ALLEGHENY COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT MINUTES SEPTEMBER 5, 2007

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1 ALLEGHENY COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT MINUTES SEPTEMBER 5, 2007 Present: Absent: Paul M. King, Esquire, Chair Lee Harrison, M.D., Vice Chair Al M. Ahmed, P.E. Rev. Ricky Burgess James M. Flynn, Jr. Ann S. Francis, R.N. Lidia C. Turzai, M.D. William Youngblood Jan Rea, Council Member 1. Call to Order The meeting was held at Clack Health Center, th Street, Lawrenceville, Building 7 Conference Room. Paul King called the meeting to order at 12:05 p.m. He acknowledged council member Michael Finnerty as being in attendance. 2. Approval of Minutes from July 11, 2007 WILLIAM YOUNGBLOOD MOTIONED FOR APPROVAL. DR. LIDIA TURZAI 3. Public Comments on Agenda Items Paul King said we had no requests. 4. Committee Reports Paul King said there were no committee reports. 5. Needle Exchange Regulation Dr. Dixon said he and Henry Miller met with Councilman Finnerty. Changes were suggested. Dr. Harrison said he would be more comfortable having it go through the Policy Committee. This will be referred to the Policy Committee. Councilman Finnerty will attend the meeting.

2 Board of Health Meeting Page New Business a. Report July 31 st Special Board of Health meeting with Legislators Paul King said they had an open discussion with members of the State and General Assembly on tobacco issues. He said twelve offices were represented as well as members of the Board. Dr. Dixon said the first issue they discussed was tobacco and tobacco regulations. Dr. Dixon said the second item they talked about was the whole issue of the cost of jail health care. b. Environmental Health Fund Expenditure Request Dr. Dixon said a request is being made to the Board for an expenditure of $40,570 from the Environmental Health Fund to supplement funds from Tobacco Free Allegheny ($60,000) to support Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) that are mandated and partially funded to care for the medically uninsured or underserved population of all ages. The requested funding is for the first year of a three-year project. This will cover staff of one nurse and 1 CO monitor for the amount of $40,570. Physician/staff training and additional monitors and staffing would be provided through the TFA funding. This funding is directed to families of asthmatic children. DR. LIDIA TURZAI MOTIONED FOR APPROVAL. DR. LEE HARRISON c. Facilities Issues Paul King said, at our last meeting, a Facilities Ad Hoc Committee was formed chaired by Ann Francis, which included Jim Flynn, to set priorities for the Health Department s building needs. Ms. Francis toured the two facilities at Oakland, i.e., 3333 Forbes and 3441 Forbes as well as the buildings at Clack Health Center and WIC outlying area offices. She said there were only one or two buildings she went into that did not have a lot of electrical and leaking roof problems. She said sometimes when it rains, half the building is without power because of electrical shortages. She feels it is about time some money is put into these buildings. She said the purpose is they would like to consolidate some of these offices and provide much more space and better electrical and heating improvements to create a better work environment for staff. Dr. Dixon said we have had discussions with Mr. Flynn, County Manager, and comments from Health and Human Services and County Council and they are interested in doing something; the question is how to get the money. He said these issues need to continue being discussed along with a comprehensive plan. Dr. Dixon said these building needs were covered in a report done by Camp Dresser & McKee about

3 Board of Health Meeting Page 3. four years ago and the county has to make some decisions. Jim Flynn said they are working with Public Works and Dr. Dixon on a plan. He said they have a couple of options that they are evaluating right now, but this is a budget issue. He said he didn t know if coming to a meeting, looking at pictures, and hearing how bad things are is going to speed up that process. He said Dr. Dixon has appeared before County Council and anytime Dr. Dixon is invited to Council, board members are welcome to attend, as well, to testify. Mr. Flynn felt no need to hold a separate meeting and invite County Council to come since we have a Facilities Committee. He said the Chief Executive is presenting his budget to County Council on October 9 for 2008, and it should be approved sometime in December. He said they had Camp Dresser & McKee take a look at the facilities and they developed a plan with a couple different options. They determined the price would be between $4,000,000 and $7,000,000. Mr. Flynn stated this is all county taxpayers money. He said they are in the process right now of building a brand new lab at Clack that is estimated to be $600,000 to $1,000,000 over budget. They are trying to do the best they can with the limited resources they have. Ann Francis said if we could have a meeting with the Board and interested parties from County Council, they would see what Dr. Dixon s projected plan is, there would be input from both sides, and possibly some very positive things would come from that meeting. Dr. Lidia Turzai said she agreed with Ms. Francis that this should be put on the Policy Committee s agenda. Ms. Francis said if the clinic were to be examined now she thinks it would be condemned because of so many problems. Dr. Dixon said if we were regulating some other facility, we would probably tell them they could not occupy it. Paul King said we could have a short discussion with the Policy Committee subject to the collective wisdom of the people downtown. Jim Flynn asked what was going to be discussed or decided at the Policy Committee and Paul King replied what some of the options are, to express and suggest some of our preferences, and to explore other avenues of funding. Jim Flynn asked from where. Ann Francis said perhaps from the hospitals. Jim Flynn said if we are going to have a committee meeting he imagines they would be taking some type of action and asked what that action would be, since budgetary and financial matters rest with the County Executive and County Council. Paul King said we want to express and suggest some of our preferences regarding different options and explore if there is any other funding available. Jim Flynn said the buildings needs were covered in the Camp Dresser & McKee Report that had been done some time ago and laid out two options. He didn t feel any further discussions are warranted. Paul King stated some of the Board members have not seen the Camp Dresser & McKee Report and requested a copy so they could discuss it. Jim Flynn said they are in the process of updating that report now. Dr. Dixon said he would try to get a copy of this report for the Board.

4 Board of Health Meeting Page 4. d. Jail Health Reporting to Families Dana Phillips, Chief Operating Officer, of Allegheny Correctional Health Services that oversees health care at the Allegheny County Jail, said the county prison board would review its policy today. She explained there are conflicting interests of security and compassion when an inmate is moved from the jail for medical care. Ms. Phillips stated that since ACHS was created in 2000, there has been a policy that ACHS staff are not allowed to notify the family when an inmate leaves the facility for medical care; the shift commander makes the decision if the family should be notified. The County s policy is being reviewed and revised and when it is finalized, ACHS will look at their policy to see if it needs adjustment. e. New Infectious Disease Fee Schedule The 2007 proposed fee schedule for selected immunizations/biologicals/blood tests was presented to the Board for approval. ANN FRANCIS MOTIONED FOR APPROVAL. DR. LEE HARRISON SECONDED. MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. f. Revised Immunization Requirements for Article X Revised Immunization Requirements for Article X was presented to the Board for approval. DR. LIDIA TURZAI MOTIONED FOR APPROVAL. ANN FRANCIS SECONDED. MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. Dr. Dixon asked Jayme Graham to provide an update on New Source Review regulations. This was not on the agenda. Ms. Graham said the County s air quality rules are to be revised to agree with recent changes in state regulations governing new sources of emissions or major modifications to existing sources. She said there is an air quality regulation subcommittee that is part of the Air Advisory Committee that reviews drafts and gets them ready for the Advisory Committee to present to the Board of Health. Jim Flynn said if this is an advisory committee to our Board, shouldn t we direct what they look at instead of them bringing them to us. We should be taking it to the committee and telling them what we want them to work on or look at. Ms. Graham asked how they should proceed. Jim Flynn said he thought the BOH should have a regulation subcommittee that directs, as issues arise, any issues brought to the Health Department, then they would go to the air quality regulation subcommittee, and we would direct our advisory committee on which course to take. Paul King suggested it should go to the Policy Committee before going to the air quality regulation subcommittee.

5 Board of Health Meeting Page 5. Jim Flynn asked what the status was regarding the comparison study Joe Pricener is working on regarding Article XXI vs. DEP Regulation. Dr. Dixon said it is three-quarters completed. Mr. Pricener said the report will total over 500 pages and he hopes to have an executive summary for the next meeting. 7. Announcements a. Dr. Dixon said the Board members have in their packets the financial summary through July Public Comments on Non-Agenda Items No requests were received. 9. Adjournment Paul King said they were going to adjourn this meeting and have a public meeting with Allegheny County Health, Inc. that is the parent of Allegheny Correctional Health Services and Tobacco Free Allegheny. Following that meeting, there will be an Executive Session held regarding ALCOSAN litigation. DR. LEE HARRISON MOTIONED FOR ADJOURNMENT. ANN FRANCIS The meeting was adjourned at 1 p.m. cb/ld