SUMMARY MINUTES
CHAIRMAN’S MEETING
Indian River County Hospital District Conference Room/ Zoom
November 17, 2021
10:00 AM
TRUSTEES: Marybeth Cunningham Allen Jones
Ann Marie McCrystal Karen Deigl
Michael Weiss Kerry Bartlett
ABSENT: Barbara Bodnar
STAFF: Ann Marie Suriano Jennifer Frederick
Kate Voss Jennifer Peshke, Esq.
Convene Meeting – Marybeth Cunningham, Chairwoman
Mrs. Cunningham convened the Chairman’s meeting of the IRCHD Board of Trustees at 10:00 AM by welcoming those participating via Zoom and in person.
Strategic Visioning Status Report- Mark Lynch & Jim Starr
Mr. Lynch provided a brief update on the progress made with the strategic visioning process over the past several weeks. They have reviewed the informational documents that the district provided to them and have implemented surveys for feedback. One survey was provided to the Trustees for response and the other was sent out to community stakeholders and grantees. The district staff completed a survey as well. The team is now pulling together materials for the upcoming discussion around visioning and will summarize the findings from the surveys that were sent out and provide those to the Trustees and Ms. Suriano. Additionally, they are finalizing the agenda for the Trustee retreat on December 7th and they look forward to meeting everyone in the next few weeks. Mr. Starr added that the team has designed a very interactive session for the retreat to make sure they have participation and engagement in the process.
CCIRH Mental Health Insurance Outpatient Program Update- Anne Posey & Karissa Bolden
Ms. Bolden introduced herself and stated that she is the program manager for the Adolescent Intensive Outpatient Program (“IOP”). She is a licensed mental health counselor in the state of Florida and her background is working in corrections, where she was the clinical director at a maximum-security correction facility for teenage girls ages 13-21. She was also the executive director for a non-profit agency that fought against human sex trafficking. She stated that she is thrilled to be working with this program and explained that this is an intermediate level of care that Indian River County has not had previously. She began her presentation and explained that all the clinicians are Dialectical Behavior Therapy (“DBT”) certified and have gone through an extensive training course to make sure they truly understand the components of the therapy. She explained that DBT is a modified type of cognitive behavioral therapy. Its main goals are to teach people how to live in the moment, develop healthy ways to cope with stress, regulate their emotions, and improve their relationships with others. DBT was originally intended to treat borderline personality disorder, but it has been adapted to treat other mental health conditions. She further explained that the IOP is now at full capacity, and they currently are treating 12 adolescents. She discussed the referral process and stated that clients are referred to the program though collaborative efforts with the Indian River County School District, Mental Health Association, and CCIRH Behavioral Health Center. The IOP staff is made up of 6 clinical caregivers who use evidence-based treatment modalities. The primary treatment modality is group therapy which takes place three times a week 3 hours a day. Those group sessions take place after school, so that is not disruptive to the student’s school day. Some group sessions work on life skills, substance abuse recovery, and DBT skills. Additionally, they hold a weekly parent’s workshop, which has provided the parents with personal involvement in the program, along with support. There is also a weekly newsletter that is sent out to the parents as well. Ms. Bolden then reviewed the preliminary outcome measurers for the program which have shown the patients experience better outcomes in mood and feelings, when engaged in the program. Lastly, she discussed the community collaboration component to the program and stated that they have presented to and/or met with more than a dozen organizations within the community to educate them on this program. She stated that without the support of the District and other community collaborators, this program would not be in existence. There was Trustee discussion surrounding the presentation and the Trustees are thrilled at the positive outcomes this far and they looking forward to future updates concerning the program.
TCCH Semi Annual Update- Vicki Soule, CEO
Ms. Soule provided the Trustees with an update concerning TCCH and reviewed highlights from 2020-2021. She provided data relating to COVID and stated that TCCH provided almost 12,000 COVID tests and administered 25,500 COVID vaccines to the community. Additionally, HRSA recognized TCCH as on of the top 6% of all Community Health Centers for vaccine distribution. She then discussed additional areas of services for patients including the Maternal Opioid Recovery Effort (“MORE”) to improve maternal and fetal outcomes. Additionally, TCCH has provided a health and wellness coordinator to Dodgertown Elementary which is part of their 25-year community partnership commitment. They are also providing medical services to inmates at the Indian River County jail. Lastly, they are working to open an ophthalmology space within one of their clinics, to provide affordable optical services to their patients. She then reviewed patient satisfaction data from the fourth quarter which showed consistent scoring of over 90%. Next, she reviewed volumes and patient data for medical, dental and behavioral health. Lastly, she discussed the fact that TCCH did exceed their FY 20–21year budget and she believes that during this next year, they will see additional increase in volumes. There was Trustee discussion and it was asked whether TCCH would collaborate with GlobeChek to provide ophthalmology services. Ms. Soule stated that currently GlobeChek does not have the financial support from its Foundation to support providing that service to TCCH, but she is open to future collaborative efforts should they present themselves. There were also discussions surrounding the impending mandate from CMS, to require all healthcare agencies who are recipients of Medicare or Medicaid, to require employees be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. She indicated that this has presented some challenges as they do not want to lose staff and are working to be compliant with the mandate, while supporting their staff’s personal choice. She thanked the Trustees for their continued support.
Other Business
Mr. Jones stated that he would be meeting today with Robi Robinson from We Care, to discussed the new We Care model. He asked if any Trustees had any feedback or questions, they would like him to pass along. Additionally, there was discussion that a meeting is also scheduled with Robi, Mrs. Suriano, Mrs. McCrystal and Dr. Mackett to discuss the specialty referral process, along with the questions surrounding Vero Radiology and its policy and process through CCIRH.
Public Comment & Adjourn
Mrs. Cunningham asked for public comment and there was none. The meeting was adjourned at 11:40 AM
