SUMMARY MINUTES
CHAIRMAN’S MEETING
Indian River County Hospital District
October 16, 2019
10:00 AM
TRUSTEES: Michael Weiss Tracey Zudans
Ann Marie McCrystal Karen Deigl
Marybeth Cunningham Allen Jones
Barbara Bodnar
STAFF: Ann Marie Suriano Jennifer Peshke, Esq.
Jennifer Frederick Kate Voss
OTHER ATTENDEES: Marie Andress Michelle Genz
Vicki Soule James Large
Lundy Fields Myra Weiss
Convene Meeting – Marybeth Cunningham, Chairwoman
Mrs. Cunningham convened the Chairman’s meeting of the IRCHD at 10:00 AM by welcoming those in attendance.
Gifford Health Center Advisory Committee Update- Tracey Zudans
Ms. Zudans provided an update concerning the Gifford Health Center Advisory Committee. She stated that the committee met on October 3 and Dr. Nancy Baker has been chosen as the community physician, for the committee. Further, an emergency phone tree was created by Healthy Start, which outlines emergency protocol and provides contact information of those in charge at the Gifford Health Center. She further discussed information relative to Healthy Start, TCCH, and We Care, which all operate out of the center. Overall, TCCH patient volumes have increased and they are having success with community outreach efforts. Additionally, she informed the Trustees that a Resource Fair with over 30 healthcare related vendors will take place at the Gifford Youth Achievement Center, and she invited the Trustees to attend. She stated that the Trustees may also schedule a tour of the Gifford Health Center, to meet the new staff and see the clinic.
Legislative Update – Tracey Zudans
Ms. Zudans informed the Trustees that she met with Florida House Representative Erin Grall, to discuss matters concerning the upcoming Legislative session. Some items relative to the District include mental health initiatives and parental rights in regards to delivery of health services in a school setting. Additionally, Senate Bill 64, which would jeopardize the current religious exemptions for vaccinations in children, is a topic that has been heavily debated prior to this legislative session and will remain so. Ms. Zudans stated that she will continue to remain updated on any legislative matters and will report on any matters relative to healthcare or important to the District. Ms. Grall indicated to Ms. Zudans, that she would be happy to meet individually with any Trustees who may have any specific concerns for this upcoming session.
Reserve Investment Strategy – Marybeth Cunningham
Mrs. Cunningham stated that as the District moves away from funding Cleveland Clinic over the next few years, there will be more excess public funds for the stewardship of the Trustees to manage. It is important to note that it is not anticipated that the District will have permanent excess funds but may have more funds than necessary to meet its obligations in any given fiscal year. There was further Trustee discussion and Ms. Peshke indicated that she had included a memo within the Chairman’s meeting packet outlining the legal requirements and parameters, which govern the District for this matter. Mr. Jones stated that he prepared an investment policy for the Trustees to review and consider. Mrs. Peshke indicated that while a policy is typically used in making investments, it is not a requirement of the District and a formal resolution on the matter would suffice. The Trustees agreed to allow Ms. Suriano and Mr. Jones to meet with a few competitive vendors and report back to the board with their findings in the coming months.
District Property Ownership Discussion- Tracey Zudans
Ms. Zudans stated that she requested to have the District owned property as a discussion item included on this month’s Chairman’s agenda. She would like to see the District sell or transfer ownership of some land and asked Ms. Suriano to create a list of the District owned property for the Trustees to review and discuss. There was further Trustee discussion concerning this matter and it was decided that there would need to be discussion with representatives at Cleveland Clinic, due to the lease agreement terms regarding the property. There will be more discussion on this matter in the next months.
District Annual Report and Learning Agenda- Ann Marie Suriano
Ms. Suriano stated the District staff has prepared a draft annual report for the Trustees review and input. This report will be distributed to other county organizations and District funded agencies. The report outlines who and what the District is, along with achievements and outcomes from fiscal year 2018-2019. There was Trustee discussion concerning the same and they offered some additional changes to the report, which Ms. Voss will implement.
Additionally, Ms. Suriano review the proposed learning agenda which outlines some education opportunities for the Trustees over the next fiscal year. The most recent opportunity will be a presentation on population health given by Dr. Edelman of Cleveland Clinic Florida, which will take place at the end of November.
Further, Ms. Cunningham indicated that she and Ms. Suriano met with representatives from the Indian River County School Board to discuss mental health mandates imposed by the State, along with future funding opportunities. They also discussed holding a joint meeting with other county leaders to look at who is funding what programs in the county and ways to collaborate and reduce duplicate spending. She will keep the Trustees informed on this ongoing matter.
Program Liaison Update- Jennifer Frederick
Ms. Frederick provider her program liaison report and stated that all but two agencies have returned their funding agreements with the District for fiscal year 2019-2020. She reviewed data concerning the District patient portal and estimates there are 16 new application uploaded per day. District staff will continue to approve the new applications, as well as review and approve any renewal applications uploaded. Lastly, she indicated that she and Ms. Jacko visited The Source and spoke with clients there about the District’s financial assistance program and getting them qualified to receive services.
Other Business-
Ms. Deigl stated that the Cleveland Clinic integrity committee, which she was appointed to sit on as a District Trustee, will meet on November 16th. She will provide an update on the same to the Trustees at the next Chairman’s meeting.
Public Comment & Adjourn
There was no public comment, and the meeting was adjourned at 12:00 PM
