February 14, 2018 - Finance & Facilities Committee Meeting Minutes

Committee Members Present:

Mr. Matt Reid (Chair)
Ms. Maureen Cassidy
Ms. Tino Kasi

Regrets:
Ms. Trish Fulton
Ms. Kelly Elliott

Others Present:

Dr. Christopher Mackie, Secretary-Treasurer
Ms. Elizabeth Milne, Executive Assistant to the Board of Health and Communications Coordinator (Recorder)
Dr. Alexander Summers, Associate Medical Officer of Health
Ms. Laura Di Cesare, Director, Healthy Living
Ms. Mary Lou Albanese, Manager, Infectious Disease Control
Ms. Marilyn Atkin, Coordinator, Community Outreach and Harm Reduction
Mr. Jordan Banninga, Manager, Program Planning and Evaluation
Ms. Tammy Beaudry, Accounting and Budget Analyst
Mr. Joe Belancic, Manager, Operations
Ms. Rhonda Brittan, Manager, Healthy Communities and Injury Prevention
Mr. Jeff Cameron, Manager, Information Technology
Mr. Brian Glasspoole, Manager Finance
Ms. Judy Green, Manager, Emergency Preparedness
Ms. Donna Kosmack, Manager, Southwest Tobacco Control Area Network
Ms. Heather Lokko, Director, Healthy Start
Ms. Ronda Manning, Manager, Early Years Team
Ms. Svetlana Mutlak, Executive Assistant
Ms. Jody Paget, Manager, Vaccine Preventable Disease
Mr. David Pavletic, Manager, Food Safety Healthy Environments
Mr. Fatih, Sekercioglu, Manager, Safe Water, Rabies and Vector-Borne Disease
Ms. Linda Stobo, Manager, Chronic Disease Prevention and Tobacco Control
Mr. Steve Turner, Director, Environmental Health and Infectious Diseases
Ms. Kendra Ramer, Manager, Strategic Projects
Ms. Maureen Rowlands, Director, Healthy Living

At 9:08 a.m., Chair Reid called the meeting to order.

Disclosure of Conflict(s) of Interest

Chair Reid inquired if there were any disclosures of conflicts of interest. None were declared.

Approval of Agenda

It was moved by Ms. Kasi, seconded by Ms. Cassidy that the AGENDA for the February 14, 2019 Finance and Facilities Committee meeting be approved. Carried

New Business

Funding Requests to Ministry of Health (Report No. 006-19FFC)

Dr. Mackie introduced this report and provided context. Noting some of the prioritized one-time and ongoing projects.
It was moved by Ms. Kasi, seconded by Ms. Cassidy, that the Finance & Facilities Committee make recommendation to the Board of Health to:
1) Approve Appendix A, outlining Base Funding Requests totalling $328,469;
2) Approve Appendix B, outlining One-Time Funding Requests totalling $534,994; and
3) Direct staff to submit the funding requests in the 2019 Annual Service Plan to the Ministry.
Carried

2019 Proposed Budget (Report No. 007-19FFC)

Dr. Mackie introduced this report with a presentation to the Committee, providing a high-level summary of the Health Unit’s budget by Division. Dr. Mackie noted that the budget document is a summary of all of the Health Unit’s work, by team, which does not match the Ministry’s reporting structure, which is by program. Dr. Mackie drew the committee’s attention to the team charts prepared to outline how each program within the Annual Service Plan fits within the Health Unit’s Team and Division structure.

Healthy Organization Division

Ms. Di Cesare introduced the Healthy Organization Division and the Managers representing each team within the Division which include Finance, Human Resources, Strategic Projects, Privacy Risk and Governance, Information Technology, Procurement and Operations, Program Planning and Evaluation, and the program-related activities that each team administers as per the organizational requirements of the Annual Service Plan including a high level overview of the activities planned for 2019.

Mr. Cameron highlighted the Information Technology (IT) Team, providing a background on Stronghold Services, the service they provide to the Health Unit and the number of projects that Stronghold is involved with at MLHU.

Dr. Mackie noted the tabs within the Annual Service Plan that the Healthy Organization Division covers.

Discussion ensued about the following items:
• How the internet service provider will be transitioned when moving to the new location next year.
• The relocation of IT infrastructure at the time of the move and how the servers will be moved.
• The $200,000-dollar jump in the Human Resources budget between 2017 and 2018, which was caused a restructuring across the Healthy Organization Division, and corresponded with decreases in other budget lines.

Healthy Living Division

Ms. Rowlands introduced the Healthy Living Division, Ms. Donna Kosmack, Manager of the Southwest Tobacco Control Area Network and Ms. Rhonda Brittan, Manager of Healthy Communities and Injury Prevention.

Ms. Rowlands reviewed the Teams within the Healthy Living Division which include Child Health, Chronic Disease Prevention and Tobacco Control, Healthy Communities and Injury Prevention, Oral Health, Policy Advisory, Southwest Tobacco Control Area Network and Young Adult Teams.

Ms. Rowlands highlighted the work of the Oral Health Team within the Healthy Living Division, which includes screening in schools, referrals through Healthy Smiles Ontario, the fluoride varnish program and looking towards beginning fluoride varnish in daycares going forward. Ms. Rowlands noted that the Oral Health Team did not bring in as much revenue in 2018 as was expected and outlined some of the reasons that accounted for the reduction in expected revenue in 2019.

Discussion ensued about the following items:
• How children are referred to dentists in the community and how the costs are covered.
• Challenges faced when referring through Healthy Smiles Ontario.
• How fees are recouped through the Oral Health clinics at MLHU and the service fees that are charged at the Southwest Ontario Aboriginal Health Access Centre (SOAHAC) Dental Clinic to help the Health Unit recoup its cost for providing a Dentist.
• How the SOAHAC dental clinic can best be promoted within the community to help increase uptake of service at the clinic going forward.
• That the Health Unit is also going to schools located in the neighboring Indigenous communities to provide preventive dental screening to children.
• Funding for Cannabis enforcement at the Municipal level that has not yet reached Health Unit budgets.

Office of the Medical Officer of Health

Dr. Mackie introduced this Division and the Teams that report to the Medical Officer of Health which include Communications and the Office of the Associate Medical Officer of Health. Dr. Mackie reviewed some of the key activities of the Office of the Medical Officer of Health.

Dr. Summers introduced and highlighted the work of the Population Health Assessment and Surveillance (PHAST) Team that he oversees within the Office of the Associate Medical Officer of Health. The PHAST Team includes Epidemiologists and Data Analysts. Dr. Summers provided context as to why there are some changes to the PHAST budget for the 2018-19 year.

Discussion ensued about why professional fees are increasing, which is related to the relocation project and is coming from the Medical Officer of Health budget since several consultants will work directly with Dr. Mackie on the project.

Environmental Health & Infectious Disease Division

Mr. Turner introduced and provided context to the Environmental Health and Infectious Disease (EHID) Division and introduced the Managers of each Team within the Division, which include Emergency Management, Food Safety and Healthy Environments, Infectious Disease Control, Safe Water, Rabies and Vector-Borne Disease, Sexual Health, the Travel Clinic and Vaccine Preventable Disease. Mr. Turner reviewed some of the services that each Team provides, which includes restaurant inspections, Infection Prevention and Control inspections and enforcement within treatment facilities, such as personal service settings, outbreak management, outreach work in the community, sexual health and immunization clinics and emergency preparedness response and recovery.

Mr. Turner introduced Ms. Paget, Manager of the Vaccine Preventable Disease Team and highlighted the work of the Vaccine Preventable Disease Team, its budget and the services provided to the community.

Discussion ensued about the decrease to funding for Panorama and any program-related impacts it may have on the Vaccine Preventable Disease Team.

Healthy Start Division

Ms. Lokko introduced the Healthy Start Division, Ms. Ronda Manning, Manager of the Early Years Team and the Teams within the Healthy Start Division which include Best Beginnings, Reproductive Health, Early Years and Screening Assessment and Intervention services. Ms. Lokko highlighted some of the services provided by Healthy Start Teams which include home visiting programs, breastfeeding support, group programs for prenatal and post-partum, community engagement and collaboration as it relates to the early years and e-learning initiatives to assist new parents. Ms. Lokko noted some of the more significant changes to the Healthy Start budget which include shifting resources to focus on supporting priority populations.

Discussion ensued about the following items:
• The Screening Assessment and Intervention Program and how the budget will be reflected next year when the service moves to Thames Valley Children’s Centre.
• What the new catchment area will be for the service once provided by Thames Valley Children’s Centre.
• How staff will be effected by shifting the service to Thames Valley Children’s Centre.
• The services that will be offered by shifting a Public Health Nurse to the Reproductive Health Team.
• How priority populations are determined and how often those priority populations versus non-priority populations are served by Healthy Start programs and supports.

Office of the Chief Nursing Officer

Ms. Lokko introduced the Office of the Chief Nursing Officer budget and Teams within it, which include Community Health Nursing Specialists and Health Equity and Indigenous Reconciliation staff. Ms. Lokko described the focus of the work of the Healthy Equity Team and Community Health Nursing Specialists, noting the significant increase to the budget, which includes approving a new Community Health Nursing Specialist position and Manager of Health Equity and Indigenous Reconciliation.

Discussion ensued about the following items:
• Health equity, social determinants of health and strategies that the Health Unit can focus on to understand and better address health inequities in our community.
• How the new Health Equity Team and positions will function within the organization to build capacity and engage in broad collaboration work.
• How the additional Community Health Nursing Specialist position within Nurse Family Partnership will be jointly funded with other agencies contributing 80%.
• The staff complement of the Healthy Equity Team.

Funding Sources and General Expenses and Revenues

Mr. Brian Glasspoole provided an overview of funding sources and highlighted some of the budget and funding changes between 2018 and 19, including the distribution of funds.

Mr. Glasspoole also reviewed the major components of the general expenses.

Discussion ensued about the following items:
• How the Health Unit’s budget aligns with the City of London budget planning, should a request for an increase in funding be required in the future.
• The Health Unit’s budget planning timelines.
• The reserve fund balance, what the fund includes, what it is available for and that the fund is currently held in cash.
• That professional fees are expected to reduce after the next year once the relocation project is complete.
• Occupancy fees for the new location.

It was moved by Ms. Kasi, seconded by Ms. Cassidy that the Finance & Facilities Committee make recommendation to the Board of Health to:
1) Approve the 2019 Proposed Budget in the gross amount of $34,601,981 as appended to Report No. 007-19FFC re: “2019 Proposed Budget”;
2) Direct staff to bring forward for approval via the quarterly variance process priorities from the list of “2019 PBMA Proposals to be Considered for Variance Funding or Other Alternatives” in Appendix A;
3) Forward Report No. 007-19FFC to the City of London and the County of Middlesex for information; and;
4) Direct staff to submit the 2019 Proposed Budget in the various formats required by the different funding agencies.
Carried

Southwest Tobacco Control Area Network Contract Extension (Report No. 009-19FFC)

Ms. Kosmack introduced this report and provided context to how these vendors assist in affecting behavior change in target demographics to reduce smoking rates, including some of the strategies used to affect this change.

Discussion ensued about if any of the focus would shift to Cannabis use at some point and what current Cannabis-use messaging includes.

It was moved by Ms. Kasi, seconded by Ms. Cassidy, that the Finance & Facilities Committee recommend that the Board of Health award a single-source vendor contract to Cinnamon Toast in an amount up to $29,800 as identified in Report No. 009-19FFC re: “Southwest Tobacco Control Area Network Contract Extension.” Carried

Southwest Tobacco Control Area Network (SW TCAN) Single Source Vendor (Report No. 008-19FFC)

Ms. Kosmack introduced this report and provided context to the service provided by Rescue and the alternative crowds this behavior change agency targets to reduce tobacco use and smoking rates.

Discussion ensued about the following items:
• The long-term plan for retaining the vendor in future years and continuing to target the current alternative youth audience.
• How much more the MLHU has to fund for the project should other Health Unit’s pull their funding out of the contract due to budget cuts.
• The severability clause within the contract.

It was moved by Ms. Kasi, seconded by Ms. Cassidy, that the Finance & Facilities Committee recommend that the Board of Health award a single-source vendor contract to Rescue: The Behavior Change Agency in an amount up to $127,003.53 as identified in Report No. 008-19FFC re: “Southwest Tobacco Control Area Network (SW TCAN) Single Source Vendor.” Carried

Other Business

Next meeting: March 7, 2019

Adjournment

At 10:58 a.m., it was moved by Ms. Kasi, seconded by Ms. Cassidy, that the meeting be adjourned. Carried

At 10:58 a.m. Chair Reid adjourned the meeting.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Matt Reid
Committee Chair

Christopher Mackie
Secretary-Treasurer