CAPHN Executive Board Meeting

Minutes of 10/25/04

CT Nurses Association

Present: Phil Grenier, Andrea Lombard, Joanne Cannon, Barb Quigley, Debbie Horvath, Lynn Abrahamson, Ruth Knollmueller, Beth Strimpel, Deborah Buxton-Morris, Monica Farina

The meeting was called to order at 4:20 PM by President Phil Grenier. There was no Treasurer’s report.

Education Committee Report:

Lynn reported that she attended the CPA meeting, which conflicted with the CNA  meeting. Approximately 150-160 people attended the CPHA meeting.

Margaret Balint attended the CNA   conference and offered opening remarks at the Thursday session.  Ruth Knollmueller attended and presented information from the CT Fund for the Environment. Indoor air quality and asthma were topics of discussion. Ruth noted that there is a website CFENV.org that gives a snapshot of air quality in a particular community that is updated hourly. Frequency and timing of school nurse visits and inhaler use can also indicate indoor air quality.  Phil noted that there are also several retired scientists from DPH who meet regularly to discuss public health issues, with asthma one of their concerns as well.

The conference on Isolation and Quarantine was held in October, and was attended by approximately 40-50 people. In addition, several nurses present signed on as new CAPHN members. The evaluation is being processed through AHEC. Questions were added regarding meeting times, attendance during work hours, etc. CEU’s were not available, if these are to be offered in the future, Monica suggested planning ahead for the paperwork, unless they can be arranged for through the CT Partnership alliance.

New Business:

Phil stated he had received a request from CNA  to support a request for nurses to be considered as a priority group for flu vaccine. After some discussion, it was agreed to request that nurses and HCW’s be added to those recommended for flu vaccine when it becomes available.

Monica reported that Pamela Kilby-Fox will be filling Len McCain’s position in the Office of Local Health Administration. She will report directly to the Commissioner of the Dept of Health.

Unfinished Business

501c3 Status

Phil reviewed the process and status of our application. The benefits of 501c3status include tax exempt status, as well as the ability to apply for grants and other funding. We would need to demonstrate a 1 year history of educational, philanthropic or social outreach commitment. It was felt that at present, we do not qualify for status, as most of our efforts and activities have been directed toward advancing the goals of public health nursing. Phil recommended that we consider temporarily withdrawing our application, working toward re-application in a year, and incorporating some of the requirements into the activities of the coming year. Phil will check on the deadlines for completion and withdrawal of the application.

            Debbie Buxton-Morris made a motion to withdraw the application and fee from the IRS for our 501c3 application, and return the fee to the treasury earmarked for the re-application process. Motion was seconded by Andrea and passed unanimously.

1199 Group

            Phil and Lynn reviewed the formation of a CT Public Health Council to address issues of interest to public health organizations. CADH has formed a committee and is working to bring this to the attention of the legislators, among other groups. There is a proposal to address one topic per year. However, some issues to consider are who controls the agenda, the topics, is state health dept on board, etc. It was thought that possibly CPHA and CAPHN could write a joint letter suggesting that CADH explore other models for the Council, as well as including additional organizations and foundations. It was agreed that CAPHN could not support it in its current format, but would be interested in a more general organization representing and including other stakeholders.

Open Board Position

            There was some discussion re how best to fill the treasurer’s position for the coming year and how to recognize Jennifer for all of her efforts for the Association. Joanne will purchase a small gift be presented now, and we can include a more formal recognition at the annual meeting in May. It was agreed that a clock similar to that presented to Monica would be suitable. Debbie Morris agreed to serve as interim treasurer ad will work with Phil to complete the appropriate bank paperwork and forms.

Annual Meeting

            There was general discussion re the format for the annual meeting. Barb Quigley noted that due to the amount of time required for planning, and the difficulty is getting committee members together, it might be best to continue with the established format. The results of the Q&I meeting survey might prove helpful in scheduling times for meetings. Since committee meetings have been difficult to schedule, it was thought that possibly some kind of conference call might be helpful. Phil will check to see if CNA has that capability. Monica will ask Eileen Boulay if there might be a way to use the DPH call in system. It was decided to set May 4, 2005 as a tentative date and Pandemic Flu as the topic.

Quarterly Meeting

            It was decided that the next meeting would be held in January, and would likely be for networking purposes and not include a speaker or formal presentation.

Next Meeting

            The meeting will be November 29 at 4:00 PM at CNA offices.

Respectfully Submitted,

Debbie Horvath

Secretary, CAPHN