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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-01-07 Community Health Commission MinutesMINUTES COMMUNITY HEALTH COMMISSION MAYOR’S CONFERENCE ROOM JANUARY 7, 2014 AT 6:30 P.M. I. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 6:33 p.m. II. ROLL CALL Answering roll call members were Kumar Belani, Kristen Conner, Tone Deinema, Nadia Martyn, Matt Doscotch, Janet Johnson, Aditya Mittal, Alison Pence, Joel Stegner, and Staff Liaisons Laurene Draper and Jeff Brown. III. APPROVAL OF MEETING AGENDA Member Pence approved the motion. The motion was seconded by Member Johnson. All voted aye. IV. ADOPTION OF CONSENT AGENDA A. Approval of December Minutes The December 2, 2013 Minutes were amended to include Kristen Conner as attending the meeting. The motion to accept the minutes as amended was approved by Member Stegner. The motion was seconded by Member Johnson. All voted aye. V. REPORTS/RECOMMENDATIONS A. Updated City Code Chair Doscotch attended the December 17, 2013 City Council Meeting. The Committee name change to Commission was approved. The change in the Purpose and Duties of the Commission reflected a move to a more proactive rather than reactive Commission. The Council has reviewed sections of the Mission/Vision document and will be discussing it at a later date. Chair Doscotch did an interview about the City code change as requested by the Communications Department. It can be found on YouTube. There is also an article in the Sun Current. Member Stegner requested that the Commission be made aware when there is media coverage. Other possible media vehicles are the About Town magazine and the Edina Patch. There needs to be further discussion of how to inform the community of the Commission’s purpose, duties, goals and objectives and activities. B. 2013 Minnesota Student Survey Results Member Martyn will give a survey analysis at the February meeting. Chair Doscotch assigned action items to Members Deinema and Mittal. First, find a district similar to Edina to use as a comparison for survey results. Key factors to consider are educational attainment, age demographics, racial mix and income. Second, provide their perceptions on what is in the student survey. It was noted that the 2013 survey was significantly more comprehensive, including a number of additional questions and topic areas. This change in the survey will make the comparison to prior surveys a challenge, but will give a more comprehensive picture of student health issues. It was also noted that survey was given to 4 years of public school students. Schools are not required to participate in the survey and not every age group got all of the questions. C. VISION 20/20 Member Pence volunteered to work with Mary Brindle as liason on the the Vision 20/20. The current CHC direction is that the City use the general section Mission/Vision modifications provided by the CHC, followed by an evaluation of the addition of a more specific health objective. Member Stegner suggested that the objectives include specificity so that there is more direction on the potential impact (i.e. collective weight loss goal is tangible and visible) on the health of the community. The continuing discussion was that this is a 10-year vision for the City. Too specific courses of action may not be applicable in future time. For the February meeting, members should review Vision 20/20 (on website) and see how it may translate to creating specific objectives to health recommendations. D. 2014 Health Policy and Focus Initiatives Work plan was approved with some additions. Work with Edina Resource Center and Bloomington Public Health on Increasing Focus and Awareness on:  Common Mental Health Issues and Available Resources  Increasing the Presence of Stress Management Tools in the Community and Awareness of the Impact of Stress on the Physical, Mental, and Social Well-Being of Edina Residents  Increasing Awareness of Healthy Eating and Living Choices for More at Risk Populations (e.g., Seniors, lower income populations)  Senior Mobility and Access to and Use of Local and State/County Services Mostly related to increasing awareness to these issues. It would be beneficial to have representatives from Edina Senior Center, Edina Resource Center, VEAP and SHIP attend a meeting to discuss how they can help the Commission achieve its goals. There may be some overlap between these groups so those could be identified. The May meeting is a target date for this discussion. VEAP’s new facility has a commercial kitchen that will be used for education on home cooking. Member Johnson suggested a tour. Chair Doscotch and Members Pence and Belani expressed an interest in doing so. Evaluate Scope and Job Description of City Community Health Administrator Regarding Alignment with CHC Report and Recommendations; Examine Potential Scope Change of Position (e.g., increased community health coordination) Jeff Brown’s position has not been backfilled yet. Interviews are being set up. Focus for this year is on-line presence. Outreach to groups (residents and businesses) may need to be separate as all issues to not apply to both groups. The new structure for the Health Department will have the 2 field people cross-trained, providing more flexibility and backup. Liaison Brown’s availability depends on the new hire. For this Commission, his perspective and support for policy changes will be needed. Coordinate with Chemical Health Coordinator and School District on Potential Improvements Related to Alcohol, Drug, and Tobacco Usage and Bullying New student survey results will factor in. The City Chemical health coordinator is Kathy Iverson. A new person has just started with the school district. The subgroup could meet with these individuals and bring results back to the group. Member Pence volunteered to contact Ms. Iverson to set up a meeting. Work with Bloomington Public Health to Improve Local Health Survey to Facilitate Better Edina Health Benchmarking Chair Doscotch will distribute a copy of the health survey. Members should review it and share thoughts/concerns with Member Stegner for the March meeting. The method of distribution may need to be reviewed. The survey was emailed to those who had provided e-mail addresses. The result was 400 respondents out of 160,000 Edina residents. It was not random how respondents were chosen Initiate with City Staff Increase Community Health Presence on City Website (e.g., tools and resources focused on the health of those that live and work in the community) The suggestion was made to have Jennifer Bennerotte attend a meeting to discuss the website. This could include links to resources, specifically to areas of focus (i.e. weight and exercise, mental health, teen alcohol and drug use, senior population.) Member Johnson suggested the Commission considering hosting a Senior Expo. Previous Expos were held in April 2006, October 2007 and April 2009. It was well received by the seniors and helpful information was distributed. It was funded by sponsors and donations. Possible sponsors are local senior housing complexes, churches. Member Johnson could serve as a consultant for the project. This can be discussed further at the February meeting for a possible October Expo. Each of the Youth, Aging and General Health Subcommittees Identify Two Health Improvement Opportunities (HIOs) and Work with City Staff on Relevant Policy Changes Subgroups should identify at least two HIOs. Some of these will come up naturally after going thru student survey, etc. E. Electronic Cigarettes/Vapor Lounges Electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) are electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) which are battery operated and contain a liquid capsule which vaporizes the liquid into aerosol form, which is exhaled. It is a way to get nicotine delivery without lighting up a cigarette. Some look like cigarettes but others do not. Sales are prohibited by State Law to youth under age 18. Member Conner has been researching this subject. She shared that it is a broad and complicated topic. It is not known if ENDS are unsafe or unhealthy for air quality. ENDS are not governed by the FDA as drugs and manufacturers are prohibited from making medical smoking cessation claims. These products are currently taxed under a non- cigarette, tobacco category. An attendee at the City Council meeting in December provided a binder “Minnesota Vapors Advocacy” to the Commission. Information from the binder will be consider while evaluating the ENDS issue. Currently, ENDS are not allowed on Edina school premises. The City has a moratorium on Vaping Lounges until December 2014. Member Belani shared information that nicotine has side effects in the body. Whatever policy is presented, it must be relative to the risk. Context – cigarettes are sold and regulated. There are restrictions on where and when they can be smoked. ENDS are not in the Edina tobacco license category at this time. Member Conner reiterated that the assumption cannot be made that ENDS are harmful. Education needs to be provided so people can make their own choices. The State is taking on this issue for the next session (before May). This may help the Commission proceed. State laws will likely take care of public spaces. Member Conner will summarize what is happening statewide, the trends, the big questions. Member Stegner made a motion to require that ENDS sellers be licensed in Edina. He said this is tangible and that there is no reason to delay. Licensing would further regulate sales to youth. Sellers could lose their license for selling to youth. A motion was raised to require a City license for ENDS in a fashion similar to tobacco products. Chair Doscotch asked for a second to the motion. There was none. It was determined that further discussion and evaluation is needed. Staff Liaison Brown indicated that the current definition would need to be amended to include ENDS or require a separate license. Member Belani indicated that he would like to see use in city minimized. The sales target is youth. This is proven by the flavors, etc. ENDS promote/recruit addictive behavior. There is an economic cost in that. Member Conner pointed out that ENDS can be bought online. Staff Liaison Brown indicated that a modification to licensing requirements to include ENDS is not a significant hurdle. The logistics of changing definition is needed if Council is in support. Rationale needs to be provided. Chair Doscotch motioned that the Commission recommend the City evaluate the licensing of ENDS relative to sale in the city with the recommendation to effectively license. All voted aye. The motion passed. No further discussion on motion at this time. There is no specific deadline on the 2014 work plan for this objective. VI. CORRESPONDENCE Information for the 2014 Tom Oye Human Rights Award Nominations was distributed. Applications must be received by January 31, 2014. VII. CHAIR AND COMMITTEE COMMENTS The subject of Food Trucks has been on the Patch. The social community connections could be positive as it would be a gathering place. Staff Liaison Brown provided the Health Department view. Food Trucks would be regulated like restaurants. This can be more difficult with a mobile unit. They must have a safe water supply, sufficient waste water capacity and waste capacity. Food preparation must be done in a controlled manner, either on the truck or at a food preparation site such as a commissary. Currently the Health Department can issue special event licenses with a limited time (i.e. 10 days/3 times). Requirements are less than a seasonal truck would have to do because exposure to public is limited. There is a category for 21 days but the truck cannot be in same location for more than a certain amount of days. Over 21 days, the truck is considered a restaurant. The truck must then meet all the commercial requirements. Some Edina establishments may raise an objection to the food trucks. Currently there are no sales from tents, vehicles, or trailers of any kind. Special consideration is given to Art Fair and Fall Art Fair. Minneapolis has a requirement that a food truck needs to be 100 feet from a brick and mortar restaurant. They are considering increasing that space. This Commission does not take a position on this issue. The completion of the comprehensive CHC Report and Recommendations are being delayed because of the student survey results. Members Kingston and Johnson’s terms have expired. Chair Doscotch thanked both members for their service input and commitment. Member Johnson has served on this Commission for 6 years. Member Johnson shared that she has enjoyed being on Committee. She would like to see more monitoring of the concessions at Bremar Arena and the Golf Dome. She is concerned about the large sodas and vending. She believes that all public venues should be included in healthy concessions (i.e. golf course, pool, etc.). Chair Doscotch suggested that the CHC can meet with Susie Miller, Arena Manager, and bring results back to the Commission. Member Pence said SHIP has not met. VIII. STAFF COMMENTS Staff Liaison Draper said the 2014 meeting schedule shows the meeting date changed to the first Tuesday instead of third. The members decided to keep the meeting dates as scheduled. Staff Liaison Brown reminded members about the attendance requirements. Results are reported to the City Clerk. Special meetings do not count toward the requirement. Three meetings missed ends membership. Seventy five percent of meetings must be attended. The Council is engaged in the process of replacing expired membership to the CHC. The Council is working on the two openings. Member Pence inquired if there was a Living Streets update. Not at this time. Staff Liaison Brown shared that Edina has a public health pamphlet. It is no longer titled Bloomington Public Health which should be less confusing. IX. ADJOURNMENT Member Belani moved to adjourn. Member Pence seconded the motion. All voted aye. The meeting was adjourned at 8:36 p.m.