AGENDA
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY HOSPITAL DISTRICT
Regular Monthly Meeting
Indian River County Commission Chambers
January 16, 2020 @ 5:00 p.m.
TRUSTEES: Marybeth Cunningham Tracey Zudans
Ann Marie McCrystal Barbara Bodnar
Allen Jones Dr. Michael Weiss
Karen Deigl
STAFF: Ann Marie Suriano Jennifer Frederick
Kate Voss Jennifer Peshke, Esq.
ATTENDEES: Michelle Genz Nicholas Coppola
Jeanne Shepard Angela Guzenski
Dennis Saver Shelley Stuven
Vicki Soule Myra Weiss
Marie Andress Matt Reiser
Convene Meeting – Marybeth Cunningham, Chairwoman
Mrs. Cunningham convened the regular monthly meeting of the Indian River County Hospital District (“IRCHD”) at 5:00 p.m.
Invocation- Mrs. Zudans provided the invocation for the meeting and Dr. Weiss led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Organizational Matters- Jennifer Peshke, Esq.
Mrs. Cunningham stated that the first order of business is the election of officers. Mrs. Peshke explained that the Hospital District Bylaws require that the District reorganize at the first meeting of each year and elect five officers. Any board member may make a nomination for the five offices, which include Chairman, Vice Chair, Treasurer, Secretary, and Assistant Secretary. Each office will be elected by calling for a nomination, and a second. She asked that the nomination for the Chairman, begin the process.
Mr. Jones nominated Mrs. Cunningham as Chairman, which was seconded by Ms. Deigl. The motion carried unanimously
Mrs. McCrystal nominated Dr. Weiss as Vice Chairman, which was seconded by Mrs. Cunningham. The motion carried unanimously.
Mrs. Zudans nominated Mrs. McCrystal as Secretary, which was seconded by Mr. Jones The motion carried unanimously.
Ms. Deigl nominated Mrs. Zudans as Assistant Secretary, which was seconded by Mrs. Cunningham. The motion carried unanimously.
Mrs. Bodnar nominated Mr. Jones as Treasurer, which was seconded by Mrs. McCrystal. The motion carried unanimously.
Mrs. Cunningham asked the Trustees if they would like to continue to hold the District’s regular monthly meeting on the third Thursday of each month at 5:00 PM, in the County Commission Chambers. The board agreed. Additionally, the board agreed to hold a monthly Chairman’s meeting on the third Wednesday of each month at 10:00 AM. All other meetings will be scheduled on an as needed basis.
Consent Agenda- Marybeth Cunningham, Chairwoman
Mrs. Cunningham asked for a motion to approve the Special Meeting Minutes dated December 9; Chairman’s Meeting Minutes dated December 18; Regular Monthly Meeting Minutes dated December 19; and a January disbursement of $1,115,865.30. Mrs. McCrystal made the motion, which was seconded by Ms. Bodnar. The motion carried unanimously.
Mrs. Cunningham stated that on January 25, United Against Poverty will have their grand opening of their new center and tours will be available to the public. Additionally, she encouraged everyone to visit www.speakupverobeach.com which has information on the 3 corners property where the old power plant currently sits.
District Counsel Report – Jennifer D. Peshke, Esq.
Mrs. Peshke provided her counsel report and stated that she is currently working with Mrs. Suriano on reviewing the District Bylaws to see if there are any needed updates. She will circulate the changes to the Trustees for their review.
Financial Statement Review – Allen Jones, Treasurer
Mr. Jones provided his report and stated that the District’s tax receipts total $6.3 million of the $13.9 million expected to be received this fiscal year. The bank accounts total $2.6 million and there is approximately $11 million invested in FDIC insured investment fund managed by Water Walker, in the Florida fixed income trust. Interest received on those investments to date total $13,000. The District will continue to maintain $500,000 in the local Seacoast bank account and any excess funds will be invested into the FDIC insured component of the fixed income trust. Amounts needed to fund the District’s operating expenses will be wired from the investment account to Seacoast bank for disbursement. Lastly, Mr. Jones stated that through the first quarter the District is running slightly better than budget in both program and administrative expenses.
Executive Director Report- Ann Marie Suriano, Executive Director
Mrs. Suriano stated that in addition to her written report she met with representatives from We Care yesterday and they will speak about their discussion during tonight’s presentation.
Funded Agencies Quarterly Report- Mental Health Association- Nicholas Coppola, CEO; Angela Guzenski, COO; and Jeanne Shepherd, Clinical Director
Ms. Guzenski reviewed data concerning MHA’s walk-in center and support group services. She further discussed clinical outcome measures for the walk-in center. For the first quarter there were 2,343 visits to the walk-in center and 117 of those were unduplicated. Ms. Shepard and Dr. Coppola spoke to the MHA school violence and suicide prevention program. To date the Erika’s Lighthouse program has been administered to 159 12th grade charter high school students and 590 9th grade Vero Beach high school students. Additionally, the program will be offered to approximately 600 Sebastian River high school 9th graders starting in February. Further they are in discussions with St. Edwards, Imagine and the Indian River Alternative school regarding implementation of the program as well. Lastly, Dr. Coppola shared a letter that MHA received from Dr. Packard of the Indian River County School District. Dr. Packard praised the work that the MHA clinicians have done in the schools and looks forward to working collaboratively with them to address the mental health issues within the schools. Next week community workers and leaders involved in mental health services will meet to discuss the gaps in services and ways to work collaboratively to provide a better continuum of care.
We Care Foundation- Shelley Stuven, Executive Director & Dennis Saver, Medical Director
Dr. Saver extended the invitation to each Trustee to shadow Dr. Fountain during his day at the We Care clinic to witness first-hand how the clinic operates and how they serve the patients. He believes that this opportunity will show the Trustees exactly what We Care is about. He also invited the Trustees to attend the We Care Foundation Mardi Gras gala being held in February.
Dr. Saver reviewed the We Care patient visit data from October-December. He stated that volumes have slightly decreased due to Dr. Fountain taking 10 days off in November and 10 days in December. They expect volumes to rise in the coming months. He further reviewed the waiting list of specialty services that patients are waiting to receive. He explained that due to lack of doctors volunteering their services, the list continues to have around 300 or more patients waiting. However, with the help of Cleveland Clinic, they have seen a slight decrease in the list. There was Trustee discussion surrounding the successes of patients receiving specialty services through We Care. The Trustees would like to have data outlining how many patients were able to be seen and have their issues addressed and treated. Dr. Saver felt that this data is difficult to quantify, due to the way they deliver care. He explained that We Care provides its patients with care coordination and many patients have multiple health issues which require multiple visits to the clinic. The Trustees asked Dr. Saver to work with the District in creating a system to track the clinic successes, so that it may show the positive impact the program has on the community. Additionally, it was suggested that some of the We Care patients enroll in the VNA’s positive change program to better assist them in reaching their health goals.
New Business –
Mrs. McCrystal stated that the World Health Organization named 2020 the year of The Nurse. She stated that these individuals, including all caregivers, provide an invaluable service in health care and encouraged words of thanks be given to those who serve.
Other Business-
Ms. Zudans stated that the Patient Advocate position for TCCH at the Gifford Health Center has been filled. Before the final selection, Ms. Soule invited members from GHC Advisory Committee and other Gifford community members to a meet and greet of the potential candidates. Ms. Zudans stated that it was well attended and provided everyone with a chance to have meaningful discussions about the position and what was expected of the person being hired.
Public Comment- There was no public comment.
Adjourn- The meeting was adjourned at 6:30 PM
Respectfully Submitted,
Ann Marie McCrystal
Secretary
