| Board Meeting Minutes- July 14, 2003 |  |
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900 West Main Street Members Present Susan Garrett, Chairman Members Absent none Others Present James R. Peterson, Executive Director
Ms. Garrett, chairman, called the meeting to order at 2:03 p.m.
Ms. Garrett introduced and welcomed Ms. Angela Hammond who was appointed by the Louisa County Board of Supervisors to fill the vacancy following the end of Mr. Stephen Wunsh’s term.
Ms. Garrett asked if there were any comments from the public. There were none. IV. SPECIFICATION OF OTHER ITEMS TO BE ADDED TO THE AGENDA Ms. Garrett asked if there were other items to add to the agenda. There were none.
Ms. Barrett noted that on page 2 of the June 9 minutes, it should read “Ms.” Rebholz. Also, for the VACSB report, it should read next “conference” at Wintergreen. There is a special meeting tomorrow and then a regular board meeting on July 23. ON A MOTION BY DR. SHERAS, SECONDED BY MS. JOHNSTON, THE MINUTES OF THE JUNE 9, 2003, BOARD MEETING WERE UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED AS CORRECTED. ON A MOTION BY MS. REBHOLZ, SECONDED BY MS. BARRETT, THE MINUTES OF THE JUNE 30, 2003, BOARD MEETING WERE UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED AS DISTRIBUTED.
Ms. Garrett said that it was her pleasure to honor Dr. Sheras for his leadership as chairman, and she presented a gavel will an engraved band as a token of the board’s respect and appreciation. Ms. Garrett reported that she had telephoned board members to serve on the committees, and she distributed a list of the committee memberships.
Mr. Pezzoli commented that the minutes of the meeting speak for themselves. Some committee members are interested in also fulfilling the role that would be supportive and helpful to the Meadowcreek Center, on the model of the “Friends of Blue Ridge House.” Also, Ms. Barrett will serve to coordinate volunteers for the center. Ms. Barrett added that people say they would like to volunteer, but do not know what to do, so she will help to get the ball rolling. Mr. Pezzoli said that Ms. Martha Maltais is doing a fabulous job, but is not seated at the board table because of the reorganization which places her position as reporting to him. Mr. Belair and Ms. Barrett commented that receiving input is very important, and Ms. Garrett said that part of the CARF approach is to maximize the input that comes from the outside. Ms. Rebholz said this was also true of input from the Blue Ridge Family Alliance. Ms. Garrett said that these issues would be considered further at the retreat. Ms. Barrett asked the members to look at attachment one to the
committee minutes which outlines various volunteer opportunities,
and if the board members or others have any interest, please let
her know.
Ms. Barrett reported that the VACSB would hold a special planning meeting tomorrow to review the proposed legislative and budget plans for the upcoming session of the General Assembly. She will attend along with Dr. Sheras and Mr. Peterson. Mr. Belair asked if the intention was to seek additional funding in the upcoming year, and Ms. Barrett responded affirmatively, adding that it was important to let the administration and legislators know that things are not O.K. Ms. Wernstrom asked if the association meets more than twice a year to convey these needs, and Ms. Barrett said that there are almost daily meetings with the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services, and so there will not be any surprises.
The meeting was adjourned at 2:25 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Carol Johnston EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING September 2, 2003
Susan Garrett, Chairman Others Present James Peterson, Executive Director 1. Planning for the September 8 board meeting Committee members reviewed the minutes and the proposed agenda. Mr. Murphy pointed out that the agenda was very ambitious, and in order to cover all of the items, the discussion following the childrens’ services report will need to be limited, at least for this meeting. 2. Schedule of Executive Committee meeting dates and times The Executive Committee will meet on Tuesday, October 7, 12:00 noon, and then on the first Monday of every month at noon for the remainder of the year, subject to rescheduling as may be appropriate. 3. FY 2004 Committee membership The list of the final committee assignments was distributed. 4. Status report on retreat goals and the charge to the Executive Committee The committee members reviewed the status of each of the retreat objectives. Ms. Garrett reported that she had drafted a charge to the Executive Committee to incorporate the responsibilities of a long range planning committee. The committee then revised the charge for presentation to the board. If accepted, the bylaws would be revised at a subsequent board meeting to include this responsibility: It is the responsibility of the Executive Committee to assure that the organization has a clear mission statement and a strategic plan. The committee works with the executive director to update and implement a long range strategic plan that enables Region Ten to best achieve its mission. 5. Scheduling of annual visits to city council and boards of supervisors After some discussion, the committee recommends that these visits be scheduled for the month of November, and that all board members from each locality should attend the presentation for their locality. 6. Substance Abuse Services Advisory Committee Mr. Belair will review the bylaws for the Region Ten substance abuse advisory committee that was in place during the 1980's and early 1990's. He will also look at the Mental Retardation Services Advisory Committee bylaws because the board invested considerable effort in developing those bylaws. He will report his recommendations at the next meeting of the Executive Committee. 7. Mental Retardation Services Advisory Committee Three items were distributed: minutes of the August 7, 2003 meeting; a list of the current committee members which the board must act upon in terms of reappointment at the September 8 meeting; and an application for membership on the committee from former committee member, Ms. Cheryl Ribando. 8. Items scheduled for annual board review at September Board meeting Mr. Peterson had sent an e-mail request to board members to alert him to any issues that should be reviewed with regard to the annual scheduled review of the bylaws, board policies, board member orientation plan, and strategic plan. No responses were received. Board members will still have the opportunity to raise any questions at the board meeting (or any future board meetings), but since the board is in the process of reviewing the bylaws and the strategic plan, and the scheduled review of the policies and board member orientation has been initiated, the board will have met its obligation for annual review of these items at the September meeting. 9. CARF With regard to the status of the CARF Quality Improvement Plan (QIP), complete copies of the CARF survey report, the QIP submitted in response to the survey report, and CARF’s letter of acceptance of the QIP were distributed. CARF will not review the QIP until the scheduled review in three years, but it is the organization’s responsibility to assure that the plan is carried out. With regard to the schedule for CARF certification of Region Ten’s remaining services, Mr. Peterson indicated that although no specific date had been specified for this, the assumption had been that the review would take place in the Spring 2004. He is recommending that the date be pushed back to the Fall 2004 in order to complete the work still in progress on the David Lloyd implementation, and to be able to comfortably gear up for the final CARF survey. 10. 800 Preston Avenue: “Mold Assessment and Indoor Air Quality” report Complete copies of the assessment report were distributed. At this point, the cost for the abatement program will be $20,000 with additional expense for carpet replacement and some work to the affected walls. 11. Finnegan & Associates, Inc., fund raising plan A contract with this firm would guarantee a ten-fold return on a retainer fee of $25,000 or the fee would be refunded on a pro-rata basis. The grant writing firm would bring potential grants to the attention of Region Ten, but would only pursue those for which Region Ten gave the go-ahead. It is recognized that staff would have to submit necessary information as part of the application process, but again, Region Ten can decline to have the firm pursue any grant if the amount of work did not make sense in a cost-benefit analysis. On a motion by Mr. Belair, seconded by Ms. Johnston, it was unanimously voted to recommend to the board of Region Ten , Inc., that Region Ten contract with Finnegan & Associates for a one year contract at the $25,000 level. 12. Western State Hospital Two items were distributed pertaining to Western State Hospital: a press release reporting that the U.S. Department of Justice investigation has been concluded; and an invitation to attend the 175th anniversary of Western State Hospital to be observed on Wednesday, September 24, 9:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Mr. Peterson also reported on a regional effort to secure Discharge Assistance And Diversion (DAD) funds for this region. There is currently a state-wide crisis in the availability of inpatient beds, and these funds would greatly assist Community Services Boards to make essential placements. 13. Staff survey on the status of the implementation of the Service Process Quality Management Initiative (David Lloyd process) Copies of the second level of analysis of the survey results were distributed. These tables displayed the percentage of responses to every question, and also the rank ordering of what staff thought were most import, most fully implemented, and which had helped Region Ten the most (and conversely for each, the rank ordering of the negative responses). 14. Virginia Association of Community Services Boards All board members have received the information on the VACSB Conference to be held at Wintergreen, October 8 - 10, 2003. So far, nine board members have responded that they would be in attendance. Copies of the minutes of the July 23, 2003 meeting of VACSB Board of Directors were distributed along with copies of the proposed/revised 04-05 VACSB Budget. 15. ARC March, Richmond, September 20, 2003 Region Ten will join with the ARC of the Piedmont to organize a caravan and car pool to Richmond to participate in the ARC March. The caravan will assemble at 8:15 a.m. at the Park Street Presbyterian Church. All board members, staff and other advocates are encouraged to participate. 16. Next meeting of the Executive Committee The next meeting of the Executive Committee will be held on Tuesday, October 7, 2003, 12:00 noon, at the Hardware Store Restaurant, 316 East Main Street, Charlottesville. The meeting was adjourned. Mental Retardation Advisory Committee
Martha Maltais opened the meeting and expressed John Pezzoli’s best regards to the group. Although John was not able to attend this meeting due to a scheduling conflict, this conflict should be resolved in the near future so that he can be in attendance. 2. Approval of the Minutes Motion to approve minutes made by Carol Cutler, second by Linda Noakes. Minutes stand approved. 3. Review of Bylaws Linda Noakes collected input from committee members concerning any suggestions to propose that the Region Ten Board make amendments to the MR Advisory committee bylaws. Many advisory members expressed the opinion that the Friends of Meadowcreek option could be pursued by the committee without a change to the bylaws. The Friends of Meadowcreek option could be a separate endeavor and Advisory Committee members could choose to participate in a Friends of Meadowcreek effort. Committee members expressed the desire to focus on mental retardation services in our community in a way that duplication is avoided but the community works in a collaborative way. As the members reviewed the bylaws, it was noted that several parts of the bylaws have not been followed: -no annual meeting in June occurred- this should be the last meeting
of the fiscal year Martha informed the committee that she had spoken with Mike Murphy who is currently deciding whether to remain on the committee or not. Mike did inform Martha that it was his hope that a non-Region Ten Board member would assume the committee chairmanship. As the committee continued to review the bylaws, a suggestion from the floor was made that the committee address the need for elections. Members decided to appoint interim officers (Chair and Vice-Chair) until officers can be elected at the next meeting. The committee accepted Carolyn Taylor as an interim chair and Linda Noakes as an interim vice chair until elections can be held. The committee intends to hold elections at the next meeting (September 4, 2003). Carol Cutler agreed to serve as a nominating committee member to poll members by the next meeting to see if anyone else is interested in serving as an officer. Carolyn Taylor identified the need to focus on process—how do we get things done? The committee needs to have goals and objectives. The committee also needs to ask the Board to identify more persons from the community who might be willing to serve on the advisory committee. The committee expressed the need to tap in to our area resources and publicize our achievements. Martha pointed out that the local Best Buddies Chapter had been recognized as one of the best in the country. Best Buddies works very closely with MR staff to assist with community integration of consumers. The committee further discussed the Friends of Meadowcreek idea. Charles Byers expressed the desire to have more people such as himself serve on a Friends of Meadowcreek committee. Carolyn Taylor expressed the need to brainstorm ideas and suggested the possibility of a committee retreat to get ideas. Part of brainstorming can be more ideas regarding Friends of Meadowcreek. The committee continued to make suggestions for modifications to the bylaws for review at the next meeting. Linda Noakes will summarize suggested modifications for committee review and forward to members via email. Members should be prepared to vote on recommendations concerning bylaws and election of officers at the next meeting.
Barbara Barrett reported that she had met with Martha to review ideas and needs for volunteers at Meadowcreek and in the group homes/independent apartments. October 7th is tentatively slated to be an evening for a volunteer orientation if we can get interested persons to become volunteers. Suggestions from the floor included connecting with churches to solicit volunteers. Other suggestions included setting up a booth at the mall to hand out flyers and give information about volunteer opportunities with Region Ten. Volunteers could adopt a group home among the many other possible activities they could participate in. 5. Review of flyer/website/information phone line 6. Next Meeting Thursday, September 4, 2003, 4:00-5:30 at the Meadowcreek Center. REGION TEN COMMUNITY SERVICES BOARD LOCAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE Members Present Phil Carr Others Present James Peterson, Executive Director From Fair Winds From Whisper Ridge: From the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation Charles Collins, Regional Advocate Paul Patrick The meeting was convend by the chair, Mr. Carr. Everyone introduced themselves. 1. Update from Whisper Ridge Ms. Nolan provided a summary of the most recent incident at Whisper Ridge (formerly the Brown School) that was reported in the Daily Progress. A 14 year old female resident ran from church. The staff and two other residents had to go back into the sanctuary to wait. The police were called and a missing person report was filed. The resident was found with a 41 year old man on the way to Mississippi. The incident was evaluated by the DMHMRSAS office of licensure and no violations were identified. Also, the office granted a one year license to the program (an upgrade from the provisional license that was in effect).
Mr. Edward Murphy, executive director of Fair Winds, provided an overview of the program. The 8-bed group home is located on Sandusty Road in Louisa County on a 31 acre site. Boys and girls, ages 4 to 12, will be served, but the difference in ages of residents will never be more than 5 years at any given time. Children with severe emotional disturbances and also with IQ’s as low as 70 will be served utilizing funding through Medicaid. The anticipated length-of-stay will range from 9 to 11 months. Opening of the facility is targeted for November 1. Mr. Ruble had not as yet been able to evaluate the Fair Winds proposed human rights policies because he had not received a copy although the committee members had. Ms. Hymes asked several questions regarding definitions in the polices and also the right of the child to refuse medication. Mr. Collins said that the question is, does a child between the ages of 4 to 12 have the right to refuse medication if the legal guardian has given their consent. Mr. Ruble said that an opinion from the office of the Attorney General states that you can not actively force a child to take medication. The program was requested to spell out the concept of “frozen time” in human rights terms in their policies. Mr. Ruble indicated he would consult with Ms. Hymes regarding her concerns during the process of reviewing the Whisper Ridge human rights policies for approval. On a motion by Ms. Milner, seconded by Ms. Hymes, it was unanimously voted to accept the affiliation of Fair Winds under the umbrella of the Region Ten Local Human Rights Committee, subject to the approval by DMHMRSAS of the human rights policies.
Mr. Veerhoff mentioned two issues that their program has been dealing with. Since the closing of Charter Hospital, it is impossible to find a willing facility to accept psychiatric admissions. Mr. Peterson commented that this is a state-wide crisis, and is undergoing extensive scrutiny on three related fronts, at the state level, at the regional level, and locally, including Community Services Boards, state facilities, private hospitals, sheriffs, police and other stakeholders. A proposal will be made to secure funding for placements in private psychiatric hospitals as is available in the Northern and Richmond areas of the state. Another issue mentioned by Mr. Veerhoff involves the use of behavioral medications that clients transferring into his program have been prescribed but that there is no plan for the reduction in the medications to get off of them. Mr. Collins suggested that the receiving program needs to attend to that. 4. Introduction of Region Ten’s New Consumer Advocate Mr. Peterson introduced Ms. Linda Wells who has been hired to fill the new position of consumer advocate for Region Ten. Ms. Wells will initially be dealing with informal complaints, but it is the longer term intention that she will handle all complaints through the entire process. Mr. Collins called the members attention to the complaint resolution process contained on page 29 of the state human rights regulations, which includes a description of the informal complaint process that can lead to the formal complaint process. Mr. Collins also noted that he was involved in three formal complaints at Region Ten this month, and that all were resolved.
Mr. Collins had invited Mr. Paul Patrick to attend the RTLHRC meeting for consideration by the committee to nominate Mr. Patrick for membership on the committee. Mr. Patrick was a founder of “on our own,” and although he still serves on the board of “on our own,” he indicated he would resign from the board if appointed to the RTLHRC as required by the state human rights regulations. Mr. Patrick has been a mental health advocate for 20 years. On a motion by Ms. Hymes, seconded by Ms. Milner, it was unanimously voted to submit the nomination of Mr. Paul Patrick for membership on the Region Ten Local Human Rights Committee to the State Human Rights Committee for consideration.
Then next regular meeting of the Region Ten Local Human Rights Committee will be held on Friday, November 21, 2003, 3:30 p.m. at a location to be determined. The meeting was adjourned. July 14, 2003, BOARD MEETING MINUTES
Susan Garrett, Chairman Members Absent None Others Present James R. Peterson, Executive Director I. Call to Order Ms. Garrett, chairman, called the meeting to order at 8:48 p.m.
On a motion by Dr. Sheras, seconded by Ms. Johnston, the minutes of the June 9, 2003, board meeting were unanimously approved as distributed. The meeting was adjourned at 8:49 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Carol Johnston |
