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Board of Supervisors Asthma Task Force
Minutes of Meeting held on February 26, 2007
City Hall
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place
San Francisco, CA
Members In Attendance: Karen Cohn, Neil Gendel, Anjali Nath, Lee Samson (for Louise Kimbell), Marie Hoemke, Raymond Manion, Mary Higgins, Tiffany Sutter, * Nan Madden and Nadia Thind.
Absent Members: Gloria Thornton, Peg Strub, Rose Toney, Marlo Simmons, Benjamin Heckman Kimberley Knox, Meyla Ruwin, Natasha Madaris and Louise Hill.
Guests and Staff: Tirtza Pearl, Karen Licavoli, Kate Lorenzen, Joel Ervice, Louanne Lee and Nsoah Chioney.
(* = pending appointment)
1. Introductions, Agenda Revisions, Approval of Minutes
The January minutes were corrected to read: Page 3, Item 5, Paragraph 2 – “CAFA is working with the California Teachers Association on a two year project. The California Endowment has given the CTA $400,000 to focus on indoor air quality in the schools as an education campaign for the 330,000 person membership...” Page 3, Item d, strike paragraph 1. This was corrected to read “Anjali Nath and Neil Gendel are working with City agency and CBO child care provider representatives to implement the Board of Supervisors' resolution advocated for by Parent Voices to improve asthma management training for providers.” Approval of the January minutes was postponed. The agenda was modified to include Planning Committee with the committee updates.
2. Updates
a. Fiscal Reports
Karen Cohn reported the only barrier she is finding is purchasing the third camera for Housing Authority. This may happen next year.
Karen stated there is a huge reproduction budget available. She is reordering everything that has been used this year. Karen is reordering for Nan for Clinic Brochures. Neil has some requests. World Asthma Day will use part of it. Translations can be obtained. Media products and discs can be obtained. A mass mailing can be sent. Contact Karen if there is something you need.
b. Collaborations
Mary Higgins stated she would like to see the School Committee working with 94134, Visitation Valley.
Mary visited Visitation Valley Elementary. They are willing to have asthma education.
c. ATF Membership
Karen Cohn stated Nan Madden has applied for membership in a health profession seat. There is one other health profession seat available and two seats that can be a person with asthma, a parent of a person with asthma or an asthma advocate.
d. ATF Staffing Update
Anjali Nath stated they have received quite a few applications for the position. Three candidates are being considered. They will be interviewed next week.
e. Communications Plan
Karen Cohn stated the next project will be a World Asthma Day focus. Gloria Thornton, Mary Higgins, Rose Toney and Anjali Nath have asked to be part of the committee. The people, who are working with Karen, as media purchasers, will be meeting at her office Monday, March 5 from 2:30 to 3:30 to develop some products. Anyone who would like to is invited to attend. These people have a very diverse set of products and are approved City vendors.
Karen passed around a copy of a newletter that was published in 2004 for World Asthma Day. It is now outdated. The mini guide for asthma services, and how to become involved in activism, is another possibility to be developed for May.
Karen is planning to apply for Kaiser’s community benefits money. The purpose will be to transition two website from being a Sunshine Law place to linkages with Building a Healthier San Francisco and a broader sit of services.
Kate Lorenzen asked if there would be a media event to introduce the documents that are being worked on. Karen responded the she spoke to Eileen Shields regarding World Asthma Day and the suggestion was to focus on the cameras and Housing Authority. If the Housing Authority is not willing to be showcased, a new plan will be created. Another idea is to feature collaborations with other city agencies receiving awards for what has been done so far.
Karen will schedule a meeting with the Ad Hoc Committee and the PSE staff.
Karen talked about a web based advertising which would consist of 30 second, up to 2 minute, clips that would then be posted on a server. People would get them off their email or the web. The city webmaster stated the city websites do not post videos.
Anjali Nath suggested using You Tube to post Natasha’s PSA.
Marie Hoemke suggested having an article for the Chronicle, similar to City Watch, called Chronicle Health Watch.
Marie spoke about the San Francisco school’s information system. There has been a lot of data collected, but it is not getting put into the system due to a lack of staff. Her suggestion is to fund a data entry person for a few months.
Karen Cohn talked about funding that will be sent to the School District. The funds will be used for: Tools for Schools, the purchase of green cleaning projects and possibly temporary help for data entry.
3. ATF Committee Milestone Reports
Anjali Nath presented a new format for committee reports. The grid consists of: Key Activities the committee is currently working on; Key Milestones to Date; Key Milestones since the last meeting and what key milestones are expected in the next six months. The updates will focus on which key milestones have occurred since the last meeting.
a. Environmental Committee
Karen Cohn reported the Environmental Committee’s the City Attorney who was invited to the Sunnydale was unable to join them due to a trial. Instead the committee was invited to the Code Enforcement Task Force of the City Attorney’s office. The Committee presented information regarding the camera.
The tenants of the Housing Authority have been asking for health educators who are independent of the property managers. The Health Department may publish a Request for Qualifications for health education in a prevention mode which could be applied toward this project.
b. Schools Committee
Marie Hoemke reported the Schools Committee has been working on the implementation of Tools for Schools and Asthma Action Plans (now called Asthma Emergency Care Plans).
The hiring for Tools for Schools is now in the DPH Legal Office waiting for an MOU to be approved. When the approval happens, there will be a part time coordinator hired. The projected date is April.
4. Sustainability Planning
Karen Cohn announced she and Anjali Nath will possibly be attending a training next week regarding how to transition to a community coalition.
Tirtza Pearl has contacted the Clerk of the Board to determine how to extend the membership from June, 2007 to June, 2008.
5. Guest Speaker, Joel Ervice, Regional Asthma Management and Prevention Initiative (RAMP)
Karen Cohn has been working with Joel Ervice on the Bay Area Environmental Health Collaborative’s (BAEHC) environmental justice campaign on outdoor air quality and the Ditching Dirty Diesel Collaborative.
Karen stated that Tom Rivard, from DPH, makes air quality measurements mapping and modeling. This project is financed by Department of Building Inspection.
Joel Ervice described BAEHC as being a combination of six different organizations. These include: RAMP; the Environmental Law and Justice Clinic; Golden Gate University; the Dirty Diesel Collaborative; Contra Costa Asthma Coalition; Immigrant Power for Environmental Health and Justice; the Bay Area Task Force and the Environmental Justice Air Quality Coalition. The coalition began about 1½ years ago by the San Francisco Foundation to work on cumulative impacts from air pollution.
The Bay Area Air Quality District permits sources that could produce air pollution on a source by source basis. BAEHC is asking the District to look at the cumulative effects on air quality, looking at all the contributors to pollution. Another issue not being addressed is pollution with regards to race and income. The San Francisco Foundation has just published a report showing that low income and areas populated by people of color bear the highest health risks due to air toxics in the region.
Last Monday a press event was held to release the report. The report will be used as a starting point to push the District to adopt the cumulative policy for permitting. The report is the beginning of a movement saying that people who regulate pollution is too isolated. They are dealing with one land use decision at a time rather than looking at all the effects from land use development.
The second goal is to set pollution caps in overburdened communities and then pollution reduction.
The third goal is to implement more community involvement.
Karen Cohn stated all the counties have two representatives to the Bay Area Air Quality District Board. San Francisco’s are Chris Daly and Jake McGoldrick. Mayor Newsom is a city representative. There is a new Chair of the Board from Contra Costa County.
The question was raised as to the next steps and what the Asthma Task Force can do to help. Joel replied there will be specific requests in the next couple of months.
Joel spoke about the Ditching Dirty Diesel Collaborative. RAMP has been involved with this group about three years. The group is very active in goods moving pollution. One project the group is supporting is the Container Fee Bill. It would place a fee on any container that goes through Bay Area ports. Some of the money would be spent to mitigate local health impacts.
Another focus is on truck and bus idling. This is an education campaign for truck and school bus drivers. The collaborative has been talking to the State Air Resources Board regarding what kinds of outreach can be done and acquiring help with staffing.
6. CMPC Grant
Karen Cohn reported she and Gloria Thornton have been working on the grant. They have prepared sample invitations to patients and doctors, talked to Quality Assurance Compliance and Research Board Approval people. They are still working on approval for the research. David Teheda and Nadine Burke have been helping them.
7. Announcements
Karen Cohn announced Burke’s Clinic will be opening March 31. It will be a pediatric clinic in Hunter’s Point.
Meeting Adjourned (4:00p.m.)
The next meeting will be March 26, 2007 at 2:00.
