SUMMARY MINUTES
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY HOSPITAL DISTRICT
REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING
County Commissioner Chambers/ Zoom
February 17, 2022 @ 4:00 PM
TRUSTEES: Karen Deigl Allen Jones
Ann Marie McCrystal Kerry Bartlett
Barb Bodnar
ABSENT: Marybeth Cunningham
STAFF: Kate Voss Jennifer Frederick
Jennifer Peshke, Esq. Ann Marie Suriano
Dawn Carboni
ATTENDEES:
Samantha Messina Eric Garza
William Cooney, M.D. Andrea Greenlee
Mary Mercado Abby Walters
Vicki Soule
Convene Meeting – Kerry Bartlett, Vice Chair
Ms. Bartlett convened the regular monthly meeting of the IRCHD at 4:00 PM by welcoming those in attendance and via Zoom. Reverend Bingham provided the invocation and Ms. Bartlett led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Consent Agenda- Kerry Bartlett, Vice Chair
Ms. Bartlett asked for a motion to approve the consent agenda which was made by Mrs. McCrystal and seconded by Mr. Jones The motion carried unanimously.
District Counsel Report – Jennifer Peshke, Esq.
Ms. Peshke provided her counsel report and stated that she continues to review the annual deadlines and deliverables due to the District under the Lease with CCIRH. She is also actively following the current legislative session for bills related to Hospital Districts and with regard to the sunshine law and public records act and will bring forth information when necessary. Additionally, the right of way transaction with the County and she is working with Cleveland Clinic’s counsel and the VNA’s counsel to amend the existing Agreements the District and the hospital entered into in 2018 to reflect these changes. Lastly, she is looking into how a potential county ordinance change regarding stormwater retention may impact the IRC floodplain and stormwater code changes as it relates to the property the Hospital District owns with regard to the hospital campus and will report out more on this matter as it develops.
Financial Statement Review- Allen Jones, Treasurer
Mr. Jones provided his report and stated that the District is in solid financial condition. Through January 31st, the District has received over 90% of the anticipated property tax revenues and thanked the taxpayers for their prompt payments. The most recent financial statement shows deposits of $414,000 and investments with WaterWalker of a little over $15.4 million. These investments year to date have yielded a trivial $2,391 in interest. However, the Federal Reserve has announced a plan to raise short-term interest rates beginning in March and this should have a significant impact on the District’s investments in the future. He further explained that the Auditors led by Kip Jacoby have completed the annual audit review for the District and it was a clean audit, and the District has a net position of a little over $5.8 million. This means despite the overall millage rate trending down over 28% from five years ago, there is enough funds available to implement expanded services that the strategic visioning process may discover. This will also afford the District to continue the trend of reducing the millage rate in the next fiscal year.
Executive Director Report- Ann Marie Suriano, Executive Director
Mrs. Suriano stated that she provided a written report to the Trustees and would discuss a few highlights from the same. She provided her recommendations for the renewal of the Districts health insurance and asked that the Trustees forward any questions or comments to her as soon as possible. She then explained that District staff was notified from the Governor’s Appointments office and the Governor declined to make an appointment to fill vacant Trustee seat 7. This means that the seat will remain vacant until the November election. Seats 1,2,4, and 6 are also up for election as well. Anyone wishing to file should contact the Supervisor of Elections office for more information. Lastly, she stated that she met with the representative from Verizon concerning their interest in placing a cell tower on the District property located on 37th street. The Trustees had additional questions and concerns regarding this matter and asked Mrs. Suriano to gather more information for their consideration.
Funded Agencies Semi-Annual Reports-
Hope for Families Center- Marty Mercado
Ms. Mercado addressed the board and introduced the other members of her team, present at today’s meeting. She stated that after her 90 days with the organization she took the opportunity to restructure many areas at the center to improve overall function and support provided at the center. She also hired an additional case manager who specializes in the field of finding affordable housing. She explained that the biggest struggle they are facing is that residents have severe and persistent mental health problems and they are unable to fully support and treat these issues. Currently, there is a waitlist of 23. Additionally, the average length of stay for families has increased from 3 months to 9 months, due to the fact that they are unable to find affordable housing. She explained that if a family does not have a safe and long-term solution for housing, they will not discharge them from the center. She also explained that Ray, an outreach worker has been working closely with the black population to help them become more comfortable with accessing services and he has had great success in the area. Their plans moving forward are to incorporate a mental health evaluation tool for families to complete, which will help in providing better support to the families. Additionally, they are looking to hire a mental health counselor who will be on staff full time to work with the families and children.
Senior Collaborative IRC – Vicki Soule, Chair
Ms. Soule stated that she is here on behalf of Mr. Riley who was unable to attend tonight’s meeting. Also present was Abby Walters who is the Chair of Livable Indian River. Ms. Soule provided a review of the scope of services and stated that the collaborative now has 500 members. She discussed the website database which offers information to a wide range of services for seniors and their families. Next, she reviewed data concerning who is utilizing the information and stated that 67% of the calls that are received are from seniors and 33% are made on behalf of seniors. She then discussed the initiatives for 2022 and stated that they just kicked off an awareness campaign and increased advertising on radio, print, social media, and online webpages. They continue to work collaboratively with TCCH, Mental Health Collaborative, United Against Poverty, and other community agencies that provide services to seniors. Next Ms. Walters discussed Livable Indian River and its action plan for 2022. Their 3 main goals are to help improve the mental health of individuals; ensure individuals attain and maintain a healthy weight; promote support resources to improve well being of older adults. Each goal has its own objective and steps and Ms. Walters reviewed the same with the Trustees.
Tykes & Teens- Eric Garza
Mr. Garza thanked the Trustees for supporting Tykes & Teens. He introduced his team which included Andrea Greenlee who provided an update to the Trustees regarding the CLASS program. She explained that there have been struggles administering the CLASS program within the schools due to many factors. One of those is attendance and students not being present on the days when the CLASS therapist is at their school. There are also issues with parent engagement and support. They have discovered that many of the children are already receiving some type of mental health services on their own and have a connection with a provider. Therefore, they are focusing their efforts on the group classes that support social and emotional learning. They also disused utilizing the universal release form which the District helped create, which will help reduce any barriers to care. This will allow them to report any issues to other mental health agencies that are involved with the treatment of the same client and provide a better continuum of care. Currently, they are actively looking for one therapist to fill the therapist role at ACE and Gifford Middle School. Mr. Garza stated that the true design of this program has shifted and they are working to provide other ancillary services to give the students and staff the support they need. He explained that recent data shows there has been a decrease in Baker Acts and arrests. Many students show nonverbal cues and changes to students’ schedule throughout the day can be devastating to some, which cause them to act out. Having the therapist there to help identify those ques has been helpful at reducing the need for further intervention. Lastly, he stated that Tykes & Teens continues to see a need for mental health services and the CDC just reported that individuals in need of mental health services have increased from 1 in 3, to 2 in 5. Additionally, they are noticing that many students are suffering from Adverse Childhood Experiences, which has a direct correlation to a higher chance of suicide and early death. Lastly, he stated that Tykes & Teens is working to bring a full line of services to Indian River County in the next five years, and will primarily support the 12–17-year-old population.
Presentation of FY 20-21 Audit- Kip Jacoby, CPA
Mr. Jacoby provided a review of the District fiscal year 2020-2021 audited financial statements. He stated that the process went smoothly and thanked the District staff for their support. The Audit report is clean and unmodified which is the highest level of audit that an organization can achieve. He reviewed the documents and highlighted the key areas within the report. Lastly, he stated that he would be presenting the Agreed Upon Procedures report to the Trustees next month. Ms. Bartlett thanked Mr. Jacoby for the report and asked for a motion to approve the audit. Mrs. McCrystal made the motion, which was seconded by Mr. Jones. The motion carried unanimously.
Public Comment/Adjourn
There was no public comment and the meeting was adjourned at 5:40 PM
