HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-11-16
RICEIVED
TOWN OlERK'S OFFICE
NANTUCKET, MA 02554
Contract Review Committee
November 16, 2006
2 Fairgrounds Road TI
DEe 1 4 2006
10 -Of
Attending: Brian Chadwick, Jack Gardner, John Belash,CAI~cWade, Rrlrhpl Rosen.
Dirk Roggeveen, Christy Kickham, Maryanne Worth, Ann Medina, Meg Hunter, Kat
Robinson-Greider, Cheryl Fuller, Barbara Hall, Michelle Langlois, Sheri Hunt, Jane Bonvini
A Safe Place: $150,000 Meg Hunter, Kat Robinson-Greider, Barbara Hall,
Micelle Langlois, Cheryl Fuller.
The amount of the request, $150,000 will be used as follows: Emergency services:
$15,000/ Court Advocacy: $7,500/ Prevention, Education: $10,000/ Survivor Support,
Counseling: $37,000/ Clinical/Child and Adolescent: $25,000/ Clinical/Adult: $52,000/
Staff Training & Development: $3,500.
A Safe Place is very busy, there are between 50 to 60 ongoing clients. Multiplicity of
issues: adults with domestic violence/sexual assault issues; mental health issues;
substance abuse issues. Substance abuse and mental health issues are referred to
NBHS. A Safe Place and NBHS do collaborate. A Safe Place has been level funded back
seven years by the state, a 48% cut. The state has awarded all agencies the same
amount they did seven years ago. Some agencies have closed their doors. The town
also has been granting us the same every year with no increase. There has been a
tremendous increase in services; according to Chief Pittman domestic violence is a
bigger issue than substance abuse. There are 4 calls per shift and most involve other
issues. A Safe Place provides training however they cannot do everything with the
funding that is available. They are asking for more funding from private sources and
they are also doing more fundraising. Last year the possibility of third party billing was
talked about. Has that progressed? A Safe Place is trying to access this, the best way for
them to be able to do third party billing is to become a free-standing licensed clinic. The
Commonwealth of Massachusetts has strict regulations for agencies that bill Medicare
and Medicaid; it is a monumental barrier to overcome. With a contract with the state
there are services that must be provided at no cost, however the state has not funded
us. A Safe Place is asking for 3 times more than it did last year. Where is the money
going? A Safe Place lost $60,000 last year. They are operating on a bare bones budget;
they are trying to eliminate their deficit. Their fundraiser netted $40,000. Domestic
violence takes the largest chunk of their funding. A Safe Place is doing more for less.
Elder Services: $8,027 Sheri Hunt.
The amount of the request $8,027 will be used for the Meals-on-Wheels program. Elder
Services asks each town on the Cape and Islands to provide 99 cents for each meal it
provides in the community. Elder Services does ask for a $2.00 donation from each
senior receiving a meal however they are receiving an average of $1.12 per meal. They
served 39 residents a total of 8,108 meals for FY06. All meals are delivered by
volunteers; there are 28 volunteers right now although it is difficult to get volunteers to
deliver to Madaket and Sconset. There is only one person in Madaket. The average
route takes about an hour. Sometimes this meal is the only contact some of these folks
have with another person. We are trying increase the visibility of Elder Services. Most
people think the meals are provided by the Hospital or The Saltmarsh Senior Center.
The hospital cooks the meals and the Saltmarsh Center provides congregate meals but
the Meals-on-Wheels program is provided by Elder Services of Cape Cod and the
Islands.
. .
Nantucket Cottage HosDital Social Services Program $57,579 Jane Bonvini.
The amount of the request, $57,579 is to fund the Social Services Program. The services
provided include: Insurance assistance; financial assistance; long term care planning;
crisis intervention; case management and referral; interpreter program; lifeline program;
outreach. The Hospital has been providing services for over 21 years. The scope of
services has not changed, they added a health care advocate 5 years ago who also is a
Spanish interpreter. The health care advocate does outreach with the people in the
community. Many people come in for a variety of services. The hospital sees a lot of
aliens, documented or not, and most of her time is spent helping them. Peter MacKay
does a lot of work with the elderly, crisis intervention, long term care, referrals to NBHS,
and helps anyone who walks into the hospital. In 2004 there is a spike in number of
contacts and hours spent, does that show repeated visits or individuals? There has been
an increase in the population that is stressing the services. The hospital could use more
people with Portuguese or Spanish language skills. There is only one person doing it
now. What about hospital fundraising? Fundraising dollars go to the overall running of
the Hospital. The Hospital loses several millions a year.
Will Mass General Hospital impact anything at NCH? Do not see any changes in the next
5 years. NCH is designated a critical access hospital, when we changed to critical access
we were able to bill fee for service, when we join with Mass General we will revert back
to rural. The biggest change would be that emergency care will be greatly enhanced.
Why does the Hospital only report to CRC twice a year? This is an agreement the
hospital has with Libby. The hospital has been funded for 21 years and two years ago
asked to be put in the budget, however if you want quarterly report we will do it.
Discussion:
A Safe Place: This year they have changed their mission statement, look at breakdown,
they want to get bigger, not in a logical way. The committee is concerned about
duplicity. This is not just about approving more money for A Safe Place it would be
taking away from other agencies. Maryanne should contact the school to see if they
have in house behavioral help and also if NBHS does any work with the school.
Elder Services: This program is overwhelmingly appreciated by the people they serve,
feeding them and most important is the contact with another person.
NCH: The last two years the hospital just received money from the town and this year
they were told to go through the CRC process. Brian commented that when he was on
the police department and a situation arose that he didn't know where to send a person
he would contact Peter MacKay and Peter would handle it. Peter proVides very valuable
services to the town.
A motion to approve the minutes of November 2nd was made. The minutes were
approved. Dirk Roggeveen abstained from voting.
Respectfully submitted by
Ann Medina