Board of Health Minutes
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
TOWN OF PLYMOUTH BOARD OF HEALTH MEETING June 10, 2020 @ 3:00 PM MINUTES The following Board of Health meeting was held on Wednesday June 10, 2020 at 3:00 PM via PACTV PresentU U AgendaU Birgitta E. Kuehn. LP, MBA, CCP Emeritus, Chairman Barry Potvin, PhD, Professor Emeritus, Vice Chair Nancy O’Connor Gantz, MS, RN, ANP-BC • Public Participation in a Virtual Meeting Jerry Levine, BS, MS, MBA • Minutes Dr. Kenneth Terkelsen, MD • Plymouth Police Chief Michael Botieri • Septic Variance: 58 Colchester Dr Karen Keane, Public Health Director • Updates Margaret Coe, Administrative Assistant • Chairman Announcements • Director’s Report • Other Business • Disclosure: These minutes are not verbatim – they are the secretary’s interpretation of what took place at the meeting. – Open Meeting Law, G.L. c. 30A § 22. • These minutes are a record as accepted by the Board of Health. • All materials presented during this meeting are available in the Public Health Department. • Administrative Business – May include topics not reasonably anticipated by the Chair 48 hours in advance of the meeting Pursuant to Governor Baker’s March 12, 2020 Order Suspending Certain Provisions of the Open meeting Law, G.L. c. 30A, §18, and the Governor’s March 15, 2020 Order imposing strict limitation on the number of people that may gather in one place, this meeting of the Plymouth Board of Health will be conducted via remote participation to the greatest extent possible.. No in-person attendance of members of the public will be permitted, but every effort will be made to ensure that the public can adequately access the proceedings in real time, via technological means. In the even that we are unable to do so, despite best efforts, we will post to the Town of Plymouth website an audio or video recording, transcript, or other comprehensive record of proceedings as soon as possible after the meeting. 3:00 PM Welcome from Chair 3:02 PM – Plymouth Police Chief Michael Botieri Chief Botieri gave an overview of the Black Lives Matter vigils held in Plymouth. He stated that they were very peaceful and attendees practiced social distancing and wearing face coverings. He reassured the board and the public that his department was well prepared to take action and protect the public should the vigils be disturbed by outside agitators. Mr. Levine asked for Chief Botieri’s opinion on White Horse Beach relating to dogs, social distancing and face coverings. Chief Botieri explained that he has increased patrol in the area along with ATVs on the beach. It is his department’s practice to educate the public on safety measures as a means of enforcement. Ms. Kuehn stated that the complaints she has received about dogs on the beach has been mostly because owners are not picking up the dog’s waste and that the leashes do not allow for 6-feet of social distancing. She stated she has also received pictures and complaints of people using the dunes as “bathrooms”. Chief Botieri agreed that he receives the same 1 types of complaints, hence the increased patrols and further education. 3:16 PM – Septic Variance: 58 Colchester Dr. Steve Kotowski of Webby Engineering presented the variance request. On a motion by Nancy O’Connor Gantz and seconded by Jerry Levine, the Board voted unanimously to approve the variance as requested. Voted: 4/0 3:23 PM – Blake Dinius – Tick Presentation Blake Dinius of Plymouth County Extension Service (https://plymouthcountyextension.org/) gave a presentation on vector borne diseases. 3:52 PM – Chairman’s Overview Ms. Kuehn presented a request from the Town, asking for a waiver from the 25% staffing in offices. She reminded the board of the Public Health Strategic Plan and how the items were being addressed. The number one concern, being waterways, was being handled through the MVP grant. The next concern, opioid epidemic, was being covered through the HEAL Grant, to reduce opioid deaths by 40%. 4:00 PM – Director’s Report (see attached) Ms. Coe read an email from Marilee Driscoll (see attached) 4:21 PM –Beaches – Discussion Ms. Coe read numerous emails from concerned residents regarding a ban on dogs at the beach (see attached). Ms. Kuehn explained that it was not the board’s intention to ban dogs from beaches. Ms. Keane stated that the problems with people leaving dog waste at beaches has been an ongoing problem that would not be corrected overnight but felt that it is going in the right direction. As for social distancing, the Board discussed options to enforce and made a motion to ask for assistance from the Department of Public Works (DPW). On a motion by Nancy O’Connor Gantz and seconded by Jerry Levine, the Board voted unanimously to reach out to the DPW for assistance in encouraging social distancing at the beaches. Voted: 3/0 4:43 PM – Plymouth Recovery Task Force Mr. Levine updated the board on the progress of reopening Plymouth commerce. 4:45 PM – Steve Triffletti, Moderator Mr. Triffletti appeared before the board to consult with them about the safety of an in-person Town Meeting versus a virtual Town Meeting. Mr. Levine wished to wait another 30 days to decide based on the COVID-19 data. Ms. O’Connor Gantz felt that a virtual meeting may be cumbersome but presents less risk than an in-person meeting. Ms. Kuehn referenced outdoor meetings of other municipalities. However, there was no data available to determine if there were subsequent spikes in COVID-19 cases. Mr. Triffletti said he agreed with Mr. Levine and Ms. O’Connor Gantz that a virtual meeting may be the better choice for the health of attendees. 5:05 PM - Adjournment On a motion by Jerry Levine and seconded by Nancy O’Connor Gantz, the Board voted unanimously to adjourn. Voted: 3/0 2 0 Public Health Director’s June 10, 2020 Bi-Monthly Report Prepared for the Board of Health Members Karen Keane, Public Health Director Town of Plymouth - Department of Public Health Coronavirus Plymouth Specific Data Confirmed Cases by Gender 1, 0% 212, 38% Female Male 353, 62% Unknown Page | 2 Deaths by Age Range (average age = 85.63) 28 20 9 Numbers of Death of Numbers 4 61-70 71-80 81-90 91-100 Deaths by Gender 21, 34% Male Female 40, 66% • Dashboard of Public Health Indicators • Daily and Cumulative Confirmed and Probable Cases - State • Hospitalizations • Cumulative Deaths • State – Race and Ethnicity • Hospitals o Capacity o Patient Census • Department of Corrections – State On-site Testing Program • Safety Standards for Public and Semi-Public Swimming Pools Page | 3 • Massachusetts Child and Youth Serving Programs Reopen Approach • Restaurants Reopening Strategy Community Tracing Collaborative • State-wide effort • All cases will be transferred to the CTC System • LBOH can see the cases • DPH will keep: o Congregate Settings o Family Situations o Well Known Addresses • Each town will be assigned a supervisor • If a case is not in MAVEN – it is not a case • Very few contacts – social distancing • Statistics as of 5/23/2020 o 272 Cases to CTC o 109 isolation completed o 32 never reached o 5 declined to answer o 3 lost to follow-up o 116 in progress o 4 died o 3 others School Nurses • Carilyn Rains and 7 volunteers • Nurses send me an email each day they are available • Cases will be assigned to each nurse • 15 Cases assigned as of 6/9/2020 • Contact each case • Complete Surveillance Assessment Check-In • Nurses have list of resources for referrals • Nurses have my email and cell phone number Nursing Homes Nursing Home Hotline: (617)660-5399 • Life Care Center of Plymouth Skilled Nursing Facility • Additional Testing Requested – National Guard o 150 beds o Staffing: 100% o PPE Needs: Gowns Page | 4 o Positive Cases: 68 Residents / 42 Staff o 20 Deaths o Testing those with symptoms o 14 Residents/21 Staff have recovered • Harborside Healthcare – Skilled Nursing Facility • Additional Testing o 88 beds o Positive Cases: 46 Residents / 5 Staff o One Positive Unit – Residents are separated into wings o 12 Death – 5 Died at Harborside and 7 Died at BID-Plymouth o Testing in-house BID-Plymouth • Drive Thru Testing Location o BID employees, first responders, doctors, office staff, and nursing home employees are being tested. o Conducting “return-to-work” testing o Working with nursing homes • Hospital o Continue to experience a steady surge of COVID – 19 positive or suspected positive patients. o Bed Availability o Employees self-monitor o PPE stock levels are adequate o Staffing is adequate Other Testing Sites • Wal-Mart o Up and running o 7 AM – 9AM o Maximum of 20 cars o 3 days per week o 20 cars per hour o Drive-Thru and Self-Test o Results via email o Register online o Do not need a doctor’s order • Harbor Health o Testing sites are open in Dorchester and Hyannis o No place for a Plymouth testing site • CVS Minute Clinic o Not currently offering Page | 5 This concludes the Director’s report for June 10, 2020. Karen Keane, Public Health Director Town of Plymouth 26 Court Street Plymouth, MA 02360 Page | 6 6/8/2020 Public Health Indicators Massachusetts Department of Public Health COVID-19 Dashboard - Monday, June 08, 2020 Dashboard of Public Health Indicators Newly Reported Total Cases Cases Today Below is the status as of June 5, 2020: 193 103,626 Measure Status Newly Reported Total Deaths COVID-19 positive test rate ⚫ Deaths Today Number of individuals who died from COVID-19 ⚫ 38 7,353 Number of patients with COVID-19 in hospitals ⚫ Healthcare system readiness ⚫ New Patients Total Patients Tested by Tested by Testing capacity ⚫ Molecular Tests Molecular Tests Contact tracing capabilities ⚫ 4,782 653,398 Legend New Patients Total Patients Tested by Tested by Antibody Tests Antibody Tests 258 51,404 1 1/1 6/8/2020 Confirmed v Probable Massachusetts Department of Public Health COVID-19 Dashboard - Monday, June 08, 2020 Confirmed and Probable Case Breakdown Confirmed Probable Newly Reported Total Confirmed Newly Reported Total Probable Confirmed Cases Cases Probable Cases Cases Today Today 193 99,755 0 3,871 Newly Reported Total Deaths Newly Reported Total Deaths Deaths among among Confirmed Deaths among among Probable Confirmed Today Cases Probable Today Cases 38 7,217 0 136 Patients with a positive molecular test for COVID-19 are counted as confirmed.