SUMMARY MINUTES
CHAIRMAN’S/ BUDGET PRESENTATION MEETING
Indian River County Hospital District Conference Room/ Zoom
September 21, 2022
10:00 AM
TRUSTEES: Marybeth Cunningham Karen Deigl
Ann Marie McCrystal Barb Bodnar
Allen Jones- via Zoom
ABSENT: Kerry Bartlett
ZOOM: Ed Lowe Marie Andress
William Winns Vicki Soule
Dr. Mallon Caleigh Hansen
STAFF: Ann Marie Suriano Dawn Carboni
Kate Voss Jennifer Peshke, Esq.
Jennifer Frederick
ATTENDEES: Lundy Fields Bill Stewart
Pat Knipper Bill Stengel
Igor Kromov Megan McFall
Robi Robinson Jennifer Jones
Convene Meeting – Marybeth Cunningham, Chairwoman
Mrs. Cunningham convened the meeting of the IRCHD Board of Trustees at 1:00 PM by welcoming those participating via Zoom and in person.
We Care Executive Director Introduction- Robi Robinson
Mr. Robinson addressed the board and stated that he is pleased to introduce Jennifer Jones as the new We Care Executive Director effective September 1st. Ms. Jones stated that she has worked in the community for 20 years and recognizes many faces in the room today. She further stated that she looks forward to continuing her relationships within the community to help grow the We Care organization.
Additional Funding Request for Partners in Women’s Health- Megan McFall, Director of Women’s Health CCIRH
Ms. Cunningham stated an additional funding request from Partners has been submitted to the District in the amount $174,000 for FY 22-23, and that Ms. McFall is here to discuss the request. Ms. McFall addressed the board and stated that after a six-year effort, Partners is now eligible to enroll patients for Presumptive Eligibility for Pregnant Women (“PEPW”). She explained that presumptive eligibility allows a pregnant woman to receive temporary Medicaid coverage for prenatal care. Prior to CCIRH being approved for PEPW, a woman would have to conduct the approval process through the Health Department, which created an extra step in the cycle of care. Additionally, she was made aware of the comments that were made at the Gifford Health Center Advisory Committee meeting concerning care at Partners, specifically relating to women of color. Therefore, Healthy Start and Partners came together collaboratively to discuss these issues and formulate an action plan. She further explained that at tomorrow’s evening meeting, Ms. Berry and other representatives from Healthy Start will provide a presentation to the Trustees with an outline of the corrective action steps they have taken. Additionally, Ms. McFall has a meeting today with Ms. Soule from TCCH to discuss adding prenatal services at the GHC, and CCIRH is fully on board with supporting this initiative. There was group discussion and it was suggested that a summary of the corrective action steps that have been taken to address the concerns raised at the Gifford Health Center Advisory Committee meeting, be forwarded to that group as follow up. Ms. McFall indicated that she would prepare a summary and submit the same to the District for distribution.
Review and Discussion of CIRH Amended Lease Agreements- Jennifer Peshke, Esq.
Ms. Peshke stated that before the board for consideration at tomorrows regular monthly meeting is Resolution 2022-03, which approves and adopts three documents. Those documents are the First Amendment to the Amended and Restated Lease; Amendment to the Memorandum of Lease; and the First Amendment to the Declaration of Easements, Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions. She provided a historical review of the process and explained that following the CCIRH transaction in 2018, the District also entered into an amended and restated lease with the VNA for the Hospice House, to include additional vacant land along 37th street. This amended and restated lease also included an option to purchase for the VNA regarding the subject parcel. Due to the VNA moving forward with construction plans to build a new building on the property, it was determined by the District and the VNA counsel, as well as CCIRH counsel, that the agreements should be reviewed and revised to ensure all language in the documents met the parties’ intentions. Also, the Declaration is being amended to recognize the Hospice House as party with a right to participate in amendments to the Declaration of Easements, and to clarify a right of first refusal that the hospital held in the lease from 2018. Therefore Resolution 2022-03 will be presented at tomorrow’s regular monthly meeting for adoption. This will finalize the project and ensure all of the documents at issue between the District, the County, CCIRH, and the VNA are legally aligned. There was group discussion and the Trustees were in agreement to move forward with the adoption of the resolution and signing of the amended agreements.
Financial Assistance Database Update- Ann Marie Suriano
Ms. Suriano explained that over the last year there have been internal conversation with District staff concerning the financial assistance database and the value the system and process offers. Currently all fee for service funded agencies are required to upload a patient’s financial assistance application to the portal for review and approval by the District. The review and approval function has been split between Ms. Voss and Daphne Jacko, who works on a part time basis, and Ms. Frederick who manages the system and reporting aspects of the database. Ms. Suriano explained that due to the amount of time and effort current staff spends on the database, she believes hiring a person full time to manage all functions of the system would be the best option for the District, instead of the jobs being split up among staff. Additionally, District staff met with the funded agencies to obtain their feedback concerning the financial assistance process and database and all were in agreement that the database offers value to the qualification process and is a good way to keep patient qualification information in one place. Therefore Ms. Suriano requested that she be able to provide a job description of this position to the Trustees for consideration and begin the process to hire an individual. The Trustees agreed to her request.
GlobeChek Funding Request
Ms. Suriano stated that a proposal summary to continue and extend the offering of GlobeChek services was provided to the Trustees this morning via email for their consideration. The request included costs associated with GlobeChek, Whole Family Health, and TCCH. Mr. Jones has been working directly and has met several times with those parties, to come to an understanding on how to best move forward with the proposal. Dr. Mallon provided some subsequent information concerning the request, but due to technical issues with Zoom, it was difficult to understand some of his comments. Additionally, the other Trustees were not comfortable with considering a proposal given to them at such short notice. They also requested additional detailed information and a breakdown of costs associated with the request. Many felt that they did not fully understand what was being asked from them and that GlobeChek should complete a funding application like other funded agencies, as well, and complete a preaudit questionnaire screening. Ms. Suriano stated that she would reach out to the members of the group and relay the comments that were discussed at today’s meeting.
Public Comment & Adjourn
Mrs. Cunningham asked for public comment and there was none. The meeting was adjourned at 11:30 AM
