SUMMARY MINUTES
Chairman’s Meeting
Indian River County Hospital District
Hospital District Conference Room
June 20, 2018
10:00 AM
TRUSTEES: Marybeth Cunningham Allen Jones
Ann Marie McCrystal Tracey Zudans
Dr. Michael Weiss Karen Deigl
EXCUSED: Barbara Bodnar
STAFF: Jennifer Frederick Jennifer Peshke, Esq.
Kate Voss Ann Marie Suriano
OTHER ATTENDEES: Monisola Oni, MD Steven Trooboff
Michelle Genz Miranda Hawker
Robert Gilbreath James Burgdorfer
Myra Weiss Lundy Fields
Convene Meeting – Marybeth Cunningham, Chairwoman
Mrs. Cunningham convened the monthly chairman’s meeting of the IRCHD at 10:00 AM by welcoming those in attendance.
Whole Family Health- Steven Trooboff, Board Chair- Whole Family Health
Mr. Trooboff, Chairman of the Whole Family Health Board of Directors, provided a historical review of the program. He stated that Whole Family Health Center became a reality in April, 2013 with group of individuals from the Treasure Coast who decided to expand the scope of service at their existing medical facility. The Center would offer primary care services to the community regardless of patient’s socio-economic status and ability to pay. The health center occupies two medical practices, one in Fort Pierce and the other in Vero Beach. Additionally, Whole Family Health is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation. Currently there are 51 staff members and contracted employees under the guidance and direction of a Board of Directors. Mr. Trooboff stated that Whole Family Health Center relies on partnerships with community leaders, hospitals, physicians, and the patients they serve, to help enable the development of new ideas and resources to ensure total care for people. He further reviewed data concerning the payor mix and patient population information. He further discussed the centers work with HIV patients which has been a critical in a treating those with the disease.
Dr. Oni, Medical Director at Whole Family Health has been with the center for four years. She provided the Trustees an idea of the types of patients they serve and discussed their work in pediatrics which assists in childhood obesity, behavioral health issues and child safety. She further discussed the centers pending initiatives which include a dental program.
Mr. Trooboff explained that the center is currently conducting search for a new CEO and hopes to have someone hired in the next few months. Additionally, they are going to meet with the UP Center to have a representative present at the lactation a few days a week to provide additional assistance.
Mr. Jones asked what the main payor source was to Whole Family. Mr. Trooboff indicated that mainly the population is Medicaid and Medicare. Other patients are placed on a sliding fee scale and in some cases, they receive no reimbursement for the service they provide.
Mrs. McCrystal asked what cooperation they with local organization for specialty care services. Dr. Oni stated that Whole Family has strong referral team who works to get the patients to a specialist. They also utilize indigent care coverage through the hospital. In some cases, patients are referred out of the county.
Discussion on FY 2018-2019 Budget- Ann Marie Suriano, Executive Director
Mrs. Suriano stated that the document distributed is a breakdown of each funded agencies fiscal year 2018-2019 budget request, along with the projected amount of funds they will spend in the current year. At this time, she offered to further discuss the budget with the Trustees if they have specific questions.
Mr. Jones discussed the request for the Gifford Health Center and reviewed the current expenditures which total $6,000. Being that the request is so low, he questioned whether the facility is being used to its full potential. He explained that currently the center is used exclusively for pediatrics, but most patients do not qualify under the District guidelines and are Medicaid eligible. He feels the center should be providing a greater impact than what it is currently, to the area. Mr. Jones stated that Ms. Hawker indicated she has future plans to include a nurse from Healthy Start at the Center, along with some additional programs. He asked the Health Department to prepare a proposal of their plans for the center and present the same to the District for consideration. Mr. Jones also stated that he plans to conduct some research of his own and asked the Trustees if they would support his efforts. The Trustees agreed that this is a matter that needs reviewed and supported Mr. Jones working with the Health Department on the proposal. The Trustees had further discussion concerning the history of the center and the Districts involvement with building the facility.
Dr. Weiss discussed the hospitals funding request and stated he felt it was high considering the pending Cleveland Clinic partnership, which could potentially be implemented half way through the fiscal year. He believes that Cleveland Clinic will be funding most of the indigent care and does not feel the District should fund IRMC’s full request. Many of the other Trustees disagreed with his comments and felt that the District will need fund the hospital at its current level regardless of the pending partnership. Mrs. Peshke indicated that there is also the Indigent Care Agreement in place between the District and the hospital, which they must honor as well. Additionally, the Trustees discussed that they are required to approve a tentative budget in July which cannot be increased. Therefore, if they needed to add additional funding to the budget, they would not be able to, thus unable to support the needs of the community. Ms. Deigl requested that Mrs. Frederick prepare a summary of each funding request for the Trustees to review, prior to next months meeting.
Mr. Jones discussed the increase to the Partners program budget. He explained that the funding requested has increased by $375,520 due to the following reasons. The clinic added an additional physician to help fill the critical community shortage in OB/GYN services. Further, they will add a nurse practitioner at the Gifford Health Center. Lastly, IRMC conducted a review of employee salaries and they were increased to 50% of the state average.
There was further Trustee discussion concerning the tentative budget and it was discovered that a few funding requests were inadvertently left off the document. Mrs. Frederick indicated she and Mrs. Suriano would update the sheet and send out the revised document to the Trustees for review as soon as possible. Further, the Trustees agreed to hold a special meeting to further discuss the budget on July 11 at 2:00 PM. The meeting is open to the public.
Other Business-
Mrs. Zudans requested an update concerning the District office space. Mrs. Suriano stated that the District lease dose not end until December, 2021 and that she prepared a demand letter to building management with the assistance of Ms. Peshke. The letter outlines her concerns with the air quality and water damaged carpet. Ms. Peshke indicated once the letter is sent, the District must give management ample time to remedy the situation and fulfil the request. If they do not respond, the District will proceed with other options to terminate the lease. The Trustees discussed the potential of utilizing office space at the Gifford Health Center or the Human Services building, which is currently home to the VNA.
Public Comment-
Mr. Bob Galbraith, community member, asked if there were any health agencies who provided indigent care that are open on the weekends or after 7:00 PM. He believes extended hours would be beneficial to the community and have a potential to reduce the use of the emergency department for non-emergent visits. Ms. Cunningham stated that the District received feedback on this matter and most funded agencies felt that extending operating hours would not be cost effective or reduce ED usage.
Adjourn- The meeting was adjourned at 11:30 AM
