, which brings the total to 221

13:27retailers.

13:29So, the cap is 235, so we're not near

13:31that cap yet. Um, as well as a smoking

13:33bar cap is 15, so we're not at that cap

13:36yet, either. There are currently permit

13:38applications under review um that are in

13:41the process of obtaining their permit.

13:42So,

13:43uh once those become official, I can

13:45then provide the board that update as

13:46well.

13:48So, that's it on applications. Um,

13:51retailer education and enforcement has

13:52also gone underway this season. Um both

13:55youth compliance checks has begun as

13:57well as retailer education visits to

13:59educate retailers on the updated

14:00regulations.

14:02Uh I can go into specifics, or if you

14:03have any questions, I can answer those

14:05as well.

14:06>> Okay, any questions from board members?

14:10>> You don't have to necessarily go very

14:11specific, but maybe a broad overview of

14:13what that looks like in terms of you

14:15know, are you going out to all

14:16220-something locations? Is it a flyer?

14:20Sort of what that a little bit of the

14:21detail of what that looks like would be

14:22helpful.

14:23>> Yeah, are you speaking about the

14:24retailer education visits or the youth

14:25compliance inspections?

14:27>> Uh if you have if you have time, maybe

14:28both.

14:29>> Sure. So, the retailer education visits,

14:31um all tobacco retailers will receive

14:33that education. That requires a little

14:34bit more planning because I want to

14:36schedule the inspection to make sure

14:37either the owner or the manager is

14:39there, that way they can disseminate the

14:41new policies and new updates to their

14:43employees. So,

14:44um that has gone underway. We review all

14:46of the new policies as well as go over

14:48the state regulations to ensure that

14:50they are aware of those, and then we go

14:51over the responsibility as the owner uh

14:53including that new provision of having

14:56retailer um owners keep record of those

14:58who have taken the tobacco training. Um

15:01so, that is a new piece that has been

15:02introduced to them. Um they seem to

15:04understand that, and they know that it's

15:06not necessarily something that they're

15:07going to be violated for not having, but

15:09they need it if and when the board does

15:11request that upon them. So, that is

15:13something that has been introduced. Um

15:15like I said, it takes a little bit more

15:16time to get to all those 221 of those

15:19retailers, but they will be um underway

15:21throughout the year.

15:22For the youth compliance checks, um we

15:24don't go to smoking bars just because

15:26that involves a little bit more higher

15:27level of compliance, so I work with the

15:29state and the local police department to

15:31follow up on those. But for the

15:33non-smoking bars, we do visit all

15:35retailers um

15:37at least once a year, so those are

15:38currently underway as well. That

15:40involves sending a minor into the retail

15:41establishment to ensure that they're

15:43doing proper ID checks. If the minor is

15:46able to purchase the product, they then

15:47follow the aid enforcement um suspension

15:50and fine structure that we went over

15:52during the update of the regulations.

15:54>> Thank you.

15:56Thank you.

15:57Just a second.

15:58>> So far, no.

15:59>> Kyle, thank you very much. We appreciate

16:01and we weren't able to thank you in

16:03person last month, but we do appreciate

16:05that a lot of work from you and the

16:07department went into the fact that we do

16:10now have tobacco regulations, which we

16:12hope are clearer, more concise, and more

16:16easy to implement. So, we're hoping that

16:19that works well for you as well as the

16:21places where we needed to change some of

16:22the language and that kind of thing. So,

16:25it's been a long haul in terms of doing

16:27those revisions and we really appreciate

16:29your work. Thank you.

16:30>> Thank you.

16:32>> Yeah.

16:34Madam Chair and

16:35to Kyle, too. I wonder if I really like

16:38the way Amelia kind of presents some of

16:39the data on emerging infectious disease

16:42and we can kind of track that regularly.

16:43It sort of fits a format. I wonder if

16:45there's a possibility of doing something

16:47similar with the tobacco licenses,

16:48particularly after everything that we

16:50kind of just went through with the

16:51review and so much interest from the

16:53public in the community on that.

16:56If it might be possible, I wonder if you

16:57could put together

16:59like a dashboard of some kind where this

17:01data could be both presented to the

17:02board, but even better if it could be,

17:04you know, housed on the website perhaps,

17:07so that there's some more continuity and

17:08a little bit more data that's available

17:09to the public and people to see cuz I

17:11for one am interested in interested in

17:13your how you

17:15delivered it tonight, but um an eye on

17:17what's the effect of these regulations

17:19on the number of licenses.

17:21Um it'd be interesting to kind of keep

17:22an eye to on violations and some of the

17:25other information. So,

17:27you know, I'm just pitching an idea

17:28here, but I think there's sort of a

17:29laundry list, you know, the licenses and

17:30by category, the approvals or um

17:34transfers perhaps of those,

17:37the violations and some data around

17:39that, both the state and the local

17:40violations, the categories that we have.

17:42And then

17:44I don't know how much of a lift it was

17:46for the team to put together some of the

17:48mapping that we had available, but I

17:50think all of that's kind of relevant

17:51public information. There's a lot of

17:52interest obviously throughout the

17:54process from both us, but also the

17:55community. It'd be really nice if we

17:57could put that together, I don't know,

17:58quarterly or something, you know, we

18:00could brainstorm and leave it up to you

18:02guys to kind of think of the cadence you

18:03think's most appropriate, but I would

18:05request that. I think it'd be really

18:06helpful for us and for the public.

18:09>> Yeah, of course. The board, I mean,

18:10sorry, the division's actually currently

18:12working on dashboards to try and uh make

18:14all of our inspections and enforcement

18:16and community engagement as transparent

18:18um with the public as possible so they

18:20know what's going on with policy updates

18:22as well as retailer updates, and it also

18:24helps retailers kind of know, especially

18:26with that map feature, if they are

18:28allowed um a retail location, they can

18:29kind of map out where they are before

18:31they start that whole um process. So, um

18:34yeah, that is something I can take back

18:35and work on and

18:36>> That'd be awesome. I think we talked a

18:37little bit about some unintended

18:38consequences. We'll keep an eye out for

18:39those, and so maps and clusters and

18:41stuff like that I think is relevant

18:43visually, you know, and we can look it

18:45up.

18:46You can give us the addresses, but

18:47that's kind of a pain for all of us to

18:48do it, so it's a little easier to to see

18:50that. So, if that's all possible, I

18:51think that's fantastic if you're working

18:52on that. Thank you for that.

18:54>> And as you pointed out, Kyle, that helps

18:56not only us and obviously the

18:58department, but it also helps people who

19:00are retailers to understand that what

19:03500 ft really means and that kind of

19:05thing. So, thank you on that. Mike, did

19:06you have something else?

19:07>> Yeah, Madam Chair, uh

19:09with the duck state, could we make that

19:11in a form of a motion just to put it up?

19:14>> Sure. The only The only thing that I

19:16would just step back for 1 second on,

19:20um and I know Nikki isn't here tonight,

19:23but we were moving to a format where we

19:26were getting quarterly reports from a

19:28lot of different groups including

19:31Inspectional Services. Um and so, it

19:34seems to me that this motion should be

19:36in that context that we're kind of

19:39looking for tobacco to give us that

19:41information much as we're getting those

19:42quarterly reports from other parts of

19:44the department. Is that okay?

19:46>> Great.

19:48Totally agree with the doctor said as

19:49long I like I just like to have it

19:52officially put on paper, okay?

19:55>> Would you like to make that motion?

19:56>> make the motion to support the doctor's

20:00information concerning

20:02mapping and quarterly reports on the

20:05tobacco ordinance. You good with that?

20:08>> That's great. Okay, I'm going to call if

20:10there's any other discussion, Joseph?

20:12>> Yeah, Joseph Corr, yes for that.

20:14>> Okay, go for that vote, Mike.

20:16>> Michael Prado, yes.

20:18>> Patrick?

20:18>> Patrick Lo, yes.

20:19>> Francis Antieau, yes. So, yes. At that,

20:23we'll join our other reports, but we

20:25would really look forward to getting

20:26that. Thank you, Kyle.

20:29Um then I think we're going to get a

20:30presentation from um

20:33our Inspectional Services Department and

20:36um

20:38some of us are probably new to SAFE. In

20:41other words, we had an explanation from

20:44department folks back when SAFE 2.0 was

20:48put into

20:49effect about a year ago.

20:52Um but the there are new members on the

20:54board since then. So, I appreciate that

20:56the guidance document was included in

20:58our packet. I'm not sure who thought

20:59that would be helpful, but I'm I

21:01appreciate that. Um and so, why don't we

21:04let you uh talk to us about SAFE 2.

21:07>> So, safe is a project that ISD and DPH

21:11are working together on. Um, Cherry is

21:14actually taking the lead on the safe

21:16portion of it and doing the doing the

21:19leg work on putting together the

21:20reports. Um, the report that we have is

21:24for a lot of the day-to-day items. So,

21:26Cherry is uh, the one that will be

21:28giving the presentation for the safe uh,

21:31report.

21:32>> Okay. Cherry, I'm sorry. I miscalled

21:34that.

21:35>> [laughter]

21:36>> Thank you, Nick. Uh, good evening, uh,

21:39board members. I'm Cherry Tangri and I

21:41am the grant manager for uh, PHE

21:44capacity building grant. So, today I'm

21:46here to present on safe 2.0 performance

21:50standard surveys and before I get into

21:53the specifics of the survey, I'll

21:56provide an overview of what safe is. So,

22:00uh, it is short for State Action for

22:02Public Health Excellence.

22:04Uh, in November of 2024

22:08Oh.

22:12>> That's supposed to start.

22:14>> Yeah, I think Desiree, could you please

22:16present the slides?

22:21>> You You can't see them?

22:23>> No. No.

22:25I think that would

22:26>> I'm sharing.

22:27>> That's the thing.

22:28>> Um

22:30>> Desiree, we can't see the slides.

22:34>> Um

22:35It shows that I'm sharing. Let me stop

22:38and retry.

22:39>> Okay. Okay.

22:45>> Well, actually I have I tried.

22:48>> Do you see it now?

22:50>> No. No.

22:56>> Help me, but I can't share.

23:03>> I don't know. It Everything looks normal

23:06on my end.

23:09Um

23:10Do you want me to try and send them to

23:13Mr. Ortiz?

23:14>> Is there like a

23:16You know how you have to give over the

23:17control?

23:18On the

23:19on the call. This is Teams, right?

23:21>> Yes.

23:22>> sharing the

23:23>> No, it's actually not showing up on the

23:25screen because I did speak with them.

23:28They said it seems that there's some IT

23:30issue with that specific

23:33area.

23:34>> It's not going to show up on their

23:36screen.

23:37>> That's wonderful.

23:38>> So, I I Do Is it Are the slides the ones

23:42that the board members have already been

23:43handed?

23:44>> Yes.

23:45>> Yes.

23:45>> Okay.

23:46So,

23:47I'm sorry for the

23:49public.

23:54>> So, does everybody have a package?

23:55>> Yes.

23:56>> Yes.

23:59>> May I have an extra one?

24:29>> Okay, Chad.

24:30>> It looks like it's

24:32people online are able to see it.

24:35>> People online can see, but we can't see.

24:37>> Yeah.

24:43Sorry about that.

24:48>> Okay.

24:49Desiree, apparently people online are

24:52able to see the slides. Could you start

24:54sharing, and we will look at our

24:58paper copies.

25:03>> Yes, ma'am.

25:04>> Okay, thank you.

25:06So, in November of 2024, Governor Healey

25:10signed in the economic developmental

25:12bill into law that included SAFE 2.0,

25:16which meant that now this new law

25:18created new requirements for all

25:21municipalities across the Commonwealth

25:24to participate and report on and be in

25:27compliance with specifically the

25:29performance standards.

25:31So, under So, what this new law did was

25:34it codified the public health the

25:37blueprint for public health excellence,

25:39which I will be talking

25:41shortly about.

25:43Now, for every all the 351

25:46municipalities, it is mandatory and

25:49required by law to report annually on an

25:52annual basis on the performance surveys.

25:56That way, once we complete those

25:58surveys, we are showcasing that we are

26:00in compliance with the requirement.

26:05And a guidance document was also

26:07provided to all board members in the uh

26:11board packet and it is also available

26:14online on mass.gov.

26:17A brief history on

26:21the blueprint. So, in 2016,

26:25mass legislation put together a special

26:28commission that was required to evaluate

26:31the effectiveness of and efficiency of

26:33the local municipal government. And in

26:362019, they came up with a set of

26:39recommendations

26:41in the six areas, which was the

26:44workforce development, data performance

26:46standard, capacity building, sustainable

26:49funding, and cross-jurisdictional

26:51services.

26:53Now, with SAFE 2.0, as I said, it is uh

26:56imperative for everyone, all

26:58municipalities, to be uh reporting

27:01annually.

27:02Now, looking at specific

27:04cross-jurisdictional services, uh some

27:07of you may know we had the PHE

27:11uh grant where

27:13uh which was specifically for those

27:15municipalities, uh basically two or more

27:17who came together and shared their

27:19services

27:21uh to move the

27:23uh public health functions forward.

27:26>> [snorts]

27:26>> Now, we have the uh public health

27:30excellence capacity building grant,

27:32which is a newer version of the same,

27:34but it is specific to larger cities such

27:36as Boston, Worcester, and Springfield.

27:41Um

27:42moving on now into uh these the SAFE

27:46requirements for specifically uh Board

27:49of Health.

27:50Uh

27:51because this document has given a

27:53clarity on what the roles for Boards of

27:55Health should be, as well as for the

27:57State Department, which includes MassDPH

28:00as well as the Department of

28:01Environmental Protection.

28:03For Boards of Health, we are required to

28:06meet uh performance standards through

28:08inspections, local reporting under

28:10tobacco,

28:12uh any other environmental health where

28:14we would be working in collaboration

28:16with ISD uh

28:19uh on pools, beaches, housing, food,

28:21body arts, etc. that they already are uh

28:24in

28:25uh are performing those functions. Also,

28:27we have epidemiology and communicable

28:30disease investigation reporting.

28:32The other area that we are uh required

28:36to be in compliance with, and we

28:38completed the report earlier uh this

28:41year, was the workforce development,

28:43where the SAFE document has provided us

28:46uh a set of guidelines for your uh the

28:50staff as well as board of health on

28:52training credentials and education.

28:55So, at this moment we have completed our

28:59performance standards and the workforce

29:02survey and are we are in compliance with

29:05the reporting requirement.

29:09Uh the other slide has requirements on

29:11MBDP the state departments which I will

29:15not

29:16talk about in

29:19at this moment. So, getting into the

29:22performance standard, the the

29:24performance standards

29:27these define the requirements that every

29:29local and regional

29:31public health department in

29:32Massachusetts are expected to follow.

29:35Now, the purpose is for this survey is

29:39to review the municipality's current

29:41capacity to meet the performance

29:43standard and as well as it serves as a

29:46planning tool for us to identify gaps as

29:49well as

29:52focus on areas of improvements and with

29:55an intention to elevate and strengthen

29:57our public health local system by

30:00promoting consistency and

30:01accountability.

30:05On one of the slides is the overall

30:07performance standard summary which was

30:11which is

30:13which is summarizing all of the survey

30:15in eight of the subject areas that is

30:19towards the left in

30:22on the

30:23on the the

30:24on the slide. So, it begins at

30:26administration and then we have ending

30:29at tobacco. It is important to note that

30:32these subject areas out of some of these

30:35subject areas there are some

30:38areas that are further divided into the

30:40subtopics which I will uh go over

30:43briefly uh in the next few slides. So,

30:46uh this survey had a total of 164

30:48questions, out of which 151 were

30:51applicable to the city of Worcester.

30:54>> [snorts]

30:54>> And we looked at uh

30:57um

30:58So,

30:59the way we responded to this was in the

31:02form of yes and no. So, yes meant that

31:05we are meeting the current capacity. And

31:07for no, we had to identify a single most

31:10important uh reason that is that is

31:13impeding our ability to perform those

31:16functions. So,

31:18uh let me give you some examples of

31:22the uh when we responded no, and it said

31:25more staff required, that just meant

31:28that we do have the expertise and

31:30protocols in place. It's just we lack

31:32the capacity on staff because they may

31:35be over over uh burdened with the

31:39workload might be uh a lot to uh report

31:43consistently on these specific areas.

31:46When uh we chose no for additional

31:50training, that just meant that we have

31:52the staff, but they require specific

31:54training on in those specific areas.

31:58No for lack of funding meant that we do

32:01not have the funding, which is not

32:04related to staffing, but is the primary

32:07barrier in uh funding inconsistencies.

32:11For example, maybe we are not able to

32:13purchase an equipment or tool to perform

32:15that specific function.

32:17And uh no for I was not aware for of

32:20this requirement simply meant that we

32:23did not know that this applied to our

32:25jurisdiction or

32:27uh

32:29Yeah, it's mostly that. So,

32:34So, what came out of the the slide

32:39uh what came out of the result was uh

32:43we we were we utilized these

32:45the survey results to identify the gaps

32:48and areas of improvement across four

32:51areas, disease control prevention,

32:53administration, and then we looked into

32:55general environmental health, and food

32:58enforcement.

33:00Uh the criteria for prioritizing these

33:04four subject areas was to look at the

33:06scores which were under 80%.

33:10So for next steps under disease control

33:14prevention and administration, we are

33:16going to be working in direct

33:17consultation with MassDPH where we would

33:21be requiring their technical assistance

33:24and guidance on those specific areas for

33:27improvement. Uh

33:29the state department is also working on

33:33creating trainings across the board

33:35across all these

33:37performance standard areas, and also

33:39they are creating uh

33:42standard operating procedures for

33:44standardization purposes across

33:46municipalities.

33:49For items three and four, which is

33:51general environmental health and food

33:53enforcement, we work closely with IST,

33:57Nick and his team in uh identifying the

34:02uh

34:03priority areas utilizing the survey

34:05results as well as their subject matter

34:07experts

34:09expertises.

34:11So when we looked into general

34:13environmental health, we again looked

34:15into the criteria into specific topics

34:17looking at what were the any area that

34:20scored less than 80%. So our focus area

34:23were

34:25uh nuisances and food enforcement.

34:28Under for recreational camps, we did uh

34:30well, we scored 83% but still there is

34:33areas of

34:35areas were identified for improvement

34:37and then because of IST's readiness on

34:43that area we have prioritized that as a

34:46focus for this fiscal year. And these

34:49two areas will be implemented through

34:51the

34:52public health excellence work plan.

34:57That's it

34:58from me.

35:00If there is any questions I can answer

35:02that.

35:02>> Okay. Questions for Sherry. Patrick, go

35:05ahead.

35:07Can I just a couple of just understand

35:09this table a little bit better? So,

35:10there's 164 questions, is that right?

35:13>> Yes.

35:13>> And then this was

35:14shared with the all staff of the

35:16department?

35:17>> Sorry?

35:18>> The survey was shared with the all the

35:20staff of the department? Is that who's

35:21the respondents of this?

35:23>> No. So, I worked in collaboration with

35:27all the offices and across IST. I

35:31identified the team leads and then

35:34worked with them to complete the survey.

35:37>> Got it. So, it's like a select group for

35:39each question answering whether or not

35:41we're

35:42meeting criteria or not.

35:43>> It's like a like a consensus.

35:44>> on their the subject matter expertise.

35:47>> Got it. Got it. Okay.

35:48>> It's like a do a home exam. Do it

35:51yourself exam. A self

35:52>> But you or yeah, do it

35:53>> self study.

35:54>> self

35:55department like team department study

35:58questionnaire answered. Everybody kind

35:59of pooled the answers for some of it.

36:01>> Yes. So, for example, for environmental

36:04health I

36:05worked on some questions with Nick and

36:08then for housing questions I worked with

36:12Lee and then there were the food areas

36:14that I worked with chief of food.

36:16>> Got it. Got it. Okay. And then each of

36:18these numbers here is answering a

36:20question

36:22from that one. So, like for

36:23administration there's like 20

36:24questions. For example, okay.

36:26>> And that that means we answered 13 and

36:28then it goes into the specifics of what

36:31we answered no for.

36:33>> Got it. All right.

36:34>> Mr. Chair, if I may just clarify

36:39the questions that were there for every

36:42area

36:43were answered by the expert in that area

36:46and the work was

36:47So, I just want to make sure that it's

36:49clear that the answers were

36:51uh

36:52representing or reflecting of the work

36:55that is done and if the question, you

36:57know, how we're doing the work in a

36:58certain way that

37:00>> Yeah.

37:03>> Yeah.

37:04>> And then this questionnaire is from the

37:05state. So, this you now have a little

37:07bit of like consensus from the experts

37:10of from the department to go to the

37:11state and say we need more support in

37:13these particular areas. Is that kind of

37:15how this is

37:15>> Yeah, and I forgot to mention that this

37:18reporting time frame for this survey is

37:22last last fiscal year, July 1st through

37:25June 30th, 2026.

37:29>> And do you think that So, do you think

37:31the state will be responsive to like you

37:32know, they're going to pull this data

37:33from all these municipalities and say

37:35like, you know, clearly we're missing,

37:37you know, some training on disease

37:39prevention and control or do you think

37:41they're going to be sort of targeting

37:43Wooster to do something like that? How's

37:44that going to work?

37:45>> uh

37:46this this survey by no means is meant to

37:49be punitive. It is only for us to see

37:52how we as a local public health are

37:54functioning, looking at our current

37:56capacity and what are our needs across,

38:01you know, specific areas. For example,

38:05administration, there was a question

38:08uh specifically that focused in the

38:10training area. That does not mean that

38:13we in the past have not performed that

38:16function. This fiscal year or last

38:18fiscal year, maybe we could not do it

38:20because

38:21after COVID we have had a lot of staff

38:24turnover, right? So, the staff isn't

38:27trained in that area. So, we are not

38:30looking it as

38:32we are not in compliance or we are

38:34lacking in those areas because that's

38:37not the case. It is not meant to be put

38:40any city or town on the spot. It is just

38:43for the sake of

38:44strengthening and elevating the public

38:46health system.

38:48>> Through the chair, if I may.

38:51The

38:52board members and Dr. Miller.

38:55So, nationally we have the public health

38:57accreditation board that every 4 years

38:59we have to qualify for and

39:02>> Mhm.

39:02>> That's big or incentive in terms of a

39:05public health department and how it's

39:07functioning.

39:08>> Mhm.

39:09And we just completed that within the

39:11last year.

39:12>> And then Massachusetts as a state has

39:14been installing this newly

39:16the state uh what's it called? The ASCE

39:18it's like

39:19>> Action.

39:20>> State action for public health

39:21excellence. In addition to that, that's

39:23for that particular time period they're

39:25asking for the local health capacity to

39:27assess if they are following enough

39:29standards, getting enough up-to-date

39:30training.

39:31>> Mhm.

39:32>> To answer your question, if that results

39:35into anything, it's not so much as chair

39:38mentioned a reading of Mr. Public Health

39:40Department whether we are able to

39:42fulfill the excellence or not, but it's

39:44more to assess what kind of capacity we

39:46have

39:47>> Mhm.

39:47>> as the second largest city in New

39:48England. And to that that I am meeting

39:50with the commissioner

39:52of Mass Department of Health in

39:53September to go over this.

39:55>> Mhm.

39:55>> Which would be the opportunity that I

39:57will be taking and share with them what

40:00our limitations are in terms of our own

40:02capacity and resources in performing to

40:04the excellence particularly in areas.

40:06And probably as avenues for also

40:09explaining how our new health director

40:12>> Mhm.

40:12>> Yeah.

40:13>> Yeah, it's really helpful. Thank you.

40:15Anything else, Patrick?

40:17Michael, any questions?

40:19Joseph?

40:20>> No, thank you. Excellent work, Al

40:21Ostrow.

40:23>> Thank you.

40:23>> So, I have one question, and it's going

40:25to reveal my longevity on this

40:27committee. Um

40:29we are now being judged on only what

40:31happens in Worcester. We are no longer

40:33part of a broader some of the

40:36surrounding towns, which we were prior

40:39to Safe 2. Okay.

40:42Thank you.

40:42>> Good point.

40:44>> Um [clears throat]

40:45okay. Um

40:47anything else, Sherry, or should I turn

40:50it over to Nick?

40:51>> No, Nick can take it over.

40:53>> Okay.

40:53>> Thank you.

40:56>> And thank you for this. It's um

40:58it's impressive that you got your August

41:0031st work done uh on August 3rd.

41:03>> [laughter]

41:04>> Good work.

41:06Nick.

41:10>> All right. [snorts]

41:11Um

41:12to the chair. So, uh in line with the

41:15Safe 2.0, part of what we have been

41:18doing in coordination with DPH is

41:21setting up um different methods and

41:23systems to track how we've been doing

41:25them.

41:26Uh one of the things that uh DPH helped

41:29us establish was a digital daily for all

41:31of our health inspectors. So, what they

41:34have been doing for the last 6 months

41:36since January is filling in um their

41:39inspection reports or or not their

41:41inspection reports, but their inspection

41:43activities on to our daily sheets. Um

41:47what you have in front of you and what

41:48we're showing today are the results of

41:51the first two quarters of using those

41:54digital sheets. This is again, just part

41:56of our progress in compliance and then

41:59also starting to uh better train and

42:02better understand um the different uh

42:05situations and challenges that we have

42:07in Worcester. Um if you do look at um

42:11the the different uh

42:13numbers we've put here. The first one I

42:14believe is housing.

42:17And in there we have the different

42:19categories that we're looking at, um the

42:22inspection categories. We also have um

42:25further uh drilled down

42:28um items um that we're not presenting

42:30here and that's the actions that are

42:32taken. Those are the types of complaints

42:35that um we're getting in there and then

42:37also the results. The reason why we

42:39haven't included them in this report is

42:41because with the new systems and the way

42:43we're putting those together, um we're

42:45just working on the best way to present

42:47those so that it's easy to digest. We

42:50have a lot of duplicates. We have a lot

42:53of

42:55multiple inspections that result in

42:58multiple violation types. So, the best

43:01way to present that to you all um and

43:03make it digestible is we're working

43:05through that, but we did want to

43:07present, like I said, the first two

43:09quarters of uh results just to give um

43:13an idea of the volume that uh ISD on the

43:17health side works with. Um as you can

43:20see

43:21on the housing uh on the housing side,

43:24um there's been over 4,000 total

43:27inspections completed with

43:30uh

43:30those inspections leading to 6,300

43:33different category um

43:35placements in there.

43:37Um what we're seeing is obviously uh you

43:39know, uh the highest parts are the

43:41nuisances. Um if we go through trash is

43:44is a big one, overgrowth is a big one.

43:47We knew that those were going to be big

43:49ones when we came in here, but having

43:51this type of information allows us to um

43:55pinpoint that and then also express it

43:58uh at the boards and in different areas,

43:59also at the council. Um so that when we

44:02are trying to implement new methods and

44:05new changes on the way that we are doing

44:07things, we can back it up through the

44:09data. What's also not shown on here is

44:13what we're looking at is trying to

44:15create heat maps. So, when we look at

44:17this, where are we seeing the these

44:20types of um violations? Are we seeing,

44:24you know, the the trash violations only

44:26in specific neighborhoods? Are we only

44:28seeing hoarding in certain generalized

44:31areas? That way we'll be able to use

44:33those data to go in and target certain

44:36neighborhood groups for education, for

44:39grants, for implementation,

44:42for our critical increase teams where

44:44they can go in and start helping and

44:46triage direct results from where we're

44:49seeing these items.

44:51When we look at the the other ones that

44:53are put through here, um we also have

44:56the

44:57items that we've got for food. So, with

44:59this, this is going to give us uh start

45:02our baseline as we switch into the

45:03risk-based program. So, we'll go

45:06through, we'll be able to see uh the

45:08different type of food inspections that

45:10we're having. We're going to see the

45:11different type of complaints that we're

45:13getting across the board, and then we're

45:15going to see the different ways that we

45:16are reacting to it. One of the one of

45:19the items that we're going to use with

45:21the different information we get this is

45:24to see which type of enforcement methods

45:27work best. So, we are trying different

45:30enforcement methods than just writing

45:32orders and taking people to court

45:34because we found that

45:36it takes us a couple of weeks to be able

45:38to write an order for doing the

45:39investigation. Once we write the order

45:42and send it out, we have to wait a

45:44series of time for somebody to get the

45:45order, then ignore the order, then for

45:48us to say, "Okay, we've determined

45:50they've ignored this order." Then we

45:51take it to court, where we have to go to

45:53court and then wait a couple other

45:55months before that order gets put in.

45:57Then once we're in court, typically the

46:00people ignore the court order at least

46:02one or two times and then we have to go

46:04through there. So, on a standard process

46:06for regular complaints or nuisances,

46:10we're looking at 9 months before we

46:13could get in front of a judge

46:14potentially for, you know, trash or

46:17nuisance. So, again, as we've mentioned

46:19before, we're looking at trying

46:21different methods and we're going to see

46:23how those methods change people's

46:25reactions and the enforcement for

46:27compliance.

46:31The last the last item that we're

46:33showing on here is our air, water, and

46:36hazardous waste

46:38numbers. And again, that's just going

46:40through and showing

46:42our ebb and flow

46:45the different seasons that we have here.

46:47One of the one of the big ones you'll

46:48notice is the bathing and beaches. We do

46:51those in June. We have our summer camps

46:53that are typically in June and July.

46:55Then you'll see

46:57the different ones where we do our water

46:59testing in January and then we have the

47:02different sewer sewer testing and

47:04overflows and extra discharges. You can

47:07see where we have a spike in some of

47:09those during the rain seasons. So,

47:11again, having this data being put in

47:14here and developing it and then drilling

47:16down in certain areas as we see those,

47:19will allow us to better inform our

47:22training and our responses throughout

47:25the city.

47:27If you have any specific questions about

47:29any of the numbers you're seeing on

47:31here, I would be happy to to answer

47:33those for you. And then eventually over

47:35the next

47:36two quarters we'll be able to

47:39develop trends and and give cool graphs

47:42and charts.

47:44>> I just want to say I really appreciate

47:46you coming back a second month in a row

47:48in terms of wasn't quite a month. But

47:51anyway, you're here in June, you came

47:52back to our next regularly scheduled

47:54meeting uh, with more information. I

47:56really appreciate that. So, thank you

47:58very much on that.

47:59Mike.

48:01>> Can I

48:02In the days when I was involved in

48:04government, one of the biggest issues

48:06was trash, okay? And the explanation you

48:09I'm going to get you for example, you

48:11have a dumpster that's constantly

48:13overloaded, okay? So, you get it's what

48:15you were just telling us that it would

48:16take about 9 months before you could

48:18actually enforce that that dumpster is

48:20being

48:22uh,

48:23where it's being where it's being

48:26emptied and it's not causing a

48:28you know, public safety habit or you

48:31know,

48:32>> I would say in certain circumstances,

48:34yes, 6 to 9 months for us to get a

48:36decision or a reaction. In in other

48:38cases, it can be done sooner. I mean, I

48:42the the 9 months is an extreme.

48:44>> Okay.

48:44>> Um, typically 3 months, I would say.

48:47>> Okay.

48:48>> All right.

48:48>> Thank you, Madam Chair.

48:51>> Patrick.

48:52>> The some of these categories like under

48:55food, there's I think I saw it under

48:57there. There's like a routine inspection

48:58where you're doing like surveillance of

49:00establishments, presumably. And then

49:02some of this is complaint-based. Like

49:04most of this housing seems

49:06probably complaint or nuisance-based,

49:08like where that's what stimulates the

49:10department to go do an inspection. So,

49:14it's just it's it's really nice to see

49:17this cuz it probably would give you the

49:18ability to like maybe even head off some

49:20of this if you see the pattern that like

49:23I don't know, certain complaints or

49:24nuisances are in a population in a

49:26certain area of the city as you were

49:28saying looking at the maps, you know, 2

49:29years of this data, you might be able to

49:31start a campaign in

49:32April, May saying start cleaning up your

49:34weeds and you know, reduce the

49:36overgrowth. So, I think just having this

49:38to the point earlier of like let's keep

49:40an eye on some of the data on the

49:41tobacco regulations is going to give you

49:43a lot of ability to sort of react or

49:45proactively get ahead of some of these

49:47things. So, it's really nice to present

49:49here and I'm sure it'll be really

49:50helpful for the department. So, thanks

49:52for sharing this update.

49:53>> No, thank you very much. And through you

49:55the chair, I do want to say that this is

49:57a

49:57a big kudos to the DPH.

50:01Amy and Jerry and their team put this

50:04together. So,

50:05it's great and I'm glad that our

50:07inspectors are using it. So, yes, I I

50:10agree this is going to be a very

50:11powerful tool.

50:13>> Joseph.

50:14>> No, again, thank you. Very eye-opening

50:16once you

50:18quantify it.

50:20Again, not to beat this silly, but you

50:22know, again, like trash, you know,

50:24things like that. Just excellent work

50:26and just I'm impressed thorough.

50:29>> I've got a couple of questions and thank

50:31you, Joseph.

50:33I'm assuming then that this is kind of

50:34baseline. That you don't necessarily

50:37know how much of this you did before you

50:40started this.

50:43>> Through through the chair, no. We we we

50:44do have this isn't necessarily baseline.

50:47This is baseline for new processes and

50:49new permitting systems. Through CSRS, we

50:53do have historical data for a lot of

50:56things. The reason why we're pulling it

50:58out and doing this is because CSRS is

51:01slowly dying and we do not have the IT

51:04capabilities to keep it going. So,

51:07>> So, you will be able to know, for

51:08instance, last year we did this many

51:11inspections and this year we did Okay,

51:13that is great.

51:14And then I know sometimes when you um

51:17start new processes, it's difficult I

51:19mean, you need staff training and you

51:20need staff buy-in and sometimes it's

51:23considered a real pain in the butt for a

51:24while when staff get used to it. How's

51:27the staff doing with the new processes?

51:30>> Through the chair,

51:32as you just noted, we we have some

51:34learning curves happening and we have

51:36some adjustments that are going on. It's

51:38It's again, new processes, new new ways

51:41to do things, new technology.

51:44Um I They not made any any uh secret of

51:47it that our rental registry um hasn't

51:51gone the way that we anticipated it

51:53would and we've had some difficulties um

51:56with that technology. So, um we're

51:59pivoting and we're trying to use the

52:01technology that we know works and and

52:03we're bettering it. So, as we do that,

52:05we are giving the support to the

52:07inspectors and to the staff so that

52:09they're able to do it. That's actually

52:11one of the things that we identified

52:13through the safe is the different

52:14trainings that we need in order to bring

52:16them up and get our department where we

52:18want everybody to be.

52:20>> Well, please thank your staff for us. I

52:22mean, that is a big adjustment um and

52:24but it is going to provide both them in

52:26the long run um and all of us with data

52:29that's really helpful. So, thank them

52:31for us.

52:35Okay, anything else on that? If not, I'm

52:38going to move on to

52:40um

52:41Sema.

52:43Where are we at with Community Health

52:46Link and uh

52:48>> [laughter]

52:48>> Thank you um

52:50Thank you, Madam Chair, but uh before I

52:52start, I wanted to thank Commissioner

52:54Nick as well as Lee for coming uh

52:56particularly second time with the

52:58important data. There's a very close

52:59collaborative relationship between DPH

53:02and ISD, which makes it possible. Um so,

53:06thank you. Appreciate it. As far as my

53:08update goes, uh Madam Chair and board

53:10members, um

53:12we have been receiving weekly updates in

53:14the sense um not really numbers or data,

53:18but a notification from Community Health

53:20Link as they continue to negotiate

53:24the distribution of their work between

53:26the different non-nonprofits that

53:28they're working with. And my

53:30understanding most recently is that it

53:32still remains to be um

53:35a continued distribution of their

53:36services through Behavioral Health

53:38Network BHN,

53:40um Open Sky,

53:42CSO, and CMHA.

53:45Um,

53:46I have been informed that, uh,

53:49there is still not a completion date

53:51that they have announced. As we know,

53:53the original date was June 30th. Um,

53:56and, um, they have asked for an

53:58extension after that. We've been told

54:01that, um,

54:02they would give us a heads-up, but it is

54:05ready for the other agency to take over.

54:07We just don't know what the timing and

54:09date remains. Having said that, uh,

54:11Community Health Link has updated their

54:13website, which helps direct patients to

54:17where services are available.

54:19The social worker at the Health and

54:21Human Services, as well as the outreach

54:23staff we have, use those links and have

54:26been using that information to respond

54:29to phone calls that we receive at HHS.

54:33Additionally, uh, through Booster

54:35Together, there is a subset of substance

54:38abuse and behavioral health care

54:40providers,

54:42which also meets every week

54:45to

54:46share community feedback. Not much

54:49triage, but share community feedback,

54:51and we sit on that as well, HHS, and

54:54hear what is going on in the community.

54:57I would not be say the situation is

54:59ideal because there's too much of

55:00changes in health care that are coming.

55:03There's a lot of anticipated anxiety

55:06already,

55:07um, and locally this adds to it not

55:10knowing the exact timeline. Um, but

55:13that's where we are right now. So,

55:15that's the behavioral health care

55:18update. Um, my other updates include,

55:23uh, along the same lines, most recently,

55:26uh, DPH and Health and Human Services

55:29shared a list of things that are

55:31happening with the MassHealth changes.

55:33Um, where people can go to get the

55:36training, where people can go to get

55:38re-certified, what are the resources

55:40available in the city.

55:42Our intent, hope, and goal is

55:46to have an updated inventory of the same

55:50as the changes from MassHealth

55:52come through in October and in December

55:55federally through the not so beautiful

55:57bill.

55:58Um both the phases, October as well as

56:02December.

56:03Um our intent and goal remains to

56:06utilize our own outreach systems,

56:09whether it is the senior center, whether

56:11it's DPH, or Health and Human Services,

56:14or our recovery coaches and social

56:16workers. Use them as well as all of our

56:20partners to share information on where

56:22the

56:23Mass certified counselors are available

56:25in the city. We're trying to put

56:26together a list to be shared as well.

56:29And um

56:30attempt to share as much information as

56:34possible in multiple languages when

56:36possible through our social media

56:38website as well.

56:39I sit on the MassHealth Large Cities

56:42Coalition that meets every month, but

56:45particularly recently they've been

56:47assigning the monthly meeting a portion

56:50of it to MassHealth changes so that the

56:52commissioners and the leaderships in the

56:54large cities and towns in Massachusetts

56:56become aware. There is also another

56:58group that is working on it called as

57:00Health Care for All in Massachusetts,

57:03and I have been um

57:04I recently joined that as well as the

57:07second largest city, and we are trying

57:09to filter through any information that

57:11is coming. Um

57:13we don't have the exact numbers, but

57:15based on what I'm hearing there is a lot

57:17of um

57:19confusion and lack of clarity on who is

57:22losing insurance and who is not, and

57:24whose plans are getting

57:27reformed so that they may lose certain

57:29coverage, but not all of it. So, um we

57:32are waiting for more information to

57:34share that. Add to it.

57:37Add to that ongoing

57:39anxious and unclear situation, TPS that

57:42was put in place in June has added to

57:46some of that um, stress, chaos, and

57:48anxiety as well in Worcester considering

57:50the significant level of

57:53Syrian and Haitian populations we have

57:56here both in

57:57um,

57:59both in the workforce in several health

58:01care places as well as as recipients of

58:03health care who who may be kicked off

58:05health care. So, there is a lot of

58:08discussion related to that going on as

58:10well as to redirecting them or you know,

58:13providing them pro bono legal support.

58:15Some agencies are working on that and

58:17they're keeping us posted. Uh, we don't

58:20have an active role as such, but we uh,

58:22join those calls as well.

58:24Um, the one thing I did want to share is

58:28um, in other updates is um,

58:31there is an unhoused steering committee

58:33that meets every month of the large

58:35agencies that provide services to the

58:38homeless {slash} unhoused which has been

58:40meeting and we are looking at

58:43um,

58:44con- agreeing and discussing a strategic

58:47framework for the unhoused in Worcester

58:49and that what it may look like um, in

58:52terms of um, the shelter capacities, in

58:55terms of outreach, in terms of knowing

58:58who goes to the shelters and how they

59:00are being through and connected to care.

59:03So, more to come on that. We are in the

59:05process.

59:06Um,

59:08we have also done an asset mapping that

59:10is now available on the city of

59:12Worcester's health and human services

59:14website that lists all the shelters, all

59:17the sober housing, all the services,

59:19social services available in the city of

59:21Worcester. If you go and click on it, it

59:24will show you where they are and as

59:26expected they're concentrated in the

59:27central part of um

59:29the city, but there's other places as

59:31well. Our hope and goal is to maintain

59:34that and make it a live dashboard so

59:35that people know where there's a food

59:37pantry, where there's a sober house,

59:38where there's a vet shelter, where

59:41there's temporary housing, um so on and

59:43so forth.

59:45Um one of the areas we are working on

59:48right now is the opioid um abatement

59:51funding that the city has been receiving

59:53since 2023.

59:56The city has um Worcester is one of the

59:58cities and jurisdictions in the country

1:00:01that will that is receiving the opioid

1:00:03abatement funding, which was when the

1:00:05pharmacy pharmaceutical companies were

1:00:08held to task for their over-prescription

1:00:10of opioids. So, starting 2023,

1:00:13um there was a settlement that was

1:00:14reached where significant jurisdictions,

1:00:17be it the state or be it the city, are

1:00:19receiving based on their population and

1:00:21their cases certain amounts of money,

1:00:23and Worcester is one of them.

1:00:25So, every year we receive a specific

1:00:27amount of funding that goes between for

1:00:30that year and then carry forward, and it

1:00:32is and currently it is uh about um

1:00:36uh allocated through 20

1:00:3939, 2023 to 2039. Uh August 19th, we

1:00:44have an opioid stakeholders meeting.

1:00:46We're requiring people to register so we

1:00:48know um

1:00:50that we have capacity, but that meeting

1:00:52is one of the first where we are hoping

1:00:54to start the cadence with the opioid

1:00:56steering committee to kind of

1:00:58stakeholder committee. For those who may

1:01:00be interested, what's happening with the

1:01:02opioid dollars, what does it look like

1:01:04for opioid overdose cases, how have the

1:01:05fatalities come down in the city of

1:01:07Worcester as compared to the state, and

1:01:09as compared to the nation. Um we're also

1:01:12looking at which best practices have

1:01:14worked uh in Worcester, and then what

1:01:17does that mean in terms of the best

1:01:19strategies or the pillars for opioid

1:01:21prevention and overdose prevention to be

1:01:24further implemented in the form of a

1:01:25request for proposal the city is

1:01:27planning. So, that meeting is August

1:01:2919th. It's been shared um

1:01:32extensively, but should there be we will

1:01:34also be forwarding it to you. So, if

1:01:36there's anybody who's interested uh

1:01:39given opioid is such an important and

1:01:40overdose is such an important public

1:01:42health issue, please feel free to

1:01:44forward it and we'll make a note to send

1:01:45it to you.

1:01:47Um that is on August 19th. Following

1:01:50that on August 34th 31st, we are sell

1:01:54we are hosting an event at the city hall

1:01:57for the International Opioid Awareness

1:01:59Day to commemorate that day and to

1:02:01commemorate the lives that were lost

1:02:03because of opioid overdose. It's a

1:02:05program uh I believe it's 4:00 4:00

1:02:094:00 4:00 to 6:00 is 4:00 to 7:00 um on

1:02:1231st of August, which is 3 weeks from

1:02:15today.

1:02:16I think

1:02:18I think I can't remember anyway. I

1:02:19shouldn't I tried to, but I think it is

1:02:22or 4 weeks from today. Uh that's why I

1:02:24couldn't get the math in my head. It's 4

1:02:26weeks from today. And um we would have

1:02:29we would share data. We would also have

1:02:31um spend a moment of silence for those

1:02:33who lost their lives and also have uh

1:02:35speakers who are who have the lived

1:02:37experience of either having lost a loved

1:02:40one or having lived through

1:02:43opioid um

1:02:44uh use. Um so, that event is happening

1:02:46on August 31st International Opioid

1:02:49Awareness Day. Uh other than that

1:02:52um we have Rec

1:02:54we have Rec which is our summer camp

1:02:56from our youth office that goes between

1:02:596th of July for 6 weeks through

1:03:01mid-August and is currently serving 480

1:03:05youth for 6 weeks between the ages of 7

1:03:07and 12. It's something that our um

1:03:10division of youth opportunities um runs

1:03:13every year. So, that is currently in

1:03:15place.

1:03:16Um and everything else is business as

1:03:18usual in health and human services. But,

1:03:21I'm happy to answer any questions you

1:03:23have.

1:03:24>> Okay, you covered a lot. So, are there

1:03:26questions?

1:03:27>> It's a lot, but

1:03:30I don't know, maybe you did speak about

1:03:32it. What about the

1:03:34the people that worked for Community

1:03:36Health Link?

1:03:38Did

1:03:39I'm going to throw a number out there. I

1:03:40don't know if I read this was like 238

1:03:43people that were let go. Is that

1:03:44correct?

1:03:46>> That's what I read in the paper. I I am

1:03:48not

1:03:49privy to

1:03:50more information than that, but um

1:03:53>> So, I'm asking the wrong person then.

1:03:55>> My understanding is um

1:03:57as they are working through the merger,

1:03:59there have been some layoffs, as well as

1:04:02there has been um

1:04:04folks leaving as well, losing caregivers

1:04:07and staff, knowing that there is a

1:04:09merger that's going to happen and is in

1:04:11the works. Um

1:04:13my understanding would be as expected

1:04:14that layoffs as well as losing staff.

1:04:17>> Well, as these mergers happen, I would

1:04:19assume that maybe some of these people

1:04:21will get rehired.

1:04:23>> I would like to think so. I would like

1:04:24to think so. Yeah. Yeah.

1:04:27>> Madam Chair, do you will you think we

1:04:29could get more information about this?

1:04:32And is it we privy to it?

1:04:35>> Well, we could we have asked before, and

1:04:38we could ask again for the Community

1:04:40Health Link president to come and talk

1:04:42to us.

1:04:42>> Yes, and I have communicated that as

1:04:45well, and can I believe I would

1:04:47understand giving their

1:04:49uncertain phase right now, I believe

1:04:52once it's, you know, finalized, I would

1:04:55expect them to send us a response or to

1:04:57come to a meeting to share. Our goal, um

1:05:01I've talked to BHN as well, who is in

1:05:03the process of acquiring, though you

1:05:05know, they are still working it out, and

1:05:07they would be I would expect them to

1:05:09come and talk to the board as well Once

1:05:12it's complete to share about their

1:05:14services. Now coming to the city of

1:05:16Boston

1:05:16>> we're still talking about a CHL closure,

1:05:19not a merger. And then other

1:05:22organizations we hope picking up some of

1:05:24the services that they used to do. And

1:05:27I'm assuming that in some ways there's

1:05:29grant funding connected to some of those

1:05:32services so that it there's probably a

1:05:34place where the state also has a role in

1:05:37>> So um

1:05:38>> transferring a grant that CHL might have

1:05:41had with to someone else.

1:05:43>> Yeah. So my understanding is um CHL gave

1:05:47the state notice around end of March for

1:05:51a 30th June closure. And they probably

1:05:54have 20-some contracts I would think

1:05:56with the state.

1:05:57>> Mhm.

1:05:57>> Um

1:05:58and they are in the process of

1:06:00transferring them which also as you

1:06:01rightly said requires the state to

1:06:03oversee all of the paperwork as these So

1:06:06there are multi It's a multi-level

1:06:09um closure with informing the state as

1:06:11the licensing entity as well as the

1:06:13funding entity while working with the

1:06:16new

1:06:17nonprofit or social service agency that

1:06:20is taking over

1:06:21taking over the staff, the unions, the

1:06:23contracts, and adhering to all of those

1:06:25requirements. Certainly I can imagine

1:06:28the complexity but you're right, the

1:06:29state is very well aware and they report

1:06:31to the state as well.

1:06:32>> So it might also be at some point that

1:06:34there's a state person who is or a state

1:06:38group that is overseeing some of this.

1:06:40So I think that to your question,

1:06:42Michael,

1:06:44to convey

1:06:45um

1:06:46that the Board of Health is very

1:06:47interested in updates on this as it

1:06:49becomes available.

1:06:50>> Yes, certainly. I can answer

1:06:51>> And we would love to hear either from

1:06:53the folks from Community Health Link or

1:06:55UMass Memorial, I'm not sure where that

1:06:56lies. Um or the people coming in, BHN

1:07:00you mentioned, or the state. Um but our

1:07:03concern is that the level of services

1:07:05that the people have getting, um, does

1:07:08not diminish with

1:07:10>> with the loss of community health.

1:07:12>> certainly, yes. Yeah.

1:07:14>> Is that helpful?

1:07:15>> that's great.

1:07:16If we could get that information, it'd

1:07:18be very helpful. Okay. Uh,

1:07:20I'm familiar with some of the

1:07:22organizations that are taking over some

1:07:24of the duties, okay.

1:07:26>> Uh,

1:07:27but I don't know all of them.

1:07:29My whole thing is that most importantly

1:07:31is the services that are being provided

1:07:33to the

1:07:35>> that needed. That's number one. But

1:07:36number two also is the people that are

1:07:38actually providing those services that

1:07:40no longer have employment. I would hope

1:07:42that they would get priority when

1:07:45the services start to shift that they

1:07:47would be able to to go back to work in

1:07:49that some type of a capacity.

1:07:51>> I hope so. I hope so.

1:07:53>> Thank you, Madam Chair. I appreciate it.

1:07:56>> So, thank you, uh, Mike. And And again,

1:07:59a sense of how that is going would be

1:08:00really helpful in the September meeting.

1:08:02Patrick, questions?

1:08:04Comments?

1:08:05>> Two quick ones. The first one was the

1:08:07dashboard you talked about putting

1:08:08together for social services in and

1:08:10around the city. As an ER doc who like

1:08:13often sees patients who don't want to

1:08:14wait for our social work team or case

1:08:16management maybe to get involved,

1:08:17that'll be immensely helpful. So, thank

1:08:19you for anyone who ever put that

1:08:21together and will continue to maintain

1:08:23it. Does it have detail of like services

1:08:25provided at a site or like what I'll

1:08:28look into it, obviously, but

1:08:30>> I will send it to you. It does have some

1:08:32level of detail, but the staff is also

1:08:34looking to make it more detailed,

1:08:36ensuring that no privacy

1:08:39ensuring that the data that is shared is

1:08:42well within what can be shared. For

1:08:44example, a domestic violence center,

1:08:47shelter cannot be put on the map. So,

1:08:49any agency that has any overlapping

1:08:51services needs to be off. And so, they

1:08:54are working on the minushas, but the

1:08:55idea is very much to know where what is

1:08:58available in order to

1:09:01help facilitate a quicker connection and

1:09:03awareness.

1:09:04>> Yeah.

1:09:04>> Mhm. Well, that's great and I'm really

1:09:06happy to hear that. So, I'll look into

1:09:07that, too. The other question I had was

1:09:09about that uh the opioid funding, who

1:09:11does that go to? Who has sort of the

1:09:13jurisdiction on distribution and

1:09:15>> So, the city, meaning HHS, receives the

1:09:17funding um for the city of Wooster.

1:09:20Um my understanding is I haven't yet

1:09:23received it since I have come on board

1:09:25as a new year. Um

1:09:27but based on historic information and

1:09:30what's going on currently, uh in the

1:09:32past year or the past round, it was

1:09:35funded there were nine mini grants that

1:09:38went out and it has a series of um

1:09:40scopes of work that um

1:09:43was expected out of those. They were

1:09:45$50,000 each and it ranged from a wide

1:09:48variety of things. I can't tell you

1:09:50right now, but I have it documented. I

1:09:51do know one was given to CHL to have

1:09:54mobile showers for the homeless. So,

1:09:56these uh grants were given um

1:09:59understanding the need of the community,

1:10:02um ensuring that they were in alignment

1:10:05with the best practices related to

1:10:07opioid overdose such as Narcan and

1:10:09naloxone distribution, harm reduction,

1:10:11supportive services such as shelters,

1:10:13filling in the gaps, um

1:10:16uh low-barrier shelter support, and so

1:10:18on and so forth. There's a wide variety.

1:10:20Um there were also

1:10:23two major grants that were given. One of

1:10:26them was for starting a substance abuse

1:10:28treatment center, which is just still in

1:10:30the works in terms of paperwork, and

1:10:32then uh one more given. So, uh now my

1:10:35goal is to report to the community since

1:10:39I didn't have a warm handoff and Dr.

1:10:41Castiel had left and there has been not

1:10:42enough communication to have a meeting

1:10:45where we talk about what has happened,

1:10:47where the city has invested, and

1:10:49[snorts] then show the data, which is

1:10:51very interesting, um in terms of the

1:10:54reduction that we are watching, and then

1:10:57to share about the best practices that

1:10:59have been because this is an evolving

1:11:01thing nationally as well and then how we

1:11:03want to put forward a request for

1:11:04proposal balancing our budget, the

1:11:07community needs and what works and what

1:11:09doesn't, which we are hoping the RFP

1:11:11would be out maybe end of October or

1:11:13November.

1:11:14So that's kind of what the presentation

1:11:16will be on the 19th.

1:11:18>> And is that the totality of the funding

1:11:20that you mentioned was like nine or 10

1:11:22grants maybe 50,000 each? Is it 100 half

1:11:25a million a year or

1:11:26>> So um

1:11:29I can get back to you with the details,

1:11:30but my understanding is there were

1:11:32$50,000 nine grants, there were two

1:11:35grants with half a million dollars and

1:11:36there was some administrative support.

1:11:39But yeah, but the meeting is going to be

1:11:41recorded and I'm happy to send you the

1:11:42slides for those who can come in the

1:11:44day.

1:11:44>> I have alternate plans. It's my aunt's

1:11:46wedding anniversary, so I won't be

1:11:47there. So I'll watch the recording and

1:11:49then follow up.

1:11:50>> Okay, well have a nice anniversary.

1:11:51We'll think of you that day.

1:11:52>> Great information. Thank you.

1:11:54>> Um so one question on that. Did you say

1:11:57the funding goes to 2039?

1:11:59>> 2039, yeah. That was the negotiation

1:12:01nationally.

1:12:02>> Right. Right, but it's a long We have

1:12:04another 15 years basically with this

1:12:06kind of funding, which you know, time in

1:12:08which we're getting the other message

1:12:11about MassHealth uh that's helpful to

1:12:13know.

1:12:14Um Joseph, you're next.

1:12:16>> Yeah, no, just to echo Madam Chair

1:12:19Michael's point.

1:12:20Again, it's very relevant to public

1:12:23health.

1:12:24The the patients that were served and

1:12:25the folks that are being affected by

1:12:27this merger and closure.

1:12:29So if I if we could hear from someone

1:12:32some sort of update just so we can do

1:12:34due diligence like we did with the whole

1:12:36tobacco process. So I think it's only

1:12:37right.

1:12:38>> certainly keep trying and keep you

1:12:39posted.

1:12:40>> Thank you.

1:12:41>> [clears throat]

1:12:41>> Um so I have a couple of questions. Um

1:12:44One would be TPS. So TPS was supposed to

1:12:49go away back in June, I'm going to say.

1:12:51It got held up and my understanding is

1:12:54now it's going forward. Is that true?

1:12:56>> That's what I have heard and my

1:12:58understanding is too.

1:12:58>> Okay.

1:12:59Um and

1:13:01with the absence of TPS,

1:13:04my next correlation would be um ICE

1:13:07deportations will probably increase

1:13:10significantly in this community.

1:13:13Because now there's lots more vulnerable

1:13:15people.

1:13:15>> Probably.

1:13:17>> Um and is does the city I mean I've

1:13:20definitely heard Mayor a petty talk

1:13:22about that. Um but does the city have

1:13:24any specific

1:13:27steps, plans um

1:13:30on how to address the fact that

1:13:32basically our workers in nursing homes,

1:13:35our neighbors, our you know, teacher

1:13:39aids. I mean all these people may be

1:13:42being picked up um in fairly traumatic

1:13:46ways in terms of my experience of that.

1:13:49Uh which affects, you know, the

1:13:51five-year-old in the kindergarten class

1:13:54or the

1:13:55um the kids whose parent doesn't come

1:13:57home that day or any one of a number of

1:14:01us in the community. And I'm just

1:14:03wondering if the city has thought

1:14:05through that at all. Again, I appreciate

1:14:07that for health and human services this

1:14:08is a big ask, but

1:14:10>> Um

1:14:12I imagine there have been discussions. I

1:14:14am not privy to those, but I'm pretty

1:14:16sure there have been discussions on the

1:14:18best way for the city to support the

1:14:21community while handling this, but I'm

1:14:23not privy to those. Like I'm not

1:14:24entirely sure because as I said

1:14:27um

1:14:28I was in a meeting where

1:14:31the city um as well as community

1:14:33partners were discussing of helping the

1:14:36citizens before it went through in terms

1:14:38of pro bono legal support and so on and

1:14:40so forth. Uh but um

1:14:43I'm not entirely aware of the plans.

1:14:46>> Okay. Um again, from my experience,

1:14:49based on what you just said about the

1:14:50number of people from Haiti or Syria,

1:14:53and the other 13 countries that are

1:14:55affected by this, this may have a big

1:14:57impact in Worcester. So, I guess I'm

1:15:01looking and I'm not sure if there's a

1:15:03motion, I'm not sure if there's a

1:15:05request, but I'm looking for the Board

1:15:08of Health in some way to measure our

1:15:11concern or to note our concern because

1:15:14this isn't just someone who has

1:15:16committed some horrendous act. This is

1:15:18people who have been here very

1:15:20legitimately for many years, like since

1:15:232010 or something like that, who will be

1:15:25pulled out in a way that is dramatic to

1:15:28our community. And

1:15:30um I'm I would just look for some

1:15:34leadership on the part of the city to

1:15:35how we're going to address that.

1:15:42>> I certainly support the sentiment. I

1:15:43don't know what the mechanism for that

1:15:45other than to voice our

1:15:47concern about the threats that it poses

1:15:49to the community and the public's health

1:15:51in multiple ways individually and

1:15:54infrastructurally, as you pointed out. I

1:15:55mean, plenty of these folks will be

1:15:57working in health care institutions, and

1:15:59there'll be a lot of

1:16:00chaos sequelae from all of that that

1:16:02affect all residents whether or not

1:16:04they're here on TPS. So, I mean, I

1:16:05certainly support the sentiment. I don't

1:16:06know what the motion is, but I'll I'll

1:16:08offer my support for someone who's got a

1:16:10better

1:16:11strategic mind on the motion here.

1:16:13>> Help Madam Chair.

1:16:16What I would I would

1:16:17we the board requestfully ask that we

1:16:20receive updated information on exactly

1:16:23what's happening with Community

1:16:25Healthlink, and in particular, if the if

1:16:28we could get someone from the board to

1:16:30maybe come discuss it, probably not, but

1:16:32I I'm going to make that request, okay?

1:16:35And also be And the reasons why is

1:16:38because we're very concerned about the

1:16:40folks that have been taken care of

1:16:42Community Healthlink and also the folks

1:16:44that work there, too. So, I make that

1:16:46form of motion. Is that good good chair?

1:16:49Want a little more, is that okay?

1:16:50>> Um, let's start there.

1:16:52>> Okay.

1:16:53>> [laughter]

1:16:53>> Um, so there's a motion on the table

1:16:55asking um that we would like the

1:16:57Community Healthlink board

1:16:59representation let us know kind of where

1:17:00things are at. And um I think unless

1:17:04there's discussion

1:17:06we could vote on that.

1:17:08Uh so, Michael

1:17:10>> Michael Porada, yes.

1:17:14>> Patrick

1:17:14>> Patrick Lo, yes.

1:17:15>> Joseph Kwar, yes.

1:17:17>> Francis Anthes, yes.

1:17:20So, thank you, Michael. I appreciate

1:17:21that.

1:17:21>> Yes.

1:17:22>> Um I think there's a separate motion

1:17:25that um

1:17:27I don't know whether you I saw you

1:17:29nodding, Patrick, so I'm not sure that

1:17:31you whether you have a motion in mind

1:17:32that talks about the impact on our

1:17:35community and particularly our health

1:17:36care structures of implementing the end

1:17:40of TPS.

1:17:41>> Yeah, I guess I'd make the motion to

1:17:43request that

1:17:44Commissioner Dixit, in your role and in

1:17:46your collaboration with the rest of the

1:17:48city and the administration, perhaps at

1:17:50the next meeting some version of a

1:17:52report back on that, what the city's

1:17:54efforts and contingencies might be

1:17:57>> Mhm.

1:17:58>> such as they can be made public

1:18:00and um could be reported on. I would

1:18:03make a motion for a report back on that

1:18:04from from the city of through you, if

1:18:06possible.

1:18:08>> Noted.

1:18:11Is there any discussion on that motion?

1:18:13>> Good motion.

1:18:14>> Go ahead.

1:18:14>> Okay.

1:18:15>> to vote.

1:18:15>> Okay, ready to vote.

1:18:17Joseph

1:18:18>> Joseph Kwar, yes.

1:18:20>> Michael

1:18:21>> Michael Porada, yes.

1:18:22>> Patrick

1:18:23>> Patrick Lo, yes.

1:18:24>> And Francis Anthes, yes.

1:18:28Okay, uh anything else coming from

1:18:31a

1:18:32um Seema's report that we would like to

1:18:35discuss or are we okay?

1:18:37Yeah.

1:18:39Okay. Commissioner, thank you very much.

1:18:43So, the next piece that we would look to

1:18:46would be topics for our next meeting. We

1:18:48already have a couple that we've just

1:18:51added in terms of an update on Community

1:18:53Healthlink as well as an update on the

1:18:56city's plan to deal with the ending of

1:18:58the protected temporary protected

1:19:01status, which is TPS.

1:19:04Um

1:19:06I have one item I would like to add. So,

1:19:10we know that this

1:19:12I think many of us know that the City

1:19:13Council is now discussing a civilian

1:19:15review board.

1:19:17And this board discussed that

1:19:19extensively back in 2020 and 2021.

1:19:23We had the police union come and be

1:19:26before us. We had the police chief come

1:19:28before us. We had somebody who's worked

1:19:30a lot with the Springfield civilian

1:19:33review board. All those people came

1:19:35before us. And the board took a vote. I

1:19:38think it was a 4-1 vote, but I want to

1:19:41check on that, to support a civilian

1:19:44review board. If the City Council is

1:19:48talking about this now, I think we need

1:19:50to resurrect kind of what our position,

1:19:53you know, what those meetings were about

1:19:55and what our position was. So, I would

1:19:57be

1:19:58hoping to come back to that issue. I

1:20:00realize we're giving staff a lot to do

1:20:02here, but I would be hoping to come back

1:20:04to that issue as well on our next

1:20:06agenda.

1:20:09>> Make a motion then to include that in

1:20:11our agenda for next meeting.

1:20:14>> Okay.

1:20:15Um

1:20:16>> Madam Chair, if I may, are you

1:20:17envisioning anything from us for that?

1:20:20On the agenda?

1:20:21>> Well, I think that

1:20:24I looked briefly today. Um I know that

1:20:28the minutes back in 2020 and 2021

1:20:32reflect a fair level of discussion over

1:20:34a period of time before that vote. Um it

1:20:37would be great if you could get that to

1:20:39us.

1:20:40>> Okay.

1:20:40>> Yeah.

1:20:44And uh there's a motion on the floor

1:20:46that the Board of Health um put the

1:20:48Civilian Review Board on the agenda and

1:20:51get a chance to review kind of what the

1:20:53previous action was on the Civilian

1:20:55Review Board. So, I'm looking for a vote

1:20:58on that.

1:20:59>> Joseph Koury, yes.

1:21:00>> Patrick?

1:21:02>> Patrick Low, yes.

1:21:03>> Mike?

1:21:03>> Michael Porada, yes.

1:21:05>> And Francis Anthes, yes.

1:21:08Okay. Um the other organization that I

1:21:10think has done um some work with that is

1:21:12the Human Rights

1:21:14Commission and um I think they've also

1:21:16taken a vote, but I think that they're

1:21:18two groups who have done that.

1:21:20Um

1:21:21So

1:21:22>> ask a question on that? If someone from

1:21:24that organization or that um

1:21:28Is it a council committee?

1:21:30>> Human Rights Commission?

1:21:30>> Commission. Someone from that commission

1:21:32wanted to attend this meeting. Are Is Is

1:21:34the public able to come and have a

1:21:36component of a hearing or public comment

1:21:39at the beginning of our meeting or in

1:21:40that discussion? Cuz I think it'd be

1:21:42relevant to have some of the city's

1:21:44organizations that are also looking at

1:21:45this

1:21:46be welcome to participate in a portion

1:21:48of that conversation maybe. Either at

1:21:50this next meeting or in the future, but

1:21:52I I was just curious how the logistics

1:21:54of a guest besides Henry who's great to

1:21:56come and join us in

1:21:58>> I think that

1:21:58>> that they'll speak as well.

1:22:00>> That becomes an agenda item. So, I think

1:22:02that what you're suggesting is that we

1:22:04invite the current chair of the Human

1:22:06Rights Commission to come and talk to

1:22:08us.

1:22:08>> I think it'd be helpful maybe for the

1:22:09context that you're describing what's

1:22:11happened in the past and where we stand.

1:22:13>> Okay.

1:22:14>> Madam Chair, just from a procedural

1:22:16point of view uh on

1:22:19doesn't the city manager appoint these

1:22:21people

1:22:23to the commissions?

1:22:25>> I think the city manager report appoints

1:22:27all of us as well as all of them. Yes.

1:22:30>> So, can I just I would think I would ask

1:22:33uh

1:22:35I'm going to support the motion, okay,

1:22:36but

1:22:37that we

1:22:38uh

1:22:40that we get a clearing up that that the

1:22:43city managers happy to have them come

1:22:45see us, okay? Because it let's put it

1:22:47right out on the table, okay? This is a

1:22:49very contentious issue, okay? And it's

1:22:52not going to go away, okay?

1:22:54Uh the city manager doesn't support it,

1:22:56okay? The council is discussing it. So,

1:23:00I would think let's talk about it, okay?

1:23:02But let them do let let's see where

1:23:03they're going with it on it and we can,

1:23:05you know, pipe in on what we think we

1:23:07should do,

1:23:08>> Okay.

1:23:09>> Form a motion, please. I'd appreciate

1:23:11that.

1:23:11>> Um so, I think what we're asking staff

1:23:14to do is let the city manager know that

1:23:18this item came up. That we realize that

1:23:21the Board of Health has a has already

1:23:23taken a stand on this issue in the past.

1:23:26Um and that we would be happy to be

1:23:29involved in the discussion and we would

1:23:31love to hear from other boards and

1:23:32commissions what they're thinking of. Is

1:23:34that fair?

1:23:37Okay.

1:23:42So, now I'm thinking we're looking at

1:23:44calendars.

1:23:48Uh um

1:23:51Yeah, so I think the uh

1:23:53the question is

1:23:55is that that

1:23:57that addendum to invite the Human Rights

1:23:59Commission to come here, does that need

1:24:01to be a separate motion?

1:24:04Okay.

1:24:06>> Yeah, yeah, why don't it doesn't hurt to

1:24:07make the motion, okay?

1:24:08>> Okay. So, so so I think what we're

1:24:10saying then is we're looking for a

1:24:12motion that says we would like staff to

1:24:14communicate with the city manager to let

1:24:16them know this came up and to tell the

1:24:18city manager we would like to be be to

1:24:20invite the Human Rights Commission to

1:24:22come to our meeting.

1:24:24Is that okay as a motion?

1:24:25>> It's perfect.

1:24:26>> Okay.

1:24:27Uh, so um

1:24:28>> So I I'll just say request the city

1:24:31uh

1:24:33request uh the administration be in

1:24:36communication with the city manager that

1:24:38the board is interested in meeting with

1:24:40the chair

1:24:41with members of the Human Rights

1:24:43Commission to discuss the issue of the

1:24:46civilian board.

1:24:50>> Thank you, Michael.

1:24:51>> You're welcome.

1:24:52>> Um Patrick, you want to vote on that?

1:24:55>> Patrick Lowe, yes.

1:24:57>> Joseph?

1:24:57>> Joseph Kwar, yes.

1:24:59>> Michael?

1:24:59>> Uh Michael Perrault, yes.

1:25:01>> And Frances Anthes, yes.

1:25:04Okay, thank you for that. Can we look at

1:25:07calendars? So I think we have a lot for

1:25:10our agenda

1:25:12at the next meeting.

1:25:14>> We intend to do that, Madam Chair, don't

1:25:15we?

1:25:16>> We um

1:25:17and um

1:25:19so September's funky. September 1st is

1:25:23before Labor Day

1:25:24um but the

1:25:26Labor Day is the first Monday and that's

1:25:28the 7th. So I'm thinking we won't meet

1:25:30on

1:25:31uh Labor Day and the Board of Health

1:25:33meeting then would be on the 14th.

1:25:36>> Madam Chair, I'll be traveling

1:25:39on business. I was hoping I would love

1:25:41to be at that meeting.

1:25:44>> Is there a different Monday when you're

1:25:47available?

1:25:47>> September 1st.

1:25:49Okay.

1:25:49>> September 1st is a Tuesday. It's also

1:25:51election day. So I'm not sure about

1:25:54that. Okay.

1:25:55>> Well

1:25:57>> Um so

1:25:58>> if I can, I'll join

1:26:01remotely.

1:26:02>> Would you rather do that or look for a

1:26:05different day?

1:26:06>> No.

1:26:07That's a good day for you folks. I'm

1:26:08going to be traveling quite a bit. So

1:26:10let I'll I'll be at that meeting

1:26:12remotely then.

1:26:13>> Okay.

1:26:13>> But I

1:26:14I got You remember the The time I was in

1:26:15California and I called up and then

1:26:17>> And it was the wrong time.

1:26:19>> Okay.

1:26:19>> Because of the time of the change in

1:26:21time. I'll make sure, okay?

1:26:24>> We will we will

1:26:24>> And if I can't make it I will call I

1:26:26will text you.

1:26:26>> We will we will clarify attendance for

1:26:29that meeting and and clarify time zones.

1:26:32Um so we will the Board of Health and

1:26:34will meet on the 14th of September.

1:26:37Okay, for folks?

1:26:38>> Yes.

1:26:39>> Sounds good.

1:26:39>> Okay. Then I think the only other thing

1:26:42is I'm looking for a motion to adjourn.

1:26:44>> Motion to adjourn, Madam Chair.

1:26:46>> Thank you, Michael. Uh Joseph?

1:26:48>> Yeah, I'm Joseph Corre, yes.

1:26:50>> Patrick?

1:26:50>> Patrick Lo, yes.

1:26:51>> Michael Prado, yes.

1:26:54>> Okay.

1:26:56Thank you very much for your time today.

1:27:00Thank you for coming, Lee. I appreciated

1:27:03Lee. Nick, thank you very much for

1:27:04coming.