Executive Committee Meeting Minutes April 18, 2019

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
By Conference Call
Thursday, April 18, 2019, 3:00 – 3:40PM
MINUTES

Members Present: Matthew Lesieur (Community Co-Chair), Fay Barrett, Danielle Beiling, Lisa Best, Billy Fields, Graham Harriman, Steve Hemraj, Amanda Lugg, Andrea Straus, Marcy Thompson, Dorella Walters 

Members Absent: Matthew Baney, Maria Diaz, Joan Edwards, Jan Carl Park Jan Hudis, Saul Reyes

Staff Present: NYC DOHMH:David Klotz,Amber Casey, Melanie Lawrence, Kimbirly Mack; Public Health Solutions: Christine Nollen, Bettina Carroll; WCDOH: Julie L:ehane, PhD; Joan Corbisiero (Parliamentarian)

HRSA: Sera Morgan(NY EMA Project Officer)                                                                                        

Mr. Park and Mr. Lesieur opened the meeting, followed by introductions. A moment of silence was held in honor of Humberto Cruz, former director of the NYS DOH AIDS Institute. Humberto was a towering figure in the HIV community, both in New York and nationally. The minutes from the March 21, 2019 meeting were approved with one change to reflect attendance.

Ms. Morgan reported that she is looking forward to reviewing the EMA’s Program Terms and Progress Reports.  Also, HRSA will be holding a webinar on changes to the RSR (see below) on May 8^th. 

Mr. Harriman reported on the 2018 Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Services Report (RSR), a client-level data reporting requirement that monitors the characteristics of RWHAP recipients, providers, and clients served. All RWHAP-funded recipients Parts A through D and their contracted service providers (sub-recipients) are required to report client-level data annually to the HIV/AIDS Bureau through the RSR.  94 agencies submitted to the RSR for 2018. All reports were submitted on time before the March 25 deadline. There were a total of 38,558 nonunique clients reported in the RSR. Client-level data completeness was high. Three new questions have been added to the Provider Report related to Medical Assisted Therapy (MAT) for opioid use disorder. These questions have been added to provide HRSA with information on organizational capacity to provide these services.

As part of the Conditions of Awards requirement, HRSA requires the submission of the Program Terms and Submission report.  The Program Termsreport identifies direct and indirect service contracts that are being funded for the current grant year and ensures allocations for core medical and support services meet the 75/25 requirement unless a waiver has been submitted and approved, and the report ensures the 10% Administrative and 5% CQM caps are not exceeded.  The Program Submissionreport provides assurance that the Planning Council endorses the funded service categories and allocations reflected in the allocations table and ensures that the Planning Council is in compliance with legislative reflectiveness and representation requirements.

On March 13, on behalf of the Health Department, Public Health Solutions released the Food and Nutrition Program Concept Paper and hosted a town hall on March 25 to allow for potential applicants to ask questions or make comments on the concept paper. For interested applicants, Public Health Solutions will be collecting questions and comments on the concept paper through April 29.

On May 16, DOHMH will hold the 2nd annual meeting of all RWPA-funded programs.  This full- day meeting will bring together RWPA-funded program staff from around New York City to share updates and engage in peer learning to improve the quality of program services.  The agenda is still in formation but potential items include guidelines for telephone counseling, meeting the needs of young people living with HIV, quality management plans, and disparities among women of color with HIV.  This is the second time that we are bringing together providers across service categories for the annual meeting, an efficient way to promote learning across the service system.

The Quality Management and Technical Assistance unit in the Care and Treatment program have been invited by the New York State Public Health Association to present findings summarizing the use of Seeking Safety in Ryan White Part-A funded programs in New York.  The presentation will occur by webinar on April 17.

The Long Term Survivors Wellness Coalition, in partnership with BHIV, will be hosting their 2nd annual Long Term Survivors Day Event on June 5, 2019, at Baruch College.  The event will include a full day of educational and interactive activities to facilitate building connections and celebrating Long Term Survivors in New York City. More information on the event will be available soon.

Mr. Klotz presented the draft FY 2019 Reprogramming Plan.  PSRA approves a reprogramming plan every spring so that the Recipient can maximize spending in the course of the year.  As in previous years, the plan gives the Recipient the flexibility to enhance over-performing contracts by moving funds between service categories up to 20% of the original spending plan allocation.  This is done after the Recipient and Public Health Solutions (PHS) enhances over-performing programs from funds taken down from programs within the same service category to the maximum extent possible.  Enhancements are one-time and must be used by the end of the fiscal year, and usually come late in the year.  ADAP is eligible for enhancement after all other service categories have been considered and has no cap.  One addition to this year’s plan is to make initial enhancements to Tri-County and NYC programs from take-downs of programs in their respective regions, and after initial enhancements are made, to put remaining reprogramming money into one EMA-wide pot.  With newly re-bid Tri-County programs, they are mostly performance-based now and able to receive enhancements. 

Mr. Hemraj moved that the EC accept the FY 2019 reprogramming plan as presented.  The motion was seconded and adopted by roll call vote 11Y-0N (see members present list). 

Needs Assessment Committee (NAC)

Ms. Thompson reported that the NAC has two sub-committees meeting, to address Oral Health and Seriously Mentally Ill.  The full NAC met this morning and continued working on its recommendations for addressing the needs of people with disabilities in the Ryan White Part A service system.  The Committee is hosting a town hall on the subject on May 10^th and hopes to have a set of recommendations for the Council afterwards. 

Tri-County Steering Committee

Ms. Straus reported that the Tri-County Steering Cmte. (TCSC) met last week and approved its last Standard of Care, for Medical Case Management.  There had been some question about language that implied that in order to enroll in a Medical Case Management program, clients have to be – or become – patients of the clinic with which the program is associated.  It was cleared up that this is not the case.  The TCSC also discussed funds that had become unobligated due to the one provider in the region’s Early Intervention Services category deciding to terminate their contract.  After discussing several options, the Committee voted to keep the funds in EIS, as the Recipient has a mechanism for quickly obligating the funds through a new provider it has identified.  The new provider is similar in type and will provide similar services as the terminated program.

Consumers Committee

Mr. Fields reported that at yesterday’s Consumers Committee meeting, Ms. Casey and BHIV evaluation specialist Kalani Thaler answered questions that the Committee had raised about the questions on client intake forms.  Also, Angela Aidala presented on the CHAIN study and its processes. 

Integration of Care Committee (IOC)

Ms. Beiling reported that at the last IOC meeting, the Committee determined that the category of Transitional Care Coordination should be merged with Short-term Housing.  At the next meetings, there will be meetings with providers and DOHMH staff to figure out how best to integrate the service models to avoid duplication and maximize resources. 

Rules & Membership Committee

Ms. Barrett reported that the Rules & Membership Committee (RMC) is meeting on April 29^th to review the final edits we received from HRSA and the DOHMH Legal Department on the revised Memorandum of Understanding and Grievance Procedures.  We received minimal edits from them and Ms. Morgan was very pleased with the work we had done and commended the Committee for the high quality of their work.  RMC will bring the final draft MOU and Grievance Procedures to the EC and full Council in May for review and approval. RMC will also be starting our annual recruitment for the next round of Council appointments.  Applications can be submitted now and at any time through the Council website.  Paper applications will go out soon.  The deadline for applications is June 14^th for appointments starting fall 2019. 

In response to a questions from Leo Ruiz, Mr. Harriman explained that the provider meeting focus was based on a survey of the providers, but that the Bureau has a focus on improving competency around TGNB issues. 

There being no further comment, the meeting was adjourned.