|
|
|
|
Norwalk
Health Department
Board of Health Actions
|
Board of Health Monthly Meeting Minutes
May 8, 2007 8:00 AM Library
Call to order at 8:05 AM
Present: Board of Health – John McNamara, MD (by telephone), Edward Tracey,
MD and Martha Lemmon PE,
Staff – Tim Callahan, Director of Health
Minutes of April 10, 2007 meeting – A motion to approve was made by Ms. Lemmon, seconded by Dr. Tracey, and approved unanimously.
Acceptance of Health Department Strategic Plan
On March 13, 2007, Jennifer Kertanis, Executive Director of the Connecticut
Association of Directors of Health, facilitated a discussion with the Senior
Management Team of the Norwalk Health Department, members of the Board of Health
and the City Grants Writer, representing the Mayor, on the Health Department's
strengths and areas identified for improvement under each of the 10 NACCHO standards
(see attached notes). The final strategic planning session, facilitated by Jim
Fairfield-Sonn, took place on April 3, 2007 with the Senior Management Team
of the Norwalk Health Department, members of the Board of Health, the City Grants
Writer and the Chairman of the Health Welfare and Public Safety Committee representing
the Common Council. The final session began with a review by Tim Callahan of
the progress that had been made toward attaining the balanced scorecard goals
from the previous planning effort. After this review, the group discussed the
process that would be used in this year's planning process. This was followed
by a review of the department’s vision statement, which was found to still be
appropriate. The session continued with an analysis of external developments
and their implications for the department and an internal assessment based on
the new NACCHO standards. Following this review, the group revised the mission
statement to reflect new priorities for the coming year. The session concluded
with the development of a set of “balanced scorecard” goals to reflect the priorities
in the new mission.
Vision “Excellence with Efficiency”
Mission
The mission of the Norwalk Health Department is to prevent disease, assure a
Healthy environment, and promote the highest quality of life within our changing
community. During this fiscal year (7/1/07– 6/30/08) there will be a focus on
improvements in three areas.
One major focus will be on monitoring health status and understanding health issues facing the community. Here, our efforts will be aimed at identifying and gathering data that describes the health status of the community. Since this information is a critical first step in assessing the community's health, once it is available, the next step in this process will be undertaking a community health assessment.
The second major focus will be on developing the capacity to evaluate and improve programs and interventions as part of our commitment to continuous quality improvement.
The third focus will be on protecting people from health problems and health hazards. The emphasis here will be on continuing to develop the public health emergency response capacity and meeting regulatory mandates for environmental and clinical programs.
“Balanced Scorecard Goals for FY 2007– 2008”
Financial 10%
Continue seeking grants
- Wellness
Explore new fee-for-services
Increase fee-based revenues.
Operational 45%
Continue to develop Emergency Response capacity.
Identify and meet standards for inspections (100%)
Expand wellness projects.
Develop program evaluation capacity.
Initiate a Community Health Assessment.
Educate the public on the programs within the department.
Customer Satisfaction 20%
Conduct web surveys
- travel survey
- flu survey.
Innovation and Learning 25%
Introduce new software system.
A motion to approve to approve the strategic plan was made by Dr. Tracey, seconded by Ms Lemmon and passed unanimously.
Update on Geese
Representatives from the Conservation Commission and Parks Department were not
available. A motion to table this item and reschedule for the June 2008 meeting
was made by Ms Lemmon, seconded by Dr Tracey and passed unanimously.
Other Business
Pet stores – Ms Lemmon expressed her concerns with the potential for the spread
of disease from unsanitary and unhealthy pets that are found in some stores.
Mr. Callahan will follow up with state agencies to determine the extent of monitoring
and will report to the Board in June.
Adjourn at 9:05 AM
 |
 |