SUMMARY MINUTES
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY HOSPITAL DISTRICT
REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING
District Conference Room/ Zoom
January 21, 2021 at 4:00 PM
TRUSTEES: Marybeth Cunningham Allen Jones
Ann Marie McCrystal Karen Deigl
VIA ZOOM: Michael Weiss
Barb Bodnar
STAFF: Ann Marie Suriano Jennifer Peshke, Esq.
Kate Voss Jennifer Frederick
Convene Meeting – Marybeth Cunningham, Chair
Ms. Cunningham convened the regular monthly meeting of the IRCHD at 4:00 PM by welcoming those in attendance and via Zoom.
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. Bodnar nominated Dr. Weiss as Vice Chairman, which was seconded by Mrs. McCrystal. The motion carried unanimously.
Mrs. Cunningham nominated Mrs. McCrystal as Secretary, which was seconded by Ms. Deigl. The motion carried unanimously.
Ms. Deigl nominated Mrs. Bodnar as Assistant Secretary, which was seconded by Mrs. McCrystal. The motion carried unanimously.
Mrs. McCrystal nominated Mr. Jones as Treasurer, which was seconded by Ms. Deigl. 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 4:00 PM. There was discussion about holding that meeting at County Commission Chambers or at the District office. The board agreed to hold their regular monthly meetings at the County Commission Chambers. Additionally, the board agreed to hold a monthly Chairman’s meeting on the Wednesday prior to the regular monthly meeting each month at 10:00 AM. All other meetings will be scheduled on an as needed basis.
Consent Agenda- Marybeth Cunningham, Chair
Mrs. Cunningham asked for a motion to approve the regular monthly meeting minutes dated December 17, and a monthly disbursement of $1,571,383.22. Mrs. McCrystal made the motion to approve, which was seconded by Ms. Deigl. The motion carried unanimously.
Mrs. Cunningham stated that while 2020 was an odd year, the District was able to accomplish many things and have new items to focus on in the coming year. As reported on by the Mental Health Association at yesterdays meeting, the need for mental health services continues to rise and the uncertainty of COVID plays a major part in that. The District has helped to provide needed support to the community through these times and will continue to do so. She thanked the board for their efforts and also for nominating her as the Chairman.
District Counsel Report – Jennifer D. Peshke, Esq.
Mrs. Peshke stated that she continues to work with hospital counsel concerning the easement agreement they entered into in 2018. She also provided an update to GrayRobinson, who helped the District facilitate the Cleveland Clinic partnership, with an update on the same. GrayRobinson intends to review the file to make sure everything is tracking and up to date. She further stated that she has renewed the Trustee bonds and is waiting to receive the originals in the mail, so that they may be filed with the state in Tallahassee. Next month she will present to the Trustees the updated conflict of interest statements and board governance documents for their review and signature. Lastly, she researched the matter of an elected official taking a leave of absence, in the wake of Mrs. Zudans resignation. Per her findings, an elected official may not take a leave of absence unless there is a military reason or the United States is at war with a foreign government. There are however different circumstances for paid employees, and state employees, but in this case concerning a Trustees, it is not permitted.
Financial Statement Review – Allen Jones, Treasurer
Mr. Jones stated that the District remains in solid financial condition. At the end of December, the District has deposits and investments in liquid short-term FDIC insured certificate of deposits, totaling $15,199 million. The District approved expenses for the month of $1.6 million, which drops the total deposits to $13.2 million. Mr. Jones projects that the District will have approximately $15.7 million to spend on program and administrative expenses for the remainder of the fiscal year. This provides the District leverage to spend roughly $1.7 million a month, with a budgeted amount of $1.1 million a month. With those projections, he expects the District to end the year with approximately $4 million in its reserves. He further explained that this month’s expenses of $1.7 million were higher than normal and consisted of some unusual expenses that are not normally incurred. Those were payments to the Agency for Health Care Administration for the Districts participation in LIP funding for TCCH and WFHC; Audit expenses to Morgan, Jacoby, Thurn, Boyle; and additional fees to the county for property appraisal and tax collections. Also, Tykes & Teens and Phoenix Rising had higher expenditures which are not expected to continue at that rate.
Executive Director- Ann Marie Suriano
Mrs. Suriano stated that she is working to schedule a meeting for the IOP review committee to meet and discuss the RFP revisions they have received. Mrs. Cunningham asked Mrs. Suriano to provide a copy of the revised proposals, for the Trustees to review. Mrs. Suriano further explained that while this RFP is centered on mental health, there is a substance abuse component included as well.
COVID- 19 Vaccine Update- Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital
Dr. Rosencrance, President of Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital (“CCIRH”) addressed the board. He stated that the hospital currently has a total of 44 patients with COVID and 8 of those are in the intensive care unit. This number is high and he attributes this to the second surge of the virus that the county is experiencing. To date, the hospital has performed approximately 33,000 COVID tests on residents. CCIRH began administering COVID-19 vaccines on December 17th, and have provided a total of 7,224 and 870 of those were given to care givers. Currently they are preparing to provide the second dose of vaccines and will be contacting those patients directly. Additionally, the hospital has set up a tent to provide vaccines and has converted their urgent care in Sebastian into a vaccination center, when the shots are available. Dr. Rosencrance explained that they have the capacity to provide 500 shots per day, but the supply is limited. Mr. Jones asked for an update on who is currently running the CCIRH Foundation. Dr. Rosecrance stated that since Ms. Bruner’s departure, Lisa Mann is now in charge of operations in an interim capacity. Ms. Mann’s prior experience was a senior philanthropy director at the Philanthropy Institute in Cleveland, Ohio. There was group discussion surrounding the issues of non-residents of the county and Florida coming into the state and Indian River to obtain the vaccine. It was revealed that Governor DeSantis has passed an order prohibiting non-residents of Florida to obtain the vaccine in this state. There was further group discussion surrounding the vaccine process and who is first in line to receive the vaccine. Currently per the governor’s executive order, the vaccine is to be given to healthcare workers and those 65 and over. There was further discussion surrounding the issue of home health workers being at risk as well and in need of the vaccine. Mrs. Soule stated that the Health Department is working to set up a clinic to address that need.
Funded Agencies Quarterly Report–
Hope for Families- Diana Grossi, CEO
Ms. Grossi addressed the board and stated that she provided a written report ahead of time for their review. She provided an update concerning how their organization combatted the COVID-19 lockdowns and keeping families staying at the center, safe. This initiative began in the middle of March. With the help of CARES Act funding, the center was able to purchase a disinfecting fogger, as well as air filtration systems for all six of their air conditioning units. There was group discussion as to the size of families that the center houses and Ms. Grossi indicated that most families on average have two children and two adults. Lastly, she updated the Trustees as to the process of accepting a family and the qualifications they must meet. A typical turn around time for a family to gain financial independence and housing is around three months.
We Care- Dennis Saver, M.D., President
Dr. Saver provided a brief historical review of the We Care Clinic which is operated by the We Care Foundation of Indian River. He reviewed data relative to clinic visits and specialist visits for the current fiscal year, against the prior fiscal year. He also reviewed data concerning patient referrals. Between Oct-Dec, 2020 91 referrals were completed and closed. There were 305 specialist visits from 27 disciplines with a value of $158,593 donated physician hours. He also reviewed a listing of the We Care referral waiting list which outlines how many patients are waiting and the specialty service they are waiting to receive. There was group discussion concerning this matter and how the District can better assist We Care.
Public Comment- There was no public comment.
Adjourn- The meeting was adjourned at 5:30 PM
