SUMMARY MINUTES
CHAIRMAN’S MEETING
Indian River County Hospital District Conference Room/ Zoom
April 14, 2021
10:00 AM
TRUSTEES: Marybeth Cunningham Barbara Bodnar
Ann Marie McCrystal Allen Jones
Karen Deigl Michael Weiss
ABSENT: Kerry Bartlett
STAFF: Ann Marie Suriano Jennifer Frederick
Kate Voss Jennifer Peshke, Esq.
Convene Meeting – Marybeth Cunningham, Chairwoman
Mrs. Cunningham convened the Chairman’s and Budget Discussion meeting of the IRCHD Board of Trustees at 1:00 PM by welcoming those participating via Zoom and in person.
FY 21-22 Funding Request Overview- Jennifer Frederick, Program Liaison
Mrs. Frederick stated that she created a summary overview of the 2021-2022 fiscal year agency funding requests that were received. A total of 18 funding applications were received, which included a new agency, Dynamic Life. Additionally, there are six new program requests from current funded agencies. She further explained that Healthy Start and Childcare Resources are at today’s meeting to discuss their funding requests, which have increased from last fiscal year. She provided the Trustees with executive summaries from both requests for their review prior to today’s presentation.
FY 21-22 Funding Requests-
Healthy Start Coalition IRC- Andrea Berry, Executive Director
Mrs. Berry reviewed the executive summary for the Healthy Start funding request for fiscal year 21-22. She stated that due to COVID-19, Healthy Start was unable to hold their annual fundraiser which provides much of the funds used to operate its many programs. Therefore, they have been actively engaging in many other avenues to receive philanthropic funding. She further stated that much of the reason for this increased ask is in response to programmatic growth. She stated that in reviewing the trends within Indian River County, she believes that the county could be at risk of seeing a rise in infant and fetal death in response to the economic impacts of COVID-19. In preparation for these impacts, Healthy Start will be reinforcing its staff and expanding programs. However, they currently have a demand for services, but less funding to give. Healthy Start is requesting $638,000 which is a $413,000 increase from last fiscal year. She reviewed the staff and program enhancements within their funding request in detail and took questions from Trustees as they arose. The Trustees asked for an itemized breakdown of the additional employees and their salaries within the request, to review further. Mrs. Frederick stated that she would provide this follow up information to the Trustees, once it is received.
Childcare Resources- Shannon Bowman, Executive Director
Mrs. Bowman introduced her team to the board and thanked the Trustees for their continued support, specifically with the Wellness Program which began in 2017 from solely District funding. She provided a brief review of the Wellness Program over the last few years. She stated that at the beginning of the third year of the program, Childcare Resources added a Wellness Coordinator and Child Life Specialist to their staff. This addition has been crucial to the growth of the program in many ways. She also discussed their collaborative efforts with other agencies within the community, with whom they work with, to provide support to those families who are in crisis. Childcare Resources is requesting $116,791 in funding for the program which is an increase of $56,554 over last fiscal year. There was further group discussion surrounding their request and the funding increase needed to help support the continuation of the program.
VNA New Building Project Semi Annual Update- Lundy Fields, CEO & Annabel Robertson,
Mrs. Robertson addressed the group stating that their team has been working diligently on this project, and per the lease agreement, she is here to provide a semi-annual update. For the premilitary design phase they have hired architects, engineers, and consultants to create a design concept. There have been various meetings with these groups and their board of directors to discuss these plans moving forward. She presented to the Trustees large display boards which showed the proposed design concept for the building and discussed the various areas of the site plan. Mrs. Cunningham stated that when this proposal was first brought before the Trustees, it was discussed that two buildings would be built with one housing the VNA operations and the other to be utilized as a community education center. After reviewing the site plans presented today, it appears that the community education center would not be initially constructed with the main building for the VNA. Mr. Fields stated that the discussion for a community education center were contingent upon participation and a financial commitment from Cleveland Clinic, and at this time Cleveland Clinic is unable to make a financial commitment to the project. He further discussed the VNA’s fundraising feasibility survey and the feedback he received from potential donors. The donors felt it was best to begin the funding campaign with a focus on building the VNA’s operations headquarters first. Once the momentum of the fundraising campaign begins, they hope to gain further support for the education center. Ms. Deigl expressed her disappointment in Mr. Fields response. She stated that when the VNA approached the District about building this project on the District’s land, which is public land, it was explained that this education center would be a part of the buildout and in turn benefiting the entire community, not just one entity. Mr. Fields stated that the VNA has a five-year preferred provider agreement with Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital (“CCIRH”) that incorporates all of the VNA’s service lines. He indicated that this is a strong contractual agreement and the VNA is the number one receiver of referrals from the hospital. There was further discussion surrounding the relevancy of the Cleveland Clinic partnership and the future developments on the land. During the initial discussion surrounding this project, the Trustees were not aware that the community education centers development was contingent on support from CCIRH. Mr. Fields indicated that CCIRH involvement with the education center was due to the fact that they would be utilizing most of the center for educational purposes for staff. Mr. Fields stated that the VNA is still committed to building the education center and that its construction would most likely take place in Phase 2 of this project. However, the initial focus and fundraising campaign will be on the creation of the VNA’s operations headquarters. He also clarified that there would be community space within the VNA’s headquarters for community use. There was further Trustee discussion surrounding this matter and the future developments of the property.
Other Business-
Mrs. Cunningham stated that the John’s Island Community Service League has committed to funding the Mental Health IOP with $50,000 each year, for the next three years. The Community Foundation is also working through their budget seeking equal financial support. Mrs. Suriano stated that Ann Posey from CCIRH will address the Trustees next month at the budget request presentation to discuss their funding request for the IOP. Mrs. Suriano anticipates that they will be requesting approximately $200,000 in funding.
Public Comment & Adjourn
Mrs. Cunningham asked for public comment and there was none. The meeting was adjourned at 2:00 PM.
