Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutBOH 10/06/2022Town of Mansfield RECEIVtO Board of Health TOWN CLERKS OFFICE October 6, 2022 Minutes 1013 JAN 11 A II: 51 Mission Statement: The mission of the Mansfield Board of Health is to prq�e typtj T� improve the public health, environment, and wellbeing of our citizens through the enfo'r`cerh n f federal, state, and local statutes and regulations, education and promotion of sanitary living and working conditions, and protection of the environment from disease and pollution. Present: Antonia Blinn: Chair. Graham Wilson; Clerk, Michael Healey (1/2 hour late), Ryan Maxwel mer; Health Agent. Absent: Kasia Frenette The meeting of the Board of Health (BOH) was called to order at 7:02 pm by Chair Antonia Blinn. ; 11. Coriespofldence .. : . None Mr. Maxwell makes a motion to skip the consent agenda, 2nd by Mr. Wilson. Approved 3-0. August 4,'2022 • Motion to approve the minutes from August 4, 2022 made by Mr. Maxwell, 2nd -Mr. Wilson. Approved 3-0. September 7, 2022 • Motion to approve the minutes from September 7, 2022 made by Mr. Maxwell, 2nd Mr. Graham. Approved 3-0. Mr. Maxwell makes a motion to approve consent agenda, 2nd by Mr. Wilson. Approved 3-0. Ms. Donovan -Palmer sent an email notifying TGI Friday's on attending the meeting. Lisa Faria, the Health Department Administrative Assistant, received a call from TGI Friday's on how they did not know about the email since it went to spam. Ms. Faria believed it was an honest mistake on their side. TGI Friday's came in and immediately paid the fee. Ms. Faria told them they did not need to attend the meeting because it was a technology issue. Ms. Blinn asked if they were suggested to add Mansfield's Board of Health address to their loam filter. Ms. Donovan -Palmer mentioned it was already known to be taken care of. The Public Health Nursing Report includes both August, September and a preview of anticipated activities in October. Ms. Blinn appreciates the ongoing totals of activities from January to the end of September on blood pressure, screenings (blood sugar, cholesterol), and continuing to offer and conduct B12 tests per physician orders. Most recent activities in August and September are COVID continuing in the community. Other communicable diseases reported include several cases of Lyme (30 cases of confirmed diagnoses), one case of Salmonella, and one case of Yersinia in September (2nd case of Yersinia). Ms. Blinn mentioned getting official information on Yersinia in the next meeting. Ms. Donovan -Palmer will ask the epidemiologist for an uodate on the Yersinia case. states how going back through previous inspections, he noticed consistent issues with Xfinity including hot and cold holding and staff knowledge of food server practices. Mr. Gilpin states how Xfinity has made significant improvements in their overall performance from 2 separate inspections on: • Hot holding procedures • Adapted using time as a control (foods that do not hold temperature well) • Time marking food during events (making sure nothing goes over the 4 hour mark) • Staff understanding on proper sanitizing procedures (changing or using gloves, washing hands between handling cash and money, handling food) Mr. Gilpin worked on a project with Ms. Donovan -Palmer on FOG compliance, getting restaurants to be forthcoming with records on fast oil and grease cleaning. Mr. Gilpin has seen improvement with receiving more information from being on site at these restaurants and being asked questions. It is not necessary to reach out to these restaurants for their cleaning records, since Mr. Gilpin is getting emails from them. Ms. Donovan -Palmer provided an Excel spreadsheet where this information can be put and kept track of for the year (see who is doing what or if they are missing anything). The establishments gain an understanding of grease cleaning and contact Ms. Donovan -Palmer to submit their cleaning records, showing no issues with back up or sludge control. Helpful for the establishments and Mr. Gilpin. Ms. Blinn asked Mr. Gilpin what challenges restaurants have with FOG compliance or FOG in general. Mr. Gilpin mentions how it is not an issue with compliance pumping once a month, it is more about getting restaurants to give information without physically looking at their cleaning logs. Mr. Gilpin created action plans with restaurants that received multiple repeat violations that have been noted over the course of 2 or 3 inspections. Mr. Gilpin works with the restaurant and discusses the issue with them. Mr. Gilpin states how it is great for people getting into compliance and great for establishments not having to deal with an action demand. More of a conversation, where recommendations are made and Mr. Gilpin hopes to not see a repeat violation on their inspections moving forward. Ms. Donovan -Palmer states that when establishments do not have violations, they do not have a fee to pay for the reinspection. Beneficial to provide establishments with someone like Mr. Gilpin who has the knowledge and can help work on the issue hands on. Mr. Gilpin inspects food trucks and once he gives the inspection, it is considered inspected in Foxboro, Plainville, Easton, Norton, Sharon, and Mansfield, MA. Mr. Gilpin created a tracker to establish what trucks have been inspected and are good for the year, and he will start fresh in January. Mr. Gilpin is planning for the 1st or 2nd week of the month, and letting everybody in the Bristol -Norfolk area know about the state of food trucks for the month. If they plan on getting a permit, they can give their permit since Mr. Gilpin inspected the truck. Advantageous since the board of health will have all that information amongst the towns and share it. Great for food trucks since no inspection needs to be scheduled, they do not have to worry about an inspector coming out before they get their permit and start working. Mr. Gilpin suggests having a dropbox or cloud server to keep inspections on and he can access through all 6 towns. Ms. Blinn asked if it was going through PermitEyes. Mr. Gilpin mentions how it is more of an issue with equipment, which he got an Android tablet with PermitEyes to use for inspections. Ms. Donovan -Palmer drafted the formal policy the BOH is required to have, since they have begun to implement an inspection frequency based on the assigned risk category, allowable under the food code. Ms. Donovan -Palmer states that the communication between the establishment and BOH will be documented for the food protection policy. Ms. Blinn asked about uppercased components and the definitions. Ms. Donovan - Palmer mentions the 3 different links in food policy (590, food code, merged food code) and how bold letters are the definitions you find through the food code. Mr. Healey mentions how a training session may need to be held if many people have a lot of questions about the policy. Ms. Donovan -Palmer mentions that if further explanation is required when the BOH food protection policy is adopted and implemented, changes can be made. Mr. Healey states how the board has the authority to make changes to the category a restaurant is in and that it should be consistent. Change of ownership goes into the risk category based on risk policy as of October 6th. Establishments pay the old fee structure no matter what risk category they are in, but the new fee structure does not go into place until January 1, 2023. Policy does not change anything for the inspector. Mr. Healey makes a motion to have Mansfield's Board of Health Food Protection Policy Inspection Frequency Based on Assigned Risk Category effective for new businesses immediately October 6, 2022 and for existing businesses changed effective January 1, 2023, 2nd by Mr. Wilson. Passes 4-0. Boil water order on September 11th, water was routinely tested every other couple weeks and a sample was taken Wednesday, September 7th. Results did not come back to Mansfield's Water Department until September 9th - routine procedure and the water was retested and resampled on September 9th. Late on September 10th, the water treatment operator spoke with DEP about results of Coliform bacteria in the test results. o E.coli hit on Friday and Coliform bacteria found Saturday after retesting -> Boil water order in effect, official announcement Sunday morning o The town has 24 hours to notify people of the boil water order Ms. Donovan -Palmer spoke with the town manager working with the executive assistant to notify all restaurants. Another email sent out about the boil water order, follow-up emails with restaurants on what to do during a boil water order. Worked with schools on operating their kitchens, what to do with their bubbler, hand washing, etc. • Sunday: water was distributed out to the public • Monday morning: all town departments discussed water distribution and notifying those on how to boil water, more water was handed out o Restaurants called in asking about what to do, how daycares should handle it • Tuesday: Mr. Gilpin put an infographic on the boil water issue for restaurants and commercial kitchens -) town was in decent shape Tuesday • Wednesday: Mansfield notified everybody of lifting the boil water order Ms. Donovan -Palmer sent an email and documents to all restaurants about emergency action plans for food establishments. Ms. Donovan -Palmer shared her protocol with North Attleborough and Plainville the following week during their boil water order. Ms. Donovan -Palmer explained there are 3 different orders regarding water (boil water order, do not drink water order, do not use water order). She will work with the Emergency Preparedness Coalition to develop plans of action for all three. Mansfield needs to continue to work on planning and practicing. Mr. Healey asked what the BOH's role was. Ms. Donovan -Palmer stated the BOH supports health departments in what actions they need to take through education and notification, which she will work with the Emergency Preparedness Coalition on. The water department is in charge of the boil water order situation and mentions no requirement to give water out. Some towns just boil their water. No known cause for how the water was contaminated. Ms. Donovan -Palmer mentions the BOH water treatment plant tour to see how water is treated on Wednesday, October 12 @7:30 AM. Treatment would start on 500 East Street and move to the PFAS treatment with Shawn Precourt, Water Division Head, The updated well regulations focus on fixing the problem with the language in previous well regulations/irrigation wells and modernizing it. Ms. Donovan -Palmer took the model language for regulations for private wells, a model effective for irrigation wells (would also accurately outline drinking water wells). The model comes from the state's 2018 DEP model. Ms. Donovan -Palmer needs to look at well drilling forms and will use the state's for Mansfield's template. Once the board approves the irrigation wells regulations, Ms. Donovan -Palmer will let DEP know, Ms. Faria will send a template, and the town clerk will have it. Mr. Maxwell brought up including geothermal wells in the well regulations since it will make the regulations more comprehensive. Ms. Donovan -Palmer will research more about geothermal wells, email other town departments asking about their well rigs, and talk to the building department about geothermal wells. Mr. Maxwell makes a motion to accept updated well regulations as written with an effective date of December 1, 2022, 2"d by Mr. Wilson. Passes 4-0. Monkeypox: Material in a packet on Monkeypox that can be put on Mansfield's BOH website. Currently no cases of Monkeypox in Mansfield. COVID-19: The DPH sent 70 boxes of 90 COVID test kits each to Mansfield that are being given out at the food pantry, town hall, library, etc. Anyone can get a test kit for free. Wastewater treatment COVID Testing Status: The DPH is offering free testing of COVID in wastewater treatment slants. The W WTP will be tested twice a week for free. Transition the way the Board of Health develops goals with the Foundational Public Health Services instead of the 10 Essential Public Health Services. Foundational Public Health Services foundation areas include: • Communicable disease control • Chronic disease and injury prevention • Environmental public health • Maternal child and family health (area worked on the least) • Access to linkages with clinical care Foundational capabilities include: • Assessment and surveillance • Community partnership development • Equity • Organizational competency • Policy development and support • Accountability and performance management • Emergency preparedness and response (area to strengthen) • Communications Ms. Frenette, Mr. Healey, and Ms. Blinn are working together. By shifting to developing goals by Foundational Public Health Services, the subcommittee can get to work and bring something back to the board in November. Ms. Blinn states that as a small town and staff, it is good to set goals realistically with the capacity Mansfield has. The Foundational Public Health Services is part of the BOH mission statement - needs context on what the Foundational Public Health Services are on the Mansfield BOH website. On September 13, Ms. Blinn showed a health assessment class Mansfield's BOH website on different activities the BOH does. Students were surprised by the responsibility of each town regarding BOH activities. The class is interested in learning more about what happens in local public health. Ms. Donovan -Palmer and Ms. Frenette plan to go to sessions on October 18th and 25th and will discuss what they do in a day with the class. Intern Kevin Sassaman who provided the pre -reading on the community health assessment will make himself available if the BOH needs him. Students are currently looking at certain populations such as LGBTOIA+ and vouth (age 10-14 affected by the pandemic). The class is on Tuesday 6-9 PM. Public Flu Vaccination Clinics (first come, first serve) Thursday, October 13 @CO/Library from 1-4 PM Wednesday, October 19 & October 26 @Mansfield High School from 5-8 PM flu shot) Graham Wilson reported the committee is working on looking at regulations and seeing what needs to be updated since 1980 was the last year with an update. They are researching surrounding towns to see what frameworks have recently updated and will work off those frameworks on waste reduction. Guidelines for the state for 2030 want to have disposal decreased going forward. Recycling cleanliness is still one of the Public Health Partners Coalition - The state asked everyone participating in grants to complete a capacity assessment. Ms. Donovan -Palmer completed the capacity assessment. Ms. Donovan -Palmer will send the PDF of the capacity assessment to BOH. FOG - Discussed by Paul Gilpin. Mr. Healey suggests Mr. Gilpin mentions what he sees is working best, and brings it up to the board. PFAS - Ms, Blinn and several BOH members met with the select board on September 7th. Ms. Faria made a flyer about PFAS and it was at Welcome to Mansfield's Day. Ms. Donovan -Palmer spoke with Josh Reinke, DPW Director, and is working on updating the website to have info on PFAS in Mansfield. Website/Social Media Update - Ms. Frenette continuously updates Facebook with different public health messages. The Academic Public Health Corps gave a flyer on the test kit expiration date. Need to figure out how to give out flyers to everyone. Housing Inspections - Regional training on Tuesday (10/11) 3AB with Trauma Services. Free training to any health department on disaster inspections. 6 regional towns will attend. Grant Applications - Ms. Donovan -Palmer completed the grant application (the community strategic plan on improving the food protection program). FDA retail standards do self -assessment of 9 different categories. Innovative/Alternative Technology in Septic Systems - Requires operation and maintenance contracts that are supposed to be sent to health departments and have not been done. Everyone is up to date. Companies are responsible to tell Ms. Donovan -Palmer if the contract needs to be renewed. • Ms. Donovan -Palmer had a meeting with the town manager and economic development manager about having a biosafety lab in town. Other topics: • Renewal for the hazard mitigation grant. • MHOA Conference coming up in October. • Ms. Donovan -Palmer volunteered to be on the Public Health Emergency Preparedness Coalition executive board and work on more emergency preparedness planning regionally. • Working with senior volunteer Carol on digitizing all BOH records. • Chief Desrosiers is holding an employee booster clinic on October 14. None Chairs of each board are invited to meet with the select board. Invitation is on November 2nd to attend the select board meeting and provide updates of Mansfield's BOH. Ms. Donovan -Palmer and Ms. Blinn are attending. No slides needed. Ms. Blinn mentioned reflecting and sharing accomplishments of BOH (the document with BOH's goals has great language of their accomplishments, different regulations being updated, communities still have fluoridation). Mr. Healey will think about BOH's accomplishments and send a note. Can reauest for additional support. Anyone can attend the meeting. MotionZ777 Mr. Healey, 2ntl by Mr. Wilson at 9:06 pm. Approved 4-0. 10/2� Clerk v Date