SUMMARY MINUTES
SPECIAL MEETING
Indian River County Hospital District Conference Room/ Zoom
April 14, 2025
12:00 PM
TRUSTEES: Chuck Mackett William Cooney Michael Kint Karen Deigl
Allen Jones Kerry Bartlett
ABSENT: Paul Westcott
STAFF: Dawn Carboni Jennifer Frederick
Kate Voss Frank Isele
Jennifer Peshke, Esq. Kaytlin Dickens
Convene Meeting
Dr. Cooney convened the special meeting of the IRCHD Board of Trustees at 12:00 PM and turned the meeting over to Ms. Bartlett who led today’s discussion.
Ms. Bartlett stated that throughout today’s discussion she would like the Trustees to make sure that they are keeping the mission, vision, values, and strategic priorities of the District front and center as they go through this budget process. She encouraged the Trustees to continue looking at funding partners who align with the District’s strategic properties which will help the District to deliver on its mission to the public. She further stated that she believes the District team has the relationships and knowledge of the funded partners which will help guide the Trustees into making the best decisions during the funding application process. Therefore, she asked District staff to review to share high level observations of this new process and what they have seen so far in the funding application responses in e-C Impact.
Mr. Isele addressed the board and stated that this is one of the most important processes the District undertakes each year. The goal always has been to continue to improve and refine the process moving forward, especially since the number of requests continues to increase. This year District staff has worked to refine the process further, specifically addressing application questions and evaluation tool. Over the last few weeks he, Ms. Frederick, and Ms. Carboni have begun the process of evaluating the funding applications with the new evaluation tool and he shared some highlights and observations from their initial review. Mr. Isele stated that many agencies failed to respond to some key questions within the application, specifically addressing how they would align with the District goals and objectives. Additionally, some agencies did not seperate their requests by programs, resulting in a lack of detailed and relevant information needed to review each program request. It also was noted that some agencies duplicated last year’s application responses into this years, missing the important component of how the program aligns with the Districts goals and objectives through quantitative data. It was further discussed that there was a 23% increase in funding requests over last year and the total amount requested was approximately $23.2 million. Mr. Isele further stated that it does appear agencies will be able to comply with the fee for service components which will now be required within the funding structure. Therefore, District staff is tasked with following up with the agencies who failed to submit the relevant requested information in order for them to be evaluated properly. Ms. Frederick indicated that it would be the goal of District staff to have their evaluations completed by April 30th and submit the funding recommendations to the board around the same time. District Trustee could then begin their own review of the requests by May 1st and have a check in meeting on May 8th to discuss how the process was going so far.
Next, Ms. Frederick provided a review of the funding application evaluation tool for the Trustees. She further stated that she will prepare a spreadsheet to streamline the review process and ensure all required documents are accounted for. There was also review and discussion surrounding the evaluation tool scoring system which separated the requests into a priority system of four-degree levels of alignment and impact. The first-degree level is the highest priority and addressed essential direct patient care services. The second-degree level is supportive health infrastructure and coordination, which are programs that enable direct care delivery. The third-degree level is prevention which are programs that indirectly support care delivery by addressing the root causes of poor health outcomes. Lastly, the fourth degree which are ancillary or indirect services programs that support functions but do not have a direct link to a core District priority. There was Trustee discussion surrounding the evaluation tool and scoring system. It was noted that the scoring system was not intended to provide a negative or positive score to the request. The purpose is to score the program on its alignment with the District’s goals and objectives. It was further stated that Trustees will have the opportunity to provide their review and feedback at one of the scheduled budget review meetings and Ms. Frederick provided the Trustees with an updated schedule for their information. There was additional Trustee discussion and they believe this process remains transparent and are pleased that District staff is taking a more active role in making the recommendations for funding. Mr. Isele stated that the staff will continue to enhance the evaluation process, ensuring that all necessary documentation is reviewed and that agencies are supported in meeting the funding requirements. Lastly, Ms. Bartlett requested that Ms. Frederick prepare a simple summary of the process moving forward for the Trustees information.
Public Comment & Adjourn
Dr. Cooney asked for public comment and there was none. The meeting was adjourned at 1:00 PM.
