SUMMARY MINUTES
CHAIRMAN’S MEETING
Indian River County Hospital District Conference Room/ Zoom
May 22, 2024
TRUSTEES: Marybeth Cunningham Barb Bodnar Michael Kint Paul Westcott
William Cooney Karen Deigl
Kerry Bartlett
STAFF: Dawn Carboni Jennifer Frederick
Kate Voss Frank Isele
Jennifer Peshke, Esq. Kaytlin Dickens
ZOOM: Deborah Shellenberger Raquel Rivas
Lisa Zahner Ann Marie McCrystal Nancee Long Marie Andress Anne Posey
ATTENDEES: Vicki Soule Erin Refsland Gerri Rorick John Rorick Rick Cancelosi Steve Bell Tiffany Barley Wayne Creelman JoAnn Hitt Shannon Maitland Elide Gomez Michael Davis Mike Cianci George Pellington Lauretta Farrell Vicki Soule Kellie Hensley Vickie Johnson Chriss Papayannis
Convene Meeting
Ms. Cunningham convened the meeting of the IRCHD Board of Trustees at 10:00 AM by welcoming those participating via Zoom and in person.
Update on District HR Policies & Handbook- Donna D’Alfonso, President, HR Dynamics, Inc.
Ms. D’Alfonso addressed the board and stated that she was brought in to do an assessment of the overall HR policies and procedures within the District. She also conducted an assessment of staff’s engagement and overall satisfaction with their employment, and assessment results exceeded best practice benchmarks. Lastly, she stated that she worked with staff to update the employee handbook, which needed some additional compliance and best practices language added. She explained that she has finished her work with the District but is always available should they need further assistance with HR duties in the future. The Trustees were pleased with the outcomes and felt this was a good exercise to have completed due to the change in leadership that took place over the last year.
FY 24-25 Funding Request Presentation-
A Caring Center for Women – Gerri Rorick, Executive & Development Director
Ms. Rorick addressed the board and thanked the District staff for their visit to the Center several weeks ago. She provided an overview of the organization and the services they offer to women in the community. She further explained that due to increased demand for additional services they are expanding in an effort to strengthen wellness and prenatal care being provided. She reviewed the funding requested of $260,000, which would allow them to hire additional medical staff to support the expansion. There was Trustee discussion surrounding the request and how the funding would be disbursed. Most felt that reimbursement should be provided on a fee-for-service basis, so the clients served could be tracked. It was also noted that the executive director and treasurer for the organization are married and how this could be considered a conflict of interested. However, it was noted that neither individual collects a salary, and both serve on a volunteer basis.
Literacy Services – Shannon Maitland, Executive Director
Ms. Maitland addressed the board and introduced some of her staff who were present at today’s meeting, which included Elida Gomez, their community engagement coordinator and JoAnn Hitt the board chair. She provided an overview of the funding request, which totaled $34,500 to support their Health Literacy for Adults program in the county. She discussed their client population and stated that they work collaboratively with TCCH, United Against Poverty and the Red Cross. They also have partnerships with Indian River State College and Treasure Coast Technical College who refer students to Literacy Services when they need more extensive vocabulary, prior to entering the vocational/college programs. There was Trustee discussion and many questioned how this program could be tracked and measured to show outcomes. Ms. Maitland stated that one of the main objectives of this program is to teach health literacy, which includes being able to understand and complete medical paperwork, fill and pick up prescriptions, and understand doctor instructions and orders. Having literacy in these areas would improve health outcomes as clients would be able to better manage their healthcare needs. She further explained that progress will be tracked in the LACES program database and the tutors’ complete monthly reports, which are entered into the database. These monthly reports track students’ advancements in educational pursuits, language skills, and other relevant literacy goals.
Dynamic Life – Mike Cianci, Program Grants & Certifications Manager
Mr. Cianci thanked the Trustees for their continued support of the Mark 2 Scholarship program and stated that today he was here to discuss their new request for support of their mental health counseling program. Mr. Cianci discussed the funding request, which totaled $48,000 to support the program and explained the positive impact these services have had for the clients at Dynamic. He discussed the current funding structure of the program and informed the Trustees that last September, the Handley Center, who provided reimbursement for the mental health counseling program, stated that they were reducing their support due to restructuring of their grant funds. Therefore, they made the decision to include some funding support for this program in their request for the fiscal year 2024-25. However, just a week ago, they were informed that Handley has now ceased funding the program entirely, which will leave them in a deficit for the current fiscal year. Additionally, Mr. Davis explained that they are also owed back billed reimbursement from Handley of approximately $3,000. There as Trustee discussion and based on the information provided surrounding the departure of support from Handley, it was discovered that Dynamic Life would need to amend their funding request to include the full amount of funding needed to support the program. There was discussion surrounding how they could amend the request and Ms. Frederick stated that she would need board approval in order to open the eC Impact portal for the adjustment. After further Trustee discussion Mr. Westcott made a motion to approve the adjustment of Dynamic Life’s funding request within the eC Impact portal. The motion was seconded by Ms. Cunningham and carried unanimously. It was also suggested that Mr. Cianic look at their current needs and bring forth a proposal for additional funding for the current fiscal year.
82nd Ave Property/HSB & VCOM Discussion
Ms. Cunningham stated that the proposal originally sent out to the Trustees last week from Cleveland Clinic regarding the 82nd Ave parcel, was not intended to be sent and had only been discussed at a high level with Dr. Peter. However, Cleveland Clinic would like to continue conversations with the District about future usage of the 82nd Ave parcel and a possible land swap for use of the HSB. There was Trustee discussion surrounding some community effort to turn use some of the land into workforce housing but many of the Trustees felt that the District should not be entering into housing development. There was also discussion surrounding the lack of zoning in the community designated for healthcare, which is needed west of town, and if a representative from the board should reach out to the county planning and zoning to see what the future development plans look like, to support this need.
Next there was discussion surrounding the future use of the HSB and the potential partnership with VCOM. Ms. Cunningham stated that the board has been discussing this matter for over a year now and believes that some decisions should be made so that they can move forward. Mr. Isele discussed the building, its current condition, and the overall cost to maintain the same, which is approximately $45,000 a year. There was in-depth Trustee discussion with regard to a partnership VCOM and the lack of commitment from CCIRH to have residency program which would support the medical school. There was also in-depth discussion surrounding the possibility of the District and CCIRH engaging in a land swap which would incorporate the HSB into the current lease with CCIRH, in exchange for 25 acres of land on 82nd Ave for the District to utilize. Mr. Westcott stated that he would like to obtain a fair market value rental figure for the HSB, to see what the potential income for the District could be and an informed decision for the tax payer. There was further Trustee discussion and each voiced their opinion with regards to incorporating the HSB into the existing lease with CCIRH and other potential use for the property. Some would like a new lease agreement to be drafted, with the potential to charge rent and others were supportive of incorporating it into the existing lease agreement. In an effort to move forward with this matter, Ms. Bodnar made a motion to approach CCIRH about their interest in leasing the HSB parcel and coming back to the District with a proposal for the District Trustees consideration, which was second by Ms. Deigl. The motion carried unanimously.
Update Women’s Sober Living Property
Ms. Deigl provided an update regarding the search for and potential purchase of property to be used as a women’s sober living facility in the county. She and Mr. Isele and Ms. Peshke have been working with realtor T.P. Kennedy to find other potential properties, since it was decided that property located at 1766 20th Avenue was unsuitable for a sober living facility due to zoning restrictions. The District put in an offer for the properties located at 620 and 650 10th Street in Vero Beach owned by the Children’s Home Society and are waiting for a response from the seller. Ms. Peshke stated that she was told that she would hear back from the sellers today and would update the board with any new information.
Public Comment & Adjourn
There was no further business and Ms. Cunningham asked for public comment. There was no further public comment, and the meeting was adjourned at 12:15 p.m.
