LOCAL/STATE ADVISORY COUNCIL

MEETING MINUTES

Date:June 16, 2014Location: MEMA Headquarters

Present:

LSAC Minutes June 16, 2014Page 1

Region 1A, Sandra Martin

Region 1B, Tracy Rogers

Region 1C, Mary Kersell

Region 1D, Nikki Nixon

Region 2

Region 3A, Sheryl Knutsen

Region 3B, Thomas Carbone

Region 3C, Rich Day

Region 3D, John Coulon

Region 3E, Karen Rose

Region 4A, Jim White

Region 4B, Dawn Sibor

Region 4C

Region 5A

Region 5B, Amy Palmer

Region 5C, Lisa Cullity

MAPHN, Amanda Stone

MAHB

MHOA

MEHA, Heidi Porter, Alan Perry

MPHA, Frank Singleton

MDPH, Mary Clark, John Grieb, Tom McGuire, Kerin Milesky

Regional Staff, Gail Bienvenue, Diane Brown- Couture, Archana Joshi, David Trout, Leigh Mansberger, Colleen Bolen

MEMA, Jennifer Carlson-Benoit

LSAC Minutes June 16, 2014Page 1

Sibor called the meeting to order at 11:03 AM.

Introductions were made.

Approval of Minutes of May 19, 2014 – Singleton moved to approve, Rose seconded; minutes unanimously approved.

MEMA Update

Carlson-Benoit reported that the monthly MEMA Report was sent out. The conference was a great success. The Great Northeast Shakeout will occur again this year; see report for details. MEMA is working on a new “Power Outage” application for Web EOC. They are working on updating existing operational plans and developing new ones. The eCEMP program is being replaced and MEMA is reviewing what is appropriate over the next year.

Coalition Updates

Commissioner Bartlett will be joining us at our September meeting; please have some questions to ask. In July, representatives from the Immunization Program will be coming to meet with LSAC.

Martin reports that the Shelter Plan work continues. Rogers reports that they are working on the COAD in Western MA to bring in not-for-profits and profits alike. Kersell reports they have developed a plan for unaffiliated volunteers at emergencies. Coulon reports Region 3D ran an exercise on a drive through distribution system in Peabody with multiple communities and agencies taking part.

MMS/MRC Training

In May, the Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) and MRC held its annual conference. Due to a reduction in the contract for MMS in BP3, there is currently no funding to continue the program in the cominggrant year. Attendees believe it to be a valuable effort, and there was discussion to find $6,000 needed for the program. There is a thought to recommend $1,000 from each MRC regional allocation to cover the costs.

There was a request if the program can be moved to a more central location, but MMS provides the space for free and supports the webinar aspect so there would be added cost. LSAC suggested that the MRCs should be asked if the program is value added and if they would be willing to contribute. Coulon reports that the cost is just over $106.00 per MRC statewide, and that the webinar work is worth investing in. Martin stated that the distance to travel and the fact it is in the evening makes it difficult to attend for Western MA representatives.

The MRC Steering Committee is contemplating this and is wondering how LSAC feels. Western MA is opposed to the idea, but the rest of the group would support it.

MDPH

  • Preparedness Month - The 2013 Campaign has received several state-wide awards; there are fewer dollars available this year, but the work done last year is designed to be “evergreen” so it can easily be adapted for this grant period. “Together We’re Ready MA” will again be the theme, and the weekly themes will carry over as well. MDPH will collaborate with MEMA on the campaign again. Feedback from last year included getting info and materials out earlier, which should happen, and MDPH is looking at trying to have printed material available in quantity. The media buy will be small, but the MassDOT message boards will be used again.
  • PHEP Funding/Review Process – MDPH is waiting for updates on the CDC contract award and money transfer. McGuire spoke about last week’s conference call with host agencies.
  • HMCC Update – All facilitated discussions are done; a report on the info that was gleaned is being prepared for the June 26th state-wide meeting. The Request for Information will be posted to assist in writing the RFR by June 30th. The RFR should be posted by November. A summer seminar will be held to bring in presenters from other states with existing healthcare coalitions to discuss their experiences, good & bad. In response to a question from local health, Grieb clarified that the RFI process will not be usedas a means of qualifying parties to apply for the RFR; it will be used solely to gather additional information to assist with drafting the RFR. The RFI will be posted on CommBuys (successor to COMPASS) and links will be sent out. Kersell requested that regional meetings be held for the RFI; she finds that process to be helpful. Grieb noted that the past year’s stakeholder engagement process served this purpose. Carbone reported that he had reached out to Jana Ferguson and Suzanne Condon about the possibility of housing the HMCC within the regional health offices, and that they indicated that the Office of Local and Regional Health would not be interested in taking on that role.
  • Region 2/4C Exercise - Bolen reports it went well and was well attended. The topic was MERS and it was run by Harvard School of Public Health. There isn’t a plan to roll this out state-wide at this point. Rogers reports that the exercise showed howan HMCC could coordinate amongst the different groups in a large scale emergency.
  • CDC Visit – Clark reports officials from CDC will be visiting MDPH on June 17th for informal meetings. They will meet with senior staff, the Commissioner and the broader OPEM staff. The purpose is for them to update the state on expected projects and requirements and to have a dialogue. Clark suggested that if we have any questions to ask to let her know.
  • PHEP Contracts – See PHEP Funding above.
  • State Health Improvement Plan – Mike Coughlin had been working on this with Geoff Wilkinson in the Commissioner’s Office. The SHIP process has been ongoing for about 18 months, and it is in the process of identifying additional stakeholders to be included in the review process before the document is completed for submission. The next draft of the SHIP will most likely be shared with LSAC for comment, maybe for the July meeting. The goal is to file with the accreditation board in September.
  • Personnel Update – Sibor forwarded an email from Tom Hutton about the elimination of the 4A/4B hospital coordinator. This elimination has concerned the regions. Clark says that she cannot speak about personnel issues with this group, but there was a 38% cut to the hospital grant. White reports that the combined regions are disappointed with this loss.

The Region 1 Coordinator posting has closed and they will be working on reviewing resumes and interviews. The Health Volunteer Coordinator position posting closes on June 17, 2014. Kemen’s position has not yet been posted. McGuire is an interim appointment to fill Grace Connolly’s job, and they are looking to make that permanent.

Sibor asked for a list of names and contact info for each position.

Other

Martin reported that they had finished their regional HVA, and it opened some eyes. Scores were high because emergency management officials were present and could confirm that some of their activities are being covered within the region. There is a concern that not every partner participated as they should.

Meeting adjourned at 12:58 PM.

LSAC Minutes June 16, 2014Page 1