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Board of Supervisors Asthma Task Force
Minutes of Meeting held on August 28, 2006
City Hall
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place
San Francisco, CA
Members In Attendance: Karen Cohn, Neil Gendel, Mary Higgins, Gloria Thornton, Rose Toney, Anjali Nath, Julie McKown, Marie Hoemke, Peg Strub, Natasha Madaris, Benjamin Heckman, Lee Samson (for Louise Kimbell), Nadia Thind* and Kimberley Knox.
Absent Members: Meyla Ruwin, Micah McLorin, MariaElena Alioto, Raymond Manion and Louise Hill.
Guests and Staff: Tirtza Rosenberg, Eliza Humphreys and Sheila Giser.
(* = pending appointment)
1. Introductions, Agenda Revisions, Approval of Minutes
July minutes were corrected to read. Raymond Manion attended the meeting. The agenda was revised to exclude the guest speaker, Lorraine Woodruff was unable to attend.
2. Membership Ordinance Update
Anjali Nath and Connie Chan attended the Rules Committee Meeting.
3. Updates
a. Grants – CPMC – hospitalizations causal factors: Transportation access to care in Bayview: CA Breathing mini-grant RFP: HUD grant
Karen Cohn reported the application for the CPMC Community Benefits Awards was accepted. The grant is for $10,000. The project is to hold focus groups with families of children who have been hospitalized with asthma and also focus groups of the medical providers. The purpose will be to look at the perceptions of both groups as to what leads up to a hospitalization
The Life Line Transportation Grant fund for BayView/Hunter’s Point was awarded for $925,000 over three years. The project sponsor is Jacob Moody. There will be a review process to begin.
The purpose of the grant is to run a community shuttle within the Bay View/Hunter’s Point that will go from low income housing to various health care settings. This will require a few stops with great regularity. This will probably require hiring someone who is a “shuttle expert”.
Another part of the funding involves the hospital council partners. 10 % of the budget will be put in contingency funding. 90 patients each year will receive taxi vouchers for six chronic disease patients to make maintenance appointments each year. The focus is to reduce hospitalizations which are excessive in the Bay View for asthma, diabetes and congestive heart disease and COPD. Referrals will come from community members, hospitals, the mobility manager working for the grant. Reimbursement for taxi transportation with a cap of $44 will be provided.
The aim for the shuttle ridership, when it begins, is 6 to 8 passenger trips an hour. The shuttle route will take an hour. The shuttle will also go to SF General three times a day.
The Task Force did not receive the California Breathing Grant, which was a pharmacy outreach project.
b. ATF vacancies
Nadia Thind has applied for the Child Care Seat about three weeks ago. She is now waiting to hear the date of the hearing.
Anjali Nath reported there are still three vacancies: Child Care, which Nadia has applied for; Asthma patient or parent and a Health Care worker who works with asthmatics.
Mary Higgins will talk to Nadine Burke and invite her to apply for the Health Care Worker Seat.
Neil Gendel spoke about his involvement with the Asian Pacific Islander Resources Network. Two people have expressed an interest in joining the Task Force. Miriam Ovalous is from Visitation Valley Family Resources Network. She is a Parent Services Coordinator. Chester Palaceos is in management of the Asian Perinatal Advocates.
Further discussion regarding the two candidates Neil spoke of was tabled for the Planning Committee meeting.
c. ATF Website
Anjali Nath distributed a list of all the task force members and their affiliations. She asked for corrections and additions before posting on the web. The web will offer links to the affiliations. Any vacancies will offer a link to an application. The website address is www.sfgov.org/asthma.
Natasha Madaris’ PSA will be on the web site.
Building a Healthier San Francisco has received funding to do a large web site for San Francisco County to be able to show all of the health data, what needs improvement, resources, etc. with links to all the projects in the community. They are interested in working on task force website long term.
d. Communications Plan
Marie Hoemke congratulated and thanked Anjali Nath for her hard work in getting the asthma posters ready before the opening of schools. The posters were distributed to the members of the task force for further distribution in the community.
Mary Higgins reported she passed the posters out at the Carnival Health Fair. This contact got her invited to speak at many schools in the area.
Neil Gendel and Anjali Nath met with Public Media Center to develop a poster to be used as outreach to parents and teachers regarding environmentally healthy schools. The draft is not available yet.
e. CAFA Policy and other Updates
Karen Cohn spoke about AB 264. The Task Force supported the bill with some suggestions of modifications in the language. The assembly passed the bill. The senate rewrote the bill. The bill basically states that if there is a health plan contract, that covers drugs, there must be outpatient training and education.
The other bill the Task Force has supported action on is AB379. Nothing has been done yet. It is stalled until a new person begins at the Health Department.
Karen Cohn stated she is part of RAMP’s Steering Committee. RAMP is holding a retreat to distinguish themselves from being the managers of CAFA.
f. API Community Groups, priorities overlapping with ATF
Gloria Thornton stated there is an Asian Pacific Islander Health Disparity Planning Group. Some of the members did a presentation regarding a needs assessment to identify what the most prevalent issue is in the Asian Community. The result was it is environmental issues.
Neil Gendel reviewed various community groups. He stated he has just met with Karen Yu to talk about the day laborers in the Mission. She has trained those who do cleaning to use environmentally friendly products and is now talking to them about training others to do the same.
h. SF Asthma Network Meeting
Peg Strub reported the people who have taken the asthma certification course are being used as a network group. They will meet on a regular basis to continue to give them updates. The first meeting will be next Monday at Kaiser Hospital.
4. Upcoming Asthma Walks
Sheila Giser, Breathe California, introduced the “Breath of Life Walk” which will be held on September 16 from 9 – 11. It will be a 5K, 3.12 mile, walk beginning just west of the Rose Garden area in Golden Gate Park. There will be community organizations at booths. 107, the Bone radio station will be there. The Grand Marshall is from CBS.
Anjali Nath will be leading a team named “Asthma Advocates”.
5. Report Back on ATF Member Check-in Calls
Anjali Nath distributed copies of the questions being asked of ATF participants.
6.Announcements
Karen Cohn reported the Housing Authority Operations and Maintenance staff will be receiving their training in September on their new Thermographic Cameras. They have received two cameras that detect moisture through infrared technology. It will be a one day basic training. Three candidates will continue on to a 3 ½ day training.
Mary Higgins announced HERC has received a grant from CPMC to fund HERC Relief Project. The grant willl fund weekly exercise and nutrition classes for children, ages 6 – 13, who are obese.
Mary Higgins also stated she has been involved in a project with Dr. Katz and Dr. Mark Gallup, from South East, Nadine Burke and Scott, an insurance man, to start a medical clinic in Alice Griffith, for children and adults, to be run by retired physicians and retired RNs.
A mammogram van will be at HERC October 18 for women over 40. Some women who are 28 will also be examined because African American women are dying at 28 of breast cancer.
Mary Higgins offered copies of the HERC newsletter.
Kimberly Knox stated the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission along with Recreation and Park Department held the 11th annual Sun, Wind and Water Day.
Anjali Nath stated that DCYF is very supportive of working with the task force. A child care training ordinance was passed two years ago which requires two hours of asthma training for all child care providers. They are also required to post asthma emergency protocol. This hadn’t been implemented because no one had been charged with the implementation. DCYF will work with the task force to make it happen.
Meeting Adjourned (3:50p.m.)
The next meeting will be September 25, 2006 at 2:00.
