Minutes


Southern Nevada Health District Ravenholt Center
625 Shadow Lane
Las Vegas, Nevada
Clemens Room

Thursday, December 14, 2006 - 9 a.m.

Chair Donna Fairchild called the meeting of the Southern Nevada District Board of Health to order at 9:00 a.m. and the Pledge of Allegiance was held. She also noted that she had been provided with the Affidavits of Posting and Mailing of Agenda meeting notices, as required by Nevada’s Open Meeting Law. The Affidavits are incorporated into these Official Minutes.

Board Members Present:

Donna Fairchild Chair, Council Member, Mesquite
Steven Kirk Vice Chair, Councilman, Henderson
Gary Reese Secretary, Councilman, Las Vegas
Jim Christensen, MD At-Large Member, Physician
Tom Collins Commissioner, Clark County
Susan Crowley At-Large Member, Environmental Specialist
Joseph Hardy, MD At-Large Member, Physician
Timothy Jones At-Large Member, Business/Industry
Mary Jo Mattocks, RN At-Large Member, Registered Nurse
Lon Empey At-Large Environmental Specialist Alternate
Steven Ross Councilman, Las Vegas Alternate
Debra Toney, RN At-Large Member, Registered Nurse Alternate
Jimmy Vigilante At-Large Business/Industry Member Alternate

Absent:

Lynette Boggs McDonald Commissioner, Clark County
Karla Burton Council member, Boulder City
Stephanie Smith Councilwoman, North Las Vegas
Lawrence Weekly Councilman, Las Vegas
Robert Eliason Councilman, North Las Vegas, Member Alternate
Frank Nemec, MD At-Large Member, Physician Alternate
John Onyema, MD At-Large Member, Physician Alternate

Executive Secretary:

Donald S. Kwalick, MD, MPH

Legal Counsel:

Stephen R. Minagil

Staff: Mike Walsh, Dr. Lawrence Sands, Angus MacEachern, Jennifer Sizemore, Stephanie Bethel, Patricia Rowley, Steve Goode, Dennis Campbell, Edmond Wojcik, Rory Chetelat, Robert Stacy, Brian Labus, Ann Markle, Robert Newton, Jim Osti, Jane Shunney, Alice Costello, Bonnie Sorenson, Nicole Truax, Deborah Williams, Mary Ellen Britt, Mary Ellen Harrell, Leo Vega, Susan Eiselt, Shelli Clark, Diana Lindquist, Forrest Hasselbauer

Attendance:

Chair Fairchild indicated that Memorandum #18-06 will be tabled until the January 25, 2007 meeting. It is open for a 30-day public review through January 12, 2007 and a public workshop will be held January 5, 2007.

Oath of Office - Board of Health Alternate Member:

Councilman Steven Ross, representing the City of Las Vegas took the oath of office as Board of Health alternate member.

I. Consent Agenda: These are matters considered to be routine by the Southern Nevada District Board of Health and may be enacted by one motion. Any item, however, may be discussed separately per Board Member request before action. Any exceptions to the Consent Agenda must be stated prior to approval.

1. Approve Minutes / Board of Health Meeting: 11/16/06
2. Approve Payroll / Overtime for Periods: 10/21/06 – 11/03/06 & 11/04/06 – 11/17/06
3. Approve Accounts Payable Registers: #1051: 11/03/06 – 11/08/06; #1052: 11/09/06 – 11/16/06; #1053: 11/17/06 – 11/29/06
4. Petition #47-06: Approval of Revision of Classification Specification for Clinical Laboratory Scientist, Recommended Schedule 24 ($56,786 - $79,233)
5. Petition #48-06: Approval of Revision of Classification Specification for Environmental Health Engineer/Manager, Recommended Schedule 29 ($73,332 - $102,296)

Member Jones asked for a revision to the minutes of November 16, 2006, page 6, paragraph three, to be changed to: “Member Jones asked about the status of hotel guest rooms in a hotel as work space or as a residence. Dr. Kwalick responded he believed that hotel guest rooms and motel rooms were not included in the initiative.”

A motion was made by Member Mattocks to approve all consent items with revisions to the minutes of November 16, 2006, as indicated; seconded by Member Reese and was unanimously approved.

II. Public Hearing / Action

1. Memorandum #18-06: Adoption of the Solid Waste Management Authority Proposed Transfer Stations, Public Waste Storage Bin Facilities, and Construction and Demolition Waste Short Term Storage Facilities Regulations
   
   Above item tabled until January 25, 2007
   
   
2. Memorandum #19-06: Approval of the Acquisition of the Coyote Springs Water Resources General Improvement District. Petitioner: Las Vegas Valley Water District, Thomas A. Minwegen, P.E., Deputy General Manager, Engineering/Operations
   
   Staff has reviewed the application and recommends approval of the acquisition. Representatives for the petitioners were present: Shawn Mollus, Las Vegas Valley Water District, Sam Scine, Clark County Water Reclamation District, Tim Echeverria, WING Nevada Group, owners.
   
   Chair Fairchild asked if anyone from the public wished to speak. No one came forward, and Chair Fairchild closed the public hearing portion.
   
   A motion was made by Member Collins to approve the acquisition; seconded by Member Crowley and was unanimously approved.

III. Report / Discussion / Action

1. Memorandum #17-06: Adoption of the Proposed Southern Nevada Health District 2006 Trauma Performance Improvement Plan
   
   Mary Ellen Britt, regional trauma coordinator, addressed the Board of Health. The Southern Nevada District Board of Health has been delegated the authority to establish and adopt a comprehensive trauma system plan for Clark County. The purpose of the Southern Nevada District Trauma Performance Improvement Plan is to protect the public by assuring optimal trauma system operation and high quality trauma care resulting in the best possible patient outcomes. The goal is to establish an objective mechanism to determine whether medical care rendered to patients requiring the resources of the trauma system is safe, appropriate and meets acceptable local and national standards. A continuous, comprehensive, multi-disciplinary, evidence-based performance improvement process will allow for the monitoring and evaluation of the trauma system and the identification of opportunities for improvement and development of corrective strategies. The trauma system improvement process consists of three major elements: 1) the internal process within each trauma center; 2) the external process which includes periodic audits of each trauma center by the Nevada State Health Division and the Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD); scheduled independent evaluations by American College of Surgeons; and system review and analysis by the Trauma Medical Audit Committee (TMAC), including confidential evaluation of the quality and efficiency of actual medical services by the TMAC when functioning as a peer review committee; and 3) ongoing data collection, monitoring, and analysis of trauma data at the local, state and national level to identify trends, gaps, and needs. (Attachment #1)
   
   Member Jones asked about statistics regarding other life changing outcomes other than fatalities. Mary Ellen responded that the TMAC will be reviewing selected cases on a quarterly basis. Those cases will include both morbidity and mortality and will include those patients who survive with some degree of impairment.
   
   A motion was made by Member Christensen to adopt the plan as listed; seconded by Member Crowley and was unanimously approved.

IV. Citizen Participation:

Chair Fairchild invited any individuals wishing to speak to come forward. No one came forward at this time and this portion of the meeting was closed.

V. Health Officer & Staff Reports

Dr. Kwalick wished everyone happy holidays and invited members of the Board to the holiday staff luncheon at the district offices today.

Dr. Kwalick stated Edmond Wojcik, environmental health manager, is retiring today and wanted to congratulate him on twelve years of service to the Southern Nevada Health District. The Board congratulated and thanked him for his years of service.

Dr. Kwalick indicated that Member Jones and Member Vigilante wanted the Board of Health to be aware of the Health Alert Network. Board of Health members will be notified and receive information that is distributed to the health care community. Member

Collins asked if staff would review a recent food inspection of the Moapa Valley Pomegranate Festival. He expressed concern about a charitable organization’s ability to sell certain food or food items for fund raising purposes. Mr. Minagil stated that the situation will be reviewed and a response will be given as soon as all the facts have been presented.

Chair Fairchild asked for an update on Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act. Mr. Minagil stated Judge Herndon has granted a temporary restraining order against implementation of the Act. The judge is holding an all day hearing on Tuesday, December 19, 2006, to consider whether the temporary restraining order turns into a permanent order called a preliminary injunction. The legal issues have to do with ‘due process’ and ‘equal protection.’ The plaintiffs allege they are being treated differently under the law than those who have been exempted and also have difficulty understanding the statute and any resulting enforcement issues. The issues of constitutionality are being litigated and briefed by the State of Nevada that is their job and function. The SNHD is weighing in on the public interest aspect and its position is exposure to second hand cigarette smoke is unhealthy and dangerous and that legislation that limits the public’s exposure is in the best interest of the public. A brief is being filed today that outlines this position and we will appear on Tuesday, December 19th to argue about what is in the public interest.

Member Crowley indicated her concern regarding the temporary restraining order and stated that other jurisdictions have successfully passed this type of legislation and why is it different here. Mr. Minagil stated it is different because of the casino and gaming factors. Most of the legislation in other states has been the product of the legislative process, where there are public hearings and stakeholders have an opportunity to speak and present their views. In Nevada, the citizens took it upon themselves to craft the initiative and so the wording of the initiative is different than the wording might have been if it had gone through the legislative process. Member Crowley asked if the initiative had been reviewed prior to placing it on the ballot. Mr. Minagil indicated it was not reviewed previously for constitutionally; however, it was reviewed by the Nevada Supreme Court on other grounds.

VI. Informational Items

VII. Meeting of Board of Health as governing body of a local government employer with its management representative(s) – Closed Session pursuant to NRS 288.220.

A motion was made by Member Hardy to close the meeting at 9:24 a.m. The motion was seconded by Member Crowley and was unanimously approved.

Closed Session

The meeting recessed for the Board of Health to meet in Closed Session. Chair Fairchild reconvened the open session at 9:50 am.

VIII. Adjournment

There being no further business to come before the Board, Chair Fairchild adjourned the meeting at 9:50 a.m.