SUMMARY MINUTES
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY HOSPITAL DISTRICT
REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING
County Commissioner Chambers/ Zoom
November 18, 2021 @ 4:00 PM
TRUSTEES: Kerry Bartlett Karen Deigl
Ann Marie McCrystal Marybeth Cunningham
Allen Jones
ABSENT: Barb Bodnar Michael Weiss
STAFF: Kate Voss Jennifer Frederick
Jennifer Peshke, Esq. Ann Marie Suriano
ATTENDEES: Andrea Berry Karen Campbell
Pedro Bernabe William Wims
Tracy Griffis Shannon Bowman
Convene Meeting – Marybeth Cunningham, Chair
Mrs. Cunningham convened the regular monthly meeting of the IRCHD at 4:00 PM by welcoming those in attendance and via Zoom. Pastor Derrick West provided the invocation and asked for a moment of silence to remember the untimely passing of Pastor Roger Ball. Then, Mrs. Cunningham led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Consent Agenda- Marybeth Cunningham, Chair
Mrs. Cunningham asked for a motion to approve the Chairman’s meeting minutes dated October 20, regular monthly meeting minutes dated October 21, and a November disbursement of $807,355. Mrs. McCrystal made the motion which was seconded by Ms. Deigl. The motion carried unanimously.
Thank you to Trustees from IRC Healthy Start Collation – Karen Campbell, President
Ms. Campbell addressed the Trustees and provided them with a letter of thanks for their support of Indian River Healthy Start Coalition. She stated that they would be unable to offer these programs and services to the community, without the support of the District. The Healthy Start Board truly values its partnership with the District and values the work the District Trustees do in support of healthcare in Indian River County. Ms. Berry provided a brief update on Healthy Start and stated that the District was one of the first agencies to support the Community Doula program, which has been effective at improving birth outcomes in the County. This morning she was informed that their state entity has voted to take the Community Doula program state wide and use Indian River County as a model for the program. Additionally, because the model has been so well recognized, Anthem Foundation invited Healthy Start to apply for a funding grant which would help support the statewide expansion. Additionally, they were awarded $30,000 from Simply Healthcare, which is a Medicaid managed organization, to also help support the expansion.
District Counsel Report – Jennifer Peshke, Esq.
Ms. Peshke stated that she continues to review the annual deadlines and deliverables due to the District under the Lease with CCIRH. The District completed the right of way transaction with the County and she continues to work with Cleveland Clinic and the VNA’s counsel to amend the existing Agreements to reflect those changes. Additionally, she is looking into how a potential county ordinance change regarding stormwater retention may impact the IRC floodplain and stormwater code, as it relates to the property the Hospital District owns with regard to the hospital campus. She and Ms. Suriano attended a meeting with County representatives, as well as the CCIRH representatives and their counsel to learn more about this issue and she will report more on this matter as it develops. Lastly, she completed the District staffs annual Compensation Committee review with the Trustees this past month.
Financial Statement Review- Allen Jones, Treasurer
Mr. Jones provided his treasurer’s report and stated that the District is in solid financial condition. There is currently $5.7 million in cash and investments in the bank, less the $800,000 in expenses disbursed for the month, which leaves just under $4.9 million in funds. In November the District has begun to see tax revenues being deposited, as Indian River County residents are very prompt in paying their taxes. Next month the District will begin on its strategic visioning process and whatever outcome this brings, there will be sufficient funds to support those efforts.
Executive Director Report- Ann Marie Suriano, Executive Director
Ms. Suriano stated that she has been working with representative from Carter on the strategic visioning efforts and preparing for the District retreat. She then introduced Dawn Carboni, who is the newest employee of the District and will work as an internal audit and data analyst. She further stated that the Mental Health visioning committee is meeting at the end of the month and the District was provided with a thorough update on the IOP program from CCIRH. The Committee is also working to bring a detox center to Indian River County, which is not currently a service that is provided. Lastly, the District staff is preparing the Annual Report for 2021, and it will ready for distribution next month.
Funded Agencies Semi Annual Reports-
Phoenix Rising- Pedro Bernabe, CEO
Mr. Bernabe prepared a semiannual update for the Trustees to review. He provided a brief overview of their accreditations and their staff who work and support the center. He then reviewed the steps of recovery offered through Phoenix Rising and the different levels of care provided to patients. He also reviewed patient data concerning PHP and IOP District qualified patients. He explained that they are also now actively tracking sober days after patients complete those levels of care. Currently 88% of patients have been able to stay sober 30 days after treatment, but the number does decline around 10% when it hits 120 days. The Trustees requested that they begin tracking those outcomes for up to a year, to see where any shortfalls may be. Next Mr. Bernabe discussed patient satisfaction data and outcomes. Through this tracking they discovered that patients were dissatisfied with the pre-admissions process and they have implemented better practices and communication with the patients, before they check into the program. Further, he informed the Trustees that Phoenix Rising is now in network with Tricare. He explained that Tricare is the U.S. military’s healthcare program and functions as government managed health insurance. This will now help support those veterans in our community seek treatment, without them having to go out of county. Additionally, they have also applied for in networks contracts with many additional insurance companies and are awaiting their approval. Lastly, they are continuing to work on opening another sober living facility for men and women with 24 beds, along with future plans to offer detox and residential treatment.
Childcare Resources- Shannon Bowman, Executive Director & Tracey Griffis, Director of Wellness & Early Intervention
Ms. Bowman addressed the board and introduced Tracey Griffis the program director and Tara Beard, the school director, who joined her for today’s presentation. She provided an update on the Wellness Program which began in 2017 as a pilot program funded by the District to support the needs of the children at Childcare Resources. This ensures their healthcare was intact, needs were identified, and early intervention services were initiated. Ms. Griffis stated that it has been almost five years since they started the program and it has expanded to add three additional support staff positions. She stated that through this program they have been able to develop and strengthen relationships with the parents of the children in the program and they just recently were able to intervene on an unsafe living condition a mother and her two daughters was experiencing. Through their team and other collaborative community support, they were able to remove the mother and children from the situation, secure housing, clothing and other living essentials for this mother. Ms. Griffis stated that she will be hosting an upcoming Directors meeting where Childcare Resources will meet with other early childhood educators and share their model for this Wellness Program. She then reviewed the outcome measures and development milestones for the program, and there was Trustee discussion on the same.
New Horizons, William Wims, CEO
Mr. Wims introduced himself and Ms. Robin Kirby, who is the COO at New Horizons. He provided an update for the last fiscal year and stated that they delivered services to 1,575 residents which included 1370 adults and 205 children. He reviewed the data concerning their different service lines of treatment, which include psychiatric services and evaluations, outpatient therapy and medication management. The total amount billed to the District in FY 20-21 was $55,234. He then reviewed patient outcomes and stated that their main objective is for every client to be able to live a functional life within the community. Lastly, he discussed some of the challenges they have faced over the last year from COVID. He stated that the Journal of American Medical Association suggest that the highest demand for medical services because of the effects of the pandemic on the community, should be expected 12 to 18 months after the end of the pandemic. Currently they are already seeing an increased need for services, but are having trouble recruiting clinicians and doctors. They continue to work collaboratively with our mental health agencies in the community to continue to provide those much-needed mental health services.
Public Comment/Adjourn
There was no public comment and the meeting was adjourned at 5:00 PM
Respectfully Submitted,
Ann Marie McCrystal, Secretary