WE'RE GOING TO CALL THE MEETING. WE'RE GOING TO TAKE THEM TWO MINUTES TO WAIT FOR TEXAS, TEXAS,
[00:00:07]
TEXAS. I LIKE THAT THEY HAVE THE. WHERE IN TEXAS ARE THEY? NO, THE SCREENS ARE AWESOME. VERY EXCITING. THANK YOU.HOW DO I CONTROL. I KNOW, THANK YOU.
HOW IS IT DOWN THERE? WE'RE GOOD TO GO. OKAY.
[I. Opening Statement]
IT'S GOOD. WELCOME TO THE TOWNSHIP OF MONTGOMERY BOARD OF HEALTH MEETING.THIS IS OUR REGULAR BUSINESS MEETING FOR MARCH.
MARCH 12TH. IT IS THE INTENTION OF THIS BOARD TO CONCLUDE THIS MEETING BY 9:30 P.M..
BEFORE I DO THE OPENING STATEMENT, WE WILL DO THE PLEDGE, WHICH IS A LITTLE BIT OF A CHANGE, BUT SOMEBODY ASKED US WHY WE DON'T DO IT AND I DID NOT HAVE A GOOD ANSWER TO THAT, AND I DO THINK WE SHOULD DO IT.
SO WE'RE GOING TO START WITH THE PLEDGE. SO IF WE COULD ALL STAND, PLEASE.
ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR CHANGING OUR LITTLE ORDER.
SO ADEQUATE NOTICE OF THE MEETING AS REQUIRED BY SECTIONS THREE D AND FOUR A OF THE OPEN PUBLIC MEETING ACT HAS BEEN PROVIDED TO THE PUBLIC AND FILED WITH THE TOWNSHIP CLERK. WE ARE JUST FOR EVERYBODY'S UNDERSTANDING.
WE ARE AN AUTONOMOUS BODY APPOINTED BY THE MAYOR TO MAKE PUBLIC HEALTH POLICY FOR THE TOWNSHIP, AND WE OPERATE UNDER THE REGULATION OF THE NEW JERSEY STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, NOT THE TOWNSHIP.
SO NOW WE'RE GOING TO HAVE ROLL CALL. DOCTOR GRAYSON.
YES. DOCTOR MCGARRY. YES, DOCTOR. FAISAL. DOCTOR.
SHARMA. DOCTOR NEWMAN. DOCTOR. MOHAN. YES, MR..
SURTI? YES. DOCTOR. PROUTY HERE. DOCTOR. SORIA HERE.
PATEL HERE. JENNIFER FOSTER HERE. TOWNSHIP COMMITTEE LIAISON.
LIAISON. PATRICIA. TAYLOR. TODD. DOCTOR. BURT MANDELBAUM HERE.
OKAY. DO WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMENT? WE DO NOT.
WE DO NOT. OKAY. WE DO HAVE. OH, WE WE HAVE A CONSENT AGENDA.
[IV. Consent Agenda]
AND THEN WE HAVE A PRESENTATION. SO ALL MATTERS LISTED HERE UNDER ARE CONSIDERED ROUTINE IN NATURE AND WILL BE APPROVED IN ONE MOTION.ANY MEMBER MAY REQUEST THAT AN ITEM BE REMOVED FOR SEPARATE CONSIDERATION.
SO THE MONTHLY REPORTS ARE THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT MONTHLY REPORT, THE COMMUNICABLE DISEASE REPORT AND THE ANIMAL CONTROL REPORTS, ALL FOR FEBRUARY OF 2025. WE ALSO HAVE THE MINUTES OF THE REGULARLY SCHEDULED MEETING FROM FEBRUARY 12TH OF 2025.
DO WE HAVE ANYTHING THAT NEEDS TO BE REMOVED FOR DISCUSSION? OKAY. COULD I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE? MOTION TO APPROVE.
SECOND. OKAY. AND NOW WE ARE READY FOR OUR PRESENTATION FROM THE MS.
[V. HEALTH OFFICER COMMENTS]
SO WELCOME, MR. SARIN AND OTHER ESTEEMED GUESTS FROM THE MS. YES, I WILL INTRODUCE. SO THANK YOU EVERYBODY.MY NAME IS SID SARAN. I'M THE PRESIDENT OF MONTGOMERY MS. I AM ALSO JOINED BY MIKE CONNIFF, WHO IS THE VICE PRESIDENT OF OUR SQUAD.
AND AND DO YOU WANT TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF? YEAH, WE KNOW VARSHA.
PERFECT. OKAY, THERE WE GO. SO SO JUST IN TERMS OF CONTEXT.
I'VE BEEN WITH MONTGOMERY MS SINCE DECEMBER 2019.
I'VE BEEN THE PRESIDENT SINCE JANUARY OF 2023.
AND MICHAEL HAS HAS A LONG HISTORY WITH MONTGOMERY MS AS WELL.
MICHAEL, HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN WITH THE SQUAD? INCLUDING TIME OFF FOR GOOD BEHAVIOR. ABOUT SIX, SEVEN 5676787.
[00:05:07]
SQUAD ALSO. OKAY, SO WE HAVE WE HAVE GOOD DEEP CONNECTIONS WITH THE SQUAD.SO THE WAY I WAS THINKING ABOUT DOING THIS IS INSTEAD OF JUST GIVING A FULL PRESENTATION, I THOUGHT I'D MAKE IT INTERACTIVE AND WE'LL WE'LL DO A POP QUIZ KIND OF THING. ALL RIGHT. SO I'LL ASK SOME QUESTIONS.
SEE? SEE WHAT? SEE? SEE WHAT THE RANGE OF ANSWERS ARE.
AND THEN I'LL TELL YOU OKAY. THIS IS THIS IS WHAT WE SEE OKAY.
YOU KNOW, MONTGOMERY POPULATION ABOUT 23,700 PEOPLE OR SO.
SO JUST TAKE A GUESS. HOW MANY 911 EMERGENCY CALLS WE GET IN A YEAR.
JUST NO WE CAN'T. TWO OF OUR MEMBERS ARE SITTING ON THE PANEL OVER HERE.
SAME THING WITH KOREAN. RAISE YOUR HANDS. SO OTHER THAN THE TWO GUESS 5000, I WAS ABOUT TO SAY, OKAY, 7000. 7000. OKAY. ANY OTHER GUESSES? 6000.
6000. OKAY, OKAY. THOSE ARE VERY INTERESTING ANSWERS.
KEEP THAT IN MIND BECAUSE BECAUSE I WILL COMMENT ABOUT THEM.
OKAY. ANY ANY OTHERS? BEFORE I REVEAL THE ANSWER, I WOULD SAY MORE AROUND LIKE 6 TO 7000.
6 TO 7000. OKAY. SO KIND OF IN THAT SIX 7005 SIX 7000 1000 RANGE.
WHAT'S THAT? 1000, 1000. OKAY. 1000. GOING ONCE, GOING TWICE.
ZERO ONE. OKAY. 1001 ONE 1001. OKAY. SO, SO HERE ARE OUR NUMBERS. LAST YEAR, 2024, WE HAD 1514 CALLS.
I JUST MAPPED IT FROM 2018. I WAS TRYING TO GET SOME PRE-COVID AS WELL AS POST COVID NUMBERS, BECAUSE THERE WAS A LOT OF CHANGE DURING COVID, AND SO PRE-COVID IT WAS ABOUT 1370, 1411.
YOU KNOW, THAT SORT OF RANGE. AND NOW, OF COURSE, WHAT YOU SEE THIS OVER HERE.
AND SO YOU SEE OUR CALL VOLUME HAS GRADUALLY INCREASED.
OKAY. THE COMPOUND ANNUAL GROWTH RATE IS 1.7% WHICH IS NOT TOO BAD.
IF YOU IF YOU LOOK AT THE POPULATION OF MONTGOMERY AND THINK ABOUT, WELL, HOW HOW MUCH HAS THE POPULATION BEEN INCREASING, DOES THAT CORRELATE WITH THE INCREASE IN POPULATION? NOW, I DON'T KNOW THE EXACT NUMBERS, BUT MY GUESS IS MAYBE, YOU KNOW, SOUND SOUNDS KIND OF IN THE RANGE, RIGHT? YOU CAN ALSO SEE THE THE COVID DIP, A VERY CLEAR DIP.
PEOPLE WERE NOT GOING TO THE HOSPITAL, RIGHT.
THEY WOULD CALL US AND YOU KNOW, WE WOULD ATTEND TO THEM.
AND THEN THEY WOULD SAY, YEAH, I DON'T WANT TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL. SO THEY WOULD CANCEL, RIGHT? THIS WAS HAPPENING A LOT, NOT JUST IN MONTGOMERY.
I'M SURE YOU ALL KNOW WHAT HAPPENED DURING COVID TIME.
AND THEN, OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, WE SEE WE SEE A RECOVERY.
AND THEN FOR OUR NUMBERS, WE SEE, YOU KNOW, A PEAK OF IN 2022 AND THEN A GRADUAL DECLINE.
AND I'LL I'LL COMMENT ON THAT DECLINE AS WELL.
SO LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, WE'RE AT THE SPRING FLING, WE'RE AT THE MEMORIAL DAY PARADE, WE'RE AT THE YOU KNOW, VETERANS EVENT. SO ALL THOSE PLUS WE ARE IN A LOT OF TRAININGS ALONG WITH OUR FIRE DEPARTMENTS, ETC.. SO I'VE EXCLUDED ALL THOSE THINGS. YOU KNOW, THESE ARE PURE 911 MEDICAL EMERGENCY CALLS.
ARE THESE ALL THE CALLS YOU GET, OR ARE THESE THE CALLS THAT ARE MEDICAL EMERGENCIES THAT YOU HAVE TO GO OUT FOR? YEAH. THAT'S RIGHT. THE SECOND ONE LIKE BECAUSE WE HAVE TO WE HAVE TO GO OUT FOR THEM.
YEAH. BECAUSE MY 5000 NUMBER WAS ASSUMING THAT ALL THE CALLS COMING IN, LIKE I DIDN'T KNOW IF THERE'S 911 CALLS, LIKE IF THERE IF THERE IS IF THERE IS A. OH YEAH.
THESE ARE JUST THE MEDICAL CALLS. YES. OKAY. DISPATCH.
YEAH. I SHOULD HAVE CLARIFIED. I WAS JUST TALKING ABOUT 1500 TO.
1500. THERE WE GO. THAT'S A BETTER GUESS. BUT I UNDERSTOOD THE QUESTION.
BUT WAS THE ANSWER? BECAUSE IT IS. IT WAS CLOSE TO 1000.
OKAY, SO NOW HERE, THE NEXT PAGE IS EVEN MORE INTERESTING.
ALL RIGHT. CAN I. CAN I ASK A QUESTION? YEAH.
[00:10:05]
HAVE YOU LOOKED AT WHY THERE WAS LIKE A RISE IN 2022 RIGHT AFTER COVID? THERE'S LIKE A PEAK UP AND THEN IT KIND OF. YEAH.IT'S A GREAT QUESTION. RIGHT. IT'S AN OBVIOUS QUESTION. SO I'LL SHOW YOU IT.
IT WILL COME OUT IN OUR NUMBERS. OKAY. SO AS I GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, NOW IN OUR TOWNSHIP, THERE ARE TWO FACILITIES THAT CONTRIBUTE TO A LOT OF CALLS.
ANY IDEA WHAT THEY ARE? STONE BRIDGE. STONE BRIDGE.
YES. THAT'S CORRECT. AND CARRIER. THE CARRIER CLINIC.
MORE ELDERLY PEOPLE, MORE ELDERLY PEOPLE CALL 911 MORE.
RIGHT. CARRIER CALLS US QUITE A BIT AS WELL. BECAUSE AS IT TURNS OUT, EVEN THOUGH IT'S A HOSPITAL, THEY DON'T ACTUALLY THEY THEY CAN'T DO EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT SERVICES OVER THERE.
SO THEY NEED TO TAKE THE PATIENT TO ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON SOMERSET OR SOMETHING.
SO THEY CALL US FOR IT. RIGHT. SO, WELL, IF WE HAVE THOSE TWO FACILITIES IN THE DATA, THEY KIND OF THEY KIND OF PURIFY THE DATA, RIGHT. SO WE SAID, ALL RIGHT, YOU KNOW WHAT? LET'S TAKE STONEBRIDGE OUT.
LET'S TAKE CARRIER OUT AND THEN LOOK AT THE DATA AND THE TREND LINES.
OKAY. SO ANY GUESSES NOW WITH REGARDS TO WHAT IS THE GROWTH.
FIRST QUESTION. OKAY. WHAT IS THE COMPOUND ANNUAL GROWTH RATE WITHOUT THOSE TWO FACILITIES.
SO YOU KNOW WITH THOSE TWO FACILITIES, IT WAS 1.7%.
SO WHAT WAS IT WITHOUT THOSE TWO FACILITIES? SAME GUESSES.
1%. 1%. OKAY. SO LOWER. OKAY. SAME. I'M SORRY.
SAME. ABOUT THE SAME. OKAY. 2%. 2%. OKAY. ANY OTHER GUESSES? SO I'M NOT ALLOWED TO GUESS. YEAH. YOU'RE NOT CARRIE ANN.
YOU CAN'T LOOK AT ME BECAUSE SHE HAS SEEN THOSE SLIDES.
AND CARRIE ANN LOVES DATA. SO SHE AND I SAT DOWN ONCE TOGETHER.
BUT SOUNDS LIKE THE CONSENSUS IS AROUND EITHER THE SAME OR LOWER THAN THE 1.7%.
OKAY. SO THE OTHER NUMBERS. OH, BEFORE BEFORE I GO THERE.
BEFORE I GO THERE, I WANTED TO ASK ANOTHER QUESTION. OKAY.
AND HERE'S THE QUESTION. THIS IS A STAT I READ JUST A COUPLE OF DAYS AGO WHEN I WAS PREPARING THE SLIDE, AND THE STAT KIND OF BLEW ME AWAY.
OKAY. SO THIS IS THE NUMBER I LOOKED UP FROM THE CDC.
WHAT IS THE NATIONAL AVERAGE IN THE US FOR OF IF THERE ARE 100 PEOPLE? HOW MANY TIMES DO THEY CALL 911 IN A YEAR? ANY GUESSES FOR MEDICAL? YOU MEAN WHAT'S THAT FOR? MEDICAL. FOR MEDICAL? YEAH, YEAH. SORRY. EVERYTHING I'M SAYING IS IS FOR MEDICAL.
YEAH. GUESSES? 5%. 5%. SO LIKE FIVE. OKAY, I'LL SAY 10%. TEN. OKAY. SO 5 TO 10. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. SO I'LL SHOW YOU THE NUMBERS.
NUMBER TEN AS WELL. WHAT'S THAT? 10S. TEN. YEAH.
OKAY, SO 5 TO 10. SO HERE WE GO. SO FIRST OF ALL.
IF WE REMOVE STONEBRIDGE AND CARRIER, OUR CALL RATE IS ACTUALLY GOING UP 4.3%.
SO IT'S ACTUALLY MANY TIMES MORE THAN THE 1.7%.
OKAY. THAT BRINGS UP THE QUESTION WHY YOU'RE ASKING THE QUESTION.
WELL, I LIKE ASKING THE QUESTION WHY? I DON'T HAVE THE ANSWERS TO THAT.
I JUST KNOW THAT THIS IS HAPPENING. OKAY. NOW, IT COULD BE THE CASE THAT THE POPULATION OF MONTGOMERY HAS ACTUALLY INCREASED BY A LOT MORE THAN THE 1%. I DON'T HAVE THE STATS ON ON THE INCREASE IN POPULATION OF THE TOWNSHIP.
IT COULD BE THAT THE PEOPLE ARE LESS. WELL, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE SICKER OVER THE SIX YEAR TIME PERIOD.
I DON'T NECESSARILY KNOW THAT. I'M JUST LOOKING AT OUR CALL VOLUME AND THIS IS WHAT I'M SEEING.
OKAY, SO THIS NUMBER CLEARLY STOOD OUT TO ME BECAUSE THIS IS YOU WOULDN'T EXPECT IT.
I DIDN'T EXPECT IT EITHER. OKAY. NOW FOR THE STAT THAT I ASKED YOU, THE US AVERAGE, THE
[00:15:02]
US AVERAGE IS 47 CALLS PER 100 PEOPLE. THAT'S A LOT, RIGHT? THAT JUST BLOWS ME AWAY. LIKE I COULD NEVER HAVE IMAGINED THAT.OKAY. WHAT IS WHAT IS MONTGOMERY TOWNSHIP'S STAT? WELL, INCLUDING EVERYTHING, IT'S 6.4 CALLS PER 100 PEOPLE.
IF WE REMOVE STONEBRIDGE AND CARRIER, IT'S 5.4 CALLS PER 100 PEOPLE.
OH, NO. PER 100. OKAY. SORRY. SO, YOU KNOW, YOU WERE KIND OF RIGHT WHEN WHEN YOU MENTIONED THE 5% TO 10%, THAT'S KIND OF IN THE RANGE. IT'S IN THE RIGHT RANGE.
BUT AMAZINGLY, THAT APPLIES TO MONTGOMERY, BUT IT WOULDN'T.
IT WOULD BE FAR LESS. IT WOULD BE ALMOST TEN TIMES LESS THAN THE NATIONAL AVERAGE, RIGHT? NINE TIMES LESS THAN THE NATIONAL AVERAGE. THAT JUST THAT JUST BLEW ME AWAY.
THAT'S RIGHT. OKAY, SO MAYBE ONE WAY TO LOOK AT THIS IS GENERALLY PEOPLE IN MONTGOMERY ARE HEALTHIER THAN THE US POPULATION IN GENERAL. AND I MEAN, THAT'S THE ONE WAY I WOULD LOOK AT IT, BUT I'M NOT SURE ABOUT THAT.
THAT'S WHAT THE DATA SAYS. IF 47 IS THE AVERAGE.
YEAH. WHICH MEANS THAT THERE ARE COMMUNITIES THAT ARE MORE CLOSER TO 100.
YEAH. YES. IN THE 90S. YEAH. YEAH. LIKE, YOU KNOW, YOU DOUBLE THAT.
RIGHT. IF YOU KIND OF LOOK AT THE BELL CURVE.
RIGHT. YOU PROBABLY ARE IN THE 90S PER 90 EMERGENCY CALL PER 100 PEOPLE.
YEAH. OR GREATER. WOULD YOU ATTRIBUTE THIS TO SDOH, THOUGH? TO WHAT? TO SDH LIKE THE SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH.
IS THAT THE REASON WHY YOU WOULD THINK I DON'T KNOW.
THE ONE THING I DO KNOW, BY THE WAY, IS THAT US AVERAGE NUMBER IS FROM A CDC REPORT THAT WAS TALKING ABOUT 2022, WHEREAS OUR NUMBERS OBVIOUSLY ARE FROM 2024. YOU KNOW, THE 6.4 AND THE 5.4 THAT'S CALCULATED ON 2024.
OKAY. BUT AND FOR WHATEVER REASON, WE SEE WE OURSELVES SAW THIS PEAK IN 2022.
RIGHT. SO MAYBE THIS 2022 WAS ARTIFICIALLY HIGH OR IT WAS HIGH FOR EVERYBODY.
THAT'S NOT US. BUT I THINK I THINK IN MONTGOMERY YOU'RE LOOKING AT A SOCIOECONOMIC, CULTURAL SLICE OF THE POPULATION THAT'S JUST DOESN'T NEED TO EVOLVE NEARLY AS MUCH AS YOU DO IN AREAS THAT ARE MUCH POORER.
AND THIS IS THIS IS ONE OF THE TOP. THIS IS THE RICHEST TOWN IN SOMERSET COUNTY.
YEAH. AND ONE OF THE RICHEST AREAS IN NEW JERSEY.
YOU KNOW, SO WHEN YOU TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION, IT'S NOT SURPRISING. YEAH, YEAH, YEAH.
I FEEL STRONGLY LIKE THAT. I MEAN, THE ZIP CODE MATTERS.
DEMOGRAPHICS ARE VERY IMPORTANT WHEN LOOKING AT THESE NUMBERS BECAUSE IT DOESN'T.
IT DOESN'T. THE PERCENTAGES DON'T TELL THE WHOLE STORY.
THAT'S RIGHT. NO, THAT WAS MY GUESS AS WELL. YOU KNOW, GENERALLY, GENERALLY WE ARE TAKING PEOPLE TO THE HOSPITAL FOR EMERGENCIES RATHER THAN FOR A PRIMARY CARE VISIT. RIGHT. WHEREAS WE WE'VE CLEARLY HEARD IN OTHER PLACES PEOPLE ARE GOING TO THE ER FOR KIND OF LIKE PRIMARY CARE.
IT'S NOT QUITE HAPPENING IN MONTGOMERY. WHICH IS GOOD NEWS.
SO YOU KNOW ANOTHER OBSERVATION THAT I HAVE. RIGHT.
I MEAN, 2018 TO 2020. I WOULD SAY THE NORMAL WAS, LET'S SAY AVERAGING AROUND 1000.
RIGHT. 2022 TO 2024, YOU HAVE KIND OF A NEW AVERAGE AROUND 1300.
YEAH. RIGHT. SO 300 MORE. RIGHT. WHICH IS WHAT IS IT, 30% INCREASE? YEAH. BE CURIOUS TO SEE HOW THAT CORRELATES TO THE POPULATION RISE.
BECAUSE AFTER COVID WITH THE CHANGE IN HOW PEOPLE WORK.
A LOT OF PEOPLE, FOR EXAMPLE, HAVE MOVED OUT OF THE CITY BECAUSE THEY HAVE A HYBRID ENVIRONMENT.
BUT WE'RE CURIOUS TO SEE IS LIKE, IS THAT ATTRIBUTED TO LIKE THE POPULATION GROWTH AS WELL? YEAH. BECAUSE YOU NEED YOU NEED TO COME TO ME.
I WOULD COMPARE TO THAT TO TO SEE IF THE RATIO OF INCREASE IS KIND OF CONSISTENT THEN THAT WOULD MAKE SENSE, RIGHT? IF NOT, THEN I WOULD GO TO THE NEXT QUESTION IS ARE WE ARE WE MORE SICKER? ARE WE COMPARED TO THE PREVIOUS PERIOD. AND IF THAT HAS TO DO SOMETHING WITH, YOU KNOW, THE POPULATION, MONTGOMERY HAS GONE UP, BUT CLEARLY NOT BY 30%.
SO THERE'S SOMETHING ELSE GOING ON. WE CAN'T TELL FROM THIS DATA WHAT.
BUT THE THE NUMBER OF CALLS IS CLEARLY HIGHER.
SO I HAVE A QUESTION. IS IT MORE ARE THESE JUST MEDICAL EMERGENCIES, INCLUDING MENTAL HEALTH CRISES, OR IS IT JUST MEDICAL EMERGENCIES? BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE A BIG FACTOR.
WE GET CALLED FOR MENTAL HEALTH CRISES AS WELL. WE GET CALLED FOR SUICIDES. WE GET CALLED FOR PANIC ATTACKS. JOE, SOMETHING TO ADD? OH, I WAS ALSO GOING TO SAY THERE ARE SOME MEDICAL EMERGENCIES THAT WE DO NOT GET CALLED FOR.
THE POLICE HANDLE THEM THEMSELVES. SO THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE THOSE.
OKAY. SO A LOT OF THE POLICE, THE POLICE WILL TRANSPORT THEMSELVES SOMETIMES TO PESTS.
BUT YEAH SO WE DON'T GET THOSE. WE DON'T GET ALL WE DON'T GET ALL OF THEM CORRECT.
[00:20:01]
WE GET SOME ONLY THAT WE'RE DISPATCHED FOR. YOU SHOULD HAVE A DATABASE OF WHAT THE CALLS ARE FOR.SO YOU CAN LOOK AT WHAT THE CHIEF COMPLAINT IS.
OH YOU CAN SEE WHAT CHIEF COMPLAINT YOU'RE LEADING.
IT JUST JUST GIVES GIVES IT A FEW MORE MINUTES.
OFTEN THEY MAY NOT CALL US. THEY MAY JUST GO THEMSELVES.
YOU KNOW, IF THEY SIT IN A CAR AND GO TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM.
WELL, WE IT'S NOT ANONYMOUS. YOU KNOW, THE ONE INTERESTING THING ABOUT THAT, MONTGOMERY, IS THAT TWO YEARS AGO, I WAS ON A CALL WHICH CAME IN ON A SATURDAY MORNING, LIKE AROUND 6:00, AND THERE WAS A PERSON GOING TO THE HOSPITAL IN A LIFT CAB. SHE STOPPED ON RIGHT, RIGHT IN FRONT OF WELLS FARGO BANK, YOU KNOW, ON 206.
AND SHE COLLAPSED ON THE BACK SEAT. AND IT WAS THE CAB DRIVER WHO CALLED 911.
WHEN I WENT OVER THERE, SHE HAD SHE HAD A EITHER SHE WAS HAVING A STROKE OR SHE WAS HAVING A SEIZURE, OR SHE WAS HAVING BOTH. OKAY. WHAT IS AMAZING TO ME IS THAT SHE WAS GOING IN A LYFT CAB WHEN MONTGOMERY MS 911 SERVICES ARE FREE OF CHARGE. SO, YOU KNOW, NOT EVERYBODY KNOWS ABOUT OUR SERVICES BEING FREE OF CHARGE.
AND WE ARE OBVIOUSLY TRYING TO SPREAD THE WORD, ESPECIALLY IN COMMUNITIES THAT NEED US.
BUT NOT NOT EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT. WELL, THIS ALSO EXPLAINS WHY THE U.S.
AVERAGE IS HIGH. YOU KNOW, WHEN WE DO RESIDENCY, LIKE WHEN WE SERVE ON LIKE, UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS, MANY A TIME, YOU KNOW, YOU ARE SERVING THE COMMUNITY WHERE THEY DON'T HAVE TRANSPORTATION.
RIGHT. THEY DON'T HAVE A CAR. AND THEY USE, YOU KNOW, 911 AS THEIR MEANS OF TRANSPORT.
BUT THAT MIGHT NOT BE THE REASON IN MONTGOMERY, AS YOU SAID, WITH THE RIGHT EXAMPLE, THEY FELT THEY COULD AFFORD AND THEY COULD, YOU KNOW, USE A CAR OR, YOU KNOW, A CAB. RIGHT.
RIGHT. THAT MIGHT BE THE REASON WHY OUR VOLUME IS LESS, NOT NECESSARILY LIKE WE ARE.
BUT THAT CAN ALSO BE AN CONTRIBUTING FACTOR. WHY WE HAVE LESS CALLS AS WELL TOO.
NOW. IS IT JUST ANOTHER PLAYER FOR YOU KNOW THAT IS TRUE.
THAT IS TRUE. PEOPLE ARE NOT GOING TO THE OFFICE AS MUCH.
BUT HOLD THAT THOUGHT BECAUSE I WILL SHOW YOU A SLIDE ON CHIEF COMPLAINTS.
OKAY. OKAY. AND HOW THEY'VE TRENDED OVER TIME.
SO SO TRY TO TAKE A GUESS. RIGHT. WE HAD THIS THING WHERE PRE-COVID EVERYTHING WAS NORMAL.
THEN WE HAD THE COVID DIP. PEOPLE WERE WORKING FROM HOME.
NOW WE HAVE THIS MIXED SITUATION WHERE WHERE PEOPLE HAVE TO GO BACK TO THE OFFICE.
AND SO YOU KNOW WHAT WHAT, WHAT KIND OF IMPACT THAT HAS.
OKAY. SO JUST HOLD THAT THOUGHT. I'VE BEEN WORRIED ABOUT TIME, SO I'LL MOVE ON.
THE NEXT SLIDE IS IS FAIRLY OBVIOUS, WHICH IS THIS IS THE AGE GROUP BY WHICH WE HAD CALLED.
CLEARLY THE ELDERLY PEOPLE CALL US MORE. THAT'S NO SURPRISE.
THAT'S SURPRISING. 65 TO 74 179 IS MUCH LESS THAN I'M SAYING.
LIKE 65 TO 74 IS MUCH LESS THAN EVEN 45 TO 70.
64. YEAH. ISN'T THAT. NO. BUT IT TELLS ALSO THE AVERAGE AGE.
IT TELLS YOU ABOUT THE AGE OF THE COMMUNITY AS WELL, WHERE THE COMMUNITY IS.
YEAH, YEAH. BY THE WAY THIS DOES NOT REMOVE THIS DOES NOT REMOVE STONEBRIDGE FOR EXAMPLE.
OKAY. YEAH. BUT LIKE TO ME IT'S LIKE THE I SEE THIS, LIKE AS KIND OF A BELL CURVE WHERE OUR POPULATION IS MORE IN THAT 18 TO 64 RANGE. AFTER THAT, PEOPLE THEN WOULD BE LESS IN THE 65 TO 74.
TO REALLY MAKE THOSE CALLS IS WHAT YOU'RE SAYING. IT'S AGAIN THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE, RIGHT? IT'S JUST THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN THAT AGE BRACKET.
IT COULD BE. YEAH, IT COULD BE. IT COULD BE. YEAH.
OKAY. SO THE NEXT SLIDE IS ABOUT CHIEF COMPLAINTS.
BUT BEFORE I SHOW THAT SLIDE. OKAY. HERE TAKE A GUESS AGAIN A POP QUIZ.
WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE OUR TOP FIVE CHIEF COMPLAINTS? CHEST. CHEST PAIN. STROKE. FALLS. NEURO. OKAY.
[00:25:04]
FALLS. FALLS. OKAY. I CAN'T GUESS. PSYCHIATRIC.DIABETIC. EMERGENCY. DIABETIC EMERGENCIES. OKAY.
ALL RIGHT. ANY OTHER GUESSES? MAYBE AN ALLERGIC REACTION.
ALLERGIC REACTIONS. OKAY. AMONG THE TOP FIVE.
OKAY. ALL RIGHT. SURE. THESE ARE GUESSES. ALL RIGHT.
SO HERE ARE THE ANSWERS. I'M THINKING ALSO LIKE ON SUBSTANCE ABUSE OR WHAT'S THAT? SUBSTANCE ABUSE. SUBSTANCE ABUSE. OVERDOSES. YEAH.
OKAY. SO HERE ARE THE NUMBERS. TOP CHIEF COMPLAINT IS FALL FALLS.
ELDERLY PEOPLE FALL OKAY. DIFFICULTY BREATHING AND THEN CHEST PAIN CARDIAC I COMBINE THE TWO BECAUSE FOR US THE TREATMENT IS NOT VERY DIFFERENT IN TERMS OF HOW WE TREAT THE PATIENT ON THE FIELD.
MOTOR VEHICLE COLLISIONS WITH INJURY SICK PERSON, WHICH IS BASICALLY A CATCH ALL.
YOU KNOW, IF IF DISPATCH DOESN'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON, THEY JUST SAY SICK PERSON.
BY THE WAY, I SHOULD CLARIFY THAT THESE ARE PRE-ASSESSMENT.
THIS IS WHAT 911 DISPATCH TOLD US. THIS IS NOT OUR POST ASSIGNMENT.
IT COULD BE MANY OTHER THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON, AS YOU KNOW.
WHAT IS DECREASING. OKAY. SO AS YOU CAN SEE THAT OVER TIME DIFFICULTY BREATHING HAS INCREASED EVEN PRE COVID TO POST COVID. OKAY. SO IT'S INCREASED THROUGH THAT TIME.
AND I GUESS WE ARE WE'RE SORT OF GOING THROUGH MULTIPLE VIRUSES AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND YOU KIND OF SEE THAT IN THE NUMBERS OKAY.
OKAY. NOW YOU CAN SEE LIKE 2020 WHEN THE COVID DIP HAPPENED.
AND I THINK IT'S GOING TO GO HIGHER BECAUSE THE PRE COVID PRE-COVID NUMBER IS LIKE 5.5%.
AND WHEN I STARTED DOING THE STATS JUST FROM 2020, I SAW THIS MOTOR VEHICLE NUMBER RISE BY MULTIPLE TIMES AND I WAS LIKE, WHAT'S GOING ON? AND THEN I WAS LIKE, OKAY, WELL THAT'S COVID.
SO THAT'S WHY I STARTED SEEING PRE-COVID AS WELL.
SO YOU'LL SEE MORE TRAFFIC ON THE ROAD. YEAH.
PEOPLE ARE PEOPLE ARE GETTING BACK TO THE OFFICE.
YOU CAN SEE LIKE CHEST PAIN, CARDIAC. THE NUMBERS HAVE BEEN KIND OF CONSTANT.
SICK PERSON NUMBERS ACTUALLY HAVE DECLINED A LITTLE BIT.
OVERDOSE NUMBERS ARE ARE KIND OF LOWER DOWN. THAT'S AMONG THAT'S AMONG THE TOP 15 OR SO.
BUT YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT LIKE AMONG OUR TOP FIVE.
SIMILAR. SIMILAR WITH ALLERGIC REACTION. OKAY.
I'LL JUST MOVE ON. WHAT IS THIS? MEDICAL ALARM.
LIKE THE LIFE. LIFE YEAH. OKAY. YEAH. OKAY. SO THE NEXT ONE IS ABOUT FREQUENTLY VISITED STREETS. THAT GENERALLY GIVES YOU AN IDEA OF WHERE OUR CALLS ARE COMING FROM.
WHICH IS? MORE DENSE? PLACES PLACE MORE CALLS.
OKAY. SO THAT WAS OBVIOUS. I WAS LIKE, ALL RIGHT, LET ME JUST BE MORE CLEAR AND JUST SAY, OKAY, THESE ARE THE STREETS FROM WHERE WE'RE ACTUALLY GETTING MORE CALLS.
SO THIS ALSO SAYS THE SAME THING. YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY ROUTE 206 IS THE THE MAIN ROAD IN TOWN.
WE GET A LOT OF CALLS FROM THERE. SO YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE GETTING CALLS FROM, LET'S SAY WAWA OR PRINCETON FITNESS OR ANYTHING WITH A ROUTE 206 NUMBER THAT'LL SHOW UP ON THAT STREET. OKAY.
IT'S NOT JUST LIKE IT'S NOT JUST A MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT ON THAT.
ALL RIGHT. THAT'S WHERE I WANTED TO ASK YOU IS LIKE, HAVE YOU CORRELATED THIS DATA WITH THE MOTOR VEHICLE ACT? LIKE, YOU KNOW, MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT TO SEE WHICH ROADS ARE CAN HELP YOU LEAD TO A CONCLUSION WHERE WHICH ROADS ARE QUOTE UNQUOTE UNSAFE OR THERE'S MORE TO BE DONE THERE. WE WE DO KNOW THAT BECAUSE WE CAN WE CAN BASICALLY SEE ALL OUR MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS AND SEE WHERE THEY ARE.
SO WE KNOW THAT I'M SURE THE POLICE KNOWS THAT AS WELL.
FIRE. FIRE KNOWS THAT AS WELL. THESE ARE NOT UNCOMMON, LIKE I THINK PRETTY MUCH IN TOWN.
EVERYBODY KNOWS IT. LIKE THE MOST DANGEROUS INTERSECTION IS THE 2065 18 ONE.
YOU KNOW, A LOT OF STUFF HAPPENS THERE. AND AND JUST GENERALLY A BUNCH OF STUFF HAPPENS ON 206 AND, AND ON 518. THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE THE MAJOR ROADS.
BUT YEAH, WE CAN PINPOINT ACTUALLY EXACTLY WHERE WE GOT CALLED FROM FOR EACH MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT.
[00:30:02]
THAT WOULD BE A GOOD DATA POINT TO SHARE WITH, LIKE THE TRAFFIC SAFETY DIVISION.YEAH. WE'VE OFFERED. YEAH, BECAUSE THEY WOULD THEN PAY MORE.
WE HAVE DONE THIS BEFORE. WE PUT THE SIGNS UP.
YEAH, WE HAVE DONE THAT BEFORE. SO BASICALLY WHAT WHAT THIS WHAT THESE NUMBERS ARE TELLING YOU.
OKAY. SO 206, YOU KNOW, HEAVY HEAVY TRAFFIC ROADS OBVIOUSLY THAT'S NUMBER ONE.
COUNTY ROAD 601. THAT'S WHERE CARRIER CLINIC IS.
SO OBVIOUSLY THEY'RE CALLING US QUITE A BIT. MONTGOMERY ROAD AND HOLLINGSHEAD SPRING ROAD.
THAT'S WHERE STONEBRIDGE IS. SO. SO THEY'RE CALLING US QUITE A LOT.
HEARTBREAK DRIVE IS YOU KNOW, WHERE THE MULTI-STORIED BUILDING IS.
SO THAT'S WHERE WE'RE GETTING A NUMBER OF CALLS.
DOMINICUS, COURT IS PIKE RUN. MCKINLEY. SORRY, I FORGOT.
MCKINLEY. MCKINLEY IS IN THE PRINCETON SIDE. YOU KNOW, DENSER AREA.
SO DENSER AREAS WILL CALL US MORE. THAT'S JUST.
THAT'S THE WAY IT HAPPENS. OKAY, SO THAT'S THAT, AND THEN OKAY, THEN THEN HERE'S A QUESTION.
SO IF WE LOOK AT THE VARIOUS MONTHS OF THE YEAR.
ANY IDEA WHEN WE GET MORE CALLS? LIKE WHICH MONTHS DO YOU THINK WE GET MORE CALLS VERSUS LESS CALLS? ANY IDEA? FLU SEASON. TIME. WINTER. MORE. WINTER.
MORE. OKAY, THAT'S WHAT I WOULD SAY. WINTER. OKAY.
SO LET'S LOOK AT IT. SO THIS IS FOR 2024. YEAH.
OKAY. FOR WHATEVER REASON WE RECEIVE MORE CALLS IN MAY JULY AND DECEMBER.
OKAY. WHY THOSE MONTHS? I DON'T KNOW, BUT THAT'S WHAT WE SAW IN 2024.
OKAY. THE ORANGE LINE IS DAYTIME CALLS. THE BLUE LINE IS NIGHTTIME CALLS.
CONSISTENTLY, WE GET TWICE AS MANY CALLS DURING THE DAY AS COMPARED TO THE NIGHT.
OKAY. DAY IS 7 A.M. TO 7 P.M.. NIGHT IS 7 P.M.
TO 7 A.M., SO TWO THIRDS OF THE CALLS ARE DURING THE DAY.
OKAY. SO NOW IS THIS IS A SNAPSHOT FOR 2024. YOU WANT TO SEE TREND LINES OF COURSE.
SO THEN THE QUESTION IS WHAT HAPPENED IN 2023.
2023. IT WAS VERY DIFFERENT. YOU KNOW WE GOT MORE CALLS IN SPRING.
OKAY. SO YOU KNOW THERE'S VARIATION YEAR BY YEAR.
WE CAN'T GENERALLY EXPLAIN WHY THAT'S HAPPENING, AT LEAST NOT BY THE DATA THAT WE HAVE.
PART IS, NIGHT CALLS ARE HALF OF DAY. YEAH, THAT THAT IS CONSISTENT.
THAT'S RIGHT. OKAY. SO OH. SO THE NEXT SLIDE IS ABOUT DAYS OF THE WEEK.
OKAY. ANY ANY IDEA WHICH DAYS OF THE WEEK WE GET MORE CALLS VERSUS OTHERS.
FRIDAY. MONDAY. NO ONE WANTS TO GO TO WORK MONDAY.
YEAH. YOU KNOW, SUNDAY NIGHT HOSPITALS SAY THAT.
THEY SAY THEY GET MORE PATIENTS ON MONDAY OR FRIDAY EVENING.
OKAY, SO HERE'S THAT. BASICALLY, IT'S EVENLY DISTRIBUTED ACROSS ALL DAYS.
OKAY. FOR WHATEVER REASON THURSDAY'S IS LOWER.
WE DON'T WE DON'T REALLY KNOW WHY, BUT BUT OTHERWISE IT'S GENERALLY EVEN ACROSS THE BOARD.
OKAY. THAT'S WHAT WE SEE IN OUR DATA. OKAY. THE NEXT PAGE IS ABOUT LIKE ON THE DAY WHEN YOU SAY, IS THERE LIKE DIFFERENCE IN THE TIMING, MEANING LIKE 7 A.M.
TO 7 P.M.? IS IT MORE LIKE FROM 7 TO 9 IN THE MORNING AND THEN EVENING FROM 4 TO 6 RATHER THAN.
OR WAS THERE ANY DIFFERENCE IN THAT ASPECT THOUGH.
YEAH, THAT THAT IS THAT'S ON THIS SLIDE. SO OKAY.
SORRY. THE, THE, THE X AXIS IS HOURS. SO ZERO 1 TO 3, IT GOES ALL THE WAY TO 11 P.M.
WHICH IS 23 HOURS. AND THEN THE PERCENTAGE OF CALLS IS IS THE Y AXIS.
OKAY. SO WHAT YOU CAN SEE IS BASICALLY WHEN PEOPLE ARE MOVING AROUND, YOU KNOW, 7 A.M.
TO 7 P.M., THAT'S WHEN A LOT OF STUFF HAPPENS AND WE GET CALLED.
AND. OKAY. AND THE LAST SLIDE IS JUST TAKE A, JUST A WILD GUESS IN TERMS OF.
LET'S TAKE A 25%, 25%. OKAY. IT'S IT'S PRETTY CLOSE.
IT'S IT'S 28%. YEAH. AND THIS NUMBER IS CONSISTENT ACROSS SEVERAL YEARS.
SO YOU KNOW, THAT'S KIND OF INTERESTING TO US.
ANYWAY, THAT'S OUR PRESENTATION. SO REALLY GOOD QUESTIONS.
COMMENTS. HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS OR THOUGHTS THAT YOU HAVE.
GOOD. THANK YOU MIKE. YEAH. THE ONE THING OBSERVATIONS.
THANK YOU. YEAH IT WAS REALLY HELPFUL. THANK YOU.
WELL I DO WANT TO I THINK SID KNOWS THIS, BUT LAST YEAR YOU PRESENTED DATA FOR TO US.
[00:35:04]
AND WE DID TAKE STEPS AFTER THAT TO. SO FOR ANYBODY WHO DIDN'T KNOW THIS LAST YEAR, LAST YEAR.WE DID TAKE STEPS TO ACTUALLY ADDRESS THOSE ISSUES, SO WE MET WITH RESIDENTS.
WE ALSO HAD PUT IN PLACE WARNING SIGNS LIKE THIS IS A PEDESTRIAN THOROUGHFARE.
ALSO, PLEASE USE CROSSWALKS ETC. BECAUSE MOST OF THE ACCIDENTS WERE IN PLACES WHERE PEOPLE WERE CROSSING AND WHERE IT WASN'T A CROSSWALK. BUT THERE ARE THINGS THAT WE CAN DO AND WE HAVE DONE IT, AND THEY'RE A GREAT FACILITATOR FOR US AS WELL, BECAUSE THEY ALSO SEE THE THE SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH NEEDS THAT ARE KIND OF OUTSIDE OF THEIR SCOPE.
OR I GUESS TECHNICALLY SHE IS NOW SHE'S JUST TRAINING TO BE AN EMT.
AND IT'S VERY HELPFUL TO ALL OF US BECAUSE WE SEE KIND OF THE NEEDS IN THE TOWNSHIP, AND WE CAN SEE WHAT SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH? WHAT OTHER CLINICAL THINGS THAT ARE KIND OF OUTSIDE OF THE SCOPE OF PUBLIC HEALTH AS WELL.
BUT IN GENERAL, WE ARE ALL FOCUSED ON THE HEALTH OF OUR CITIZENS AND OUR POPULATION.
AND THESE THE MS SQUAD DOES AN AMAZING JOB. IT'S A VERY WELL RUN ORGANIZATION.
IT IS ALL VOLUNTEER, 100% DONATIONS AND RUN ON 100% DONATIONS.
WELL, NOT 100. VERY CLOSE TO 100% DONATIONS FROM.
WELL, WE DON'T CHARGE OUR PATIENTS. NO, WE DO NOT CHARGE THE PATIENTS.
SO AND WE GET SOME SUPPORT FROM THE TOWNSHIP.
AND SO AND I THINK SID'S GOING TO MEET WITH THE MAYOR THIS WEEK.
SO SO THERE WE GO. BY THE WAY, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE SEE BECAUSE WE TALKED ABOUT MOTOR VEHICLE COLLISIONS, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE SAW AT LEAST LAST YEAR WAS WE'VE BEEN GETTING MORE STORMS. AND MIKE, YOU MAY WANT TO COMMENT ON THIS AS WELL.
RIGHT. PEOPLE GOT INJURED OR, YOU KNOW, HAD A PANIC ATTACK.
BUT I THINK OUR FINEST HOUR WAS BACK IN THE FLOODS WHEN YOU TOOK OUT HURRICANE IDA.
SO WE HAD EVERYBODY SOUTH OF THE RARITAN RIVER THAT DAY IN THE HOSPITAL.
SO THEY PITCHED IN. YEAH. SO THE INTERESTING PART ABOUT MONTGOMERY IS WHEN THERE ARE FLOODS, IT GETS DIVIDED INTO THESE ISLANDS. YEAH. AND SO WE HAVE TO LIKE, THINK ABOUT THAT WHEN WE'RE DOING OUR EMERGENCY RESPONSES.
WHICH MAY OR IT'S PROBABLY NOT SOMETHING THAT OTHER TOWNSHIPS HAVE TO DO.
BUT, YOU KNOW, EVERY TIME, EVERY TIME THERE'S A BIG STORM LIKE WITHIN THE SQUAD, THERE'S LIKE PLANNING GOING ON AS TO WHO WILL BE WHERE AND HOW WILL THEY RESPOND, ESPECIALLY IF IF ISLANDS ARE CREATED. SO ON THAT FRONT, IN TERMS OF STORMS, I BELIEVE THERE'S SOME SERVICES THAT ARE AVAILABLE WHICH CAN NOTIFY AHEAD OF TIME WHICH AREAS FLOODS AND THEN THAT NOTIFICATION SYSTEM CAN BE UTILIZED.
YEAH. SO SO, YOU KNOW, WE I ACTUALLY MET WITH ADAM VERDUCCI SPECIFICALLY FOR THAT.
SO, SO TWO THINGS. FIRST OF ALL, THERE'S LIKE THERE'S A MAP PROVIDED BY SOME LIKE US TOPOLOGICAL SERVICE WHERE YOU CAN SEE OVER TIME WHICH ROADS FLOOD. OKAY, BUT THE THING IS, LIKE WITHIN TOWN, PEOPLE KNOW WHICH ROADS FLOOD.
LIKE THE COPS AND THE PEOPLE WHO'VE BEEN HERE FOR IN THE TOWN FOR A LONG TIME.
WE KNOW WHICH ROADS FLOOD. YOU KNOW, LIKE SUNSET WILL FLOOD. IT'LL BE CUT OFF.
YOU KNOW, WE KNOW LIKE WHICH PARTS WILL HAVE.
WHAT WE DON'T KNOW IS WHEN THAT WILL HAPPEN. YOU KNOW, THAT IS BASED UPON THE RISING WATER.
THE CURRENT SYSTEM IN TOWN THAT WE HAVE IS POLICE IS CONSTANTLY PATROLLING.
SO THEY ARE THE ONES WHO WILL CALL IN AND SAY, OKAY, THIS ROAD IS CLOSED NOW, AND WE'VE GONE TO A SYSTEM WHERE THEY INFORM THEIR CENTER. THEIR CENTER THEN SENDS OUT A MESSAGE TO, YOU KNOW, FIRE AND EMS SAYING, OKAY, THIS ROAD IS GONE.
OKAY. AND THAT HAPPENS A LITTLE BEFORE IT GOES OUT TO NIXLE, ETC..
SO SO THAT'S OUR CURRENT SYSTEM. YOU KNOW, WE WERE TRYING TO SEE, OH, IS THERE SOME KIND OF AUTOMATED SENSOR STUFF THAT WE CAN PUT ON THAT'S I THINK THOSE ARE JUST CONVERSATIONS AT THIS POINT OF TIME. BUT RIGHT NOW IT'S BASICALLY POLICE PATROLLING THE HALFWAY POINT.
[00:40:04]
BUT OTHER THAN TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, THERE ARE SYSTEMS THAT ALLOW YOU TO DO IT.I MEAN, OF COURSE, THERE'S AN INVESTMENT THAT YOU WOULD HAVE TO MAKE IN THAT SYSTEM.
OTHER THAN THAN RELYING JUST ON LIKE, MANUAL OBSERVATIONS, AS YOU SAID.
AGAIN, YOU GUYS ARE DOING A GREAT JOB ON THAT.
I'M NOT DENYING THAT. BUT AGAIN, TO MAKE LIFE EASY, THERE'S THOSE KIND OF SYSTEMS ARE AVAILABLE THAT CAN GIVE YOU SOME EARLY WARNING SYSTEMS WITH FLOODING. YOU'RE SAYING THAT THEY ARE AVAILABLE OR ARE YOU ASKING WHETHER THEY ARE AVAILABLE? I BELIEVE THEY ARE AVAILABLE. I'M NOT FULLY UP TO SPEED WITH IT, BUT SO THE ONES THAT I'VE SORT OF RESEARCHED AND LOOKED AT ARE ARE LIKE CAMERAS OR OTHER THINGS THAT ARE BATTERY OPERATED THAT YOU CAN PLACE, YOU KNOW, IN AREAS WHERE WHICH WILL FLOOD. AND THESE ARE LIKE IOT, INTERNET OF THINGS OPERATED SENSORS, WHICH WILL SEND YOU LIKE CELLULAR DATA AND THEN YOU CAN MAP IT.
THOSE ARE THE KIND OF THINGS THAT ARE THERE. BUT WE HAVEN'T I HAVEN'T COME ACROSS THEM BEING CONTINUOUSLY USED FOR A TIME PERIOD, JUST BASICALLY BECAUSE OF PROBLEMS LIKE BATTERY LIFE AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
RIGHT. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU SIR. THAT'S REALLY GOOD.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE TOO. THANK YOU SID.
THANK YOU GUYS FOR YOUR SERVICE. SID, ONE MORE QUICK QUESTION.
WOULD YOU CAN WE MAKE THESE DATA AVAILABLE TO OUR PUBLIC HEALTH PLANNER? YEAH. THANK YOU. JUST THE SLIDES. YEAH, THAT'D BE GREAT.
YEAH. YEAH. SHE'S NOT A SHE WASN'T ABLE TO COME TONIGHT.
SO WE JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE SHE HAS GOT IT. OKAY. YEAH. NO PROBLEM. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
SURE. OKAY. THANK YOU. THE NEXT ITEM. THANK YOU.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU AGAIN. THANK YOU. MIKE. BYE BYE.
YOU STAY. THANKS, VARSHA. GREAT. OKAY. THE NEXT ITEM IS HEALTH OFFICER COMMENTS.
AND SHE HAS QUITE A BIT OF THINGS TO GO THROUGH.
YEAH, I MEAN, I'LL YEAH, I'LL SKIP THE 2023 ANNUAL REPORT.
WE'RE PLANNING TO PRESENT THE 24 ANNUAL REPORT, NEXT BOARD OF HEALTH MEETING.
SO. OKAY. I MEAN, THIS WILL BE THIS WILL BE VERY QUICK, GUYS.
DON'T WORRY. OKAY, WELL, TAKE YOUR TIME. ALL RIGHT.
SO THERE'S NO NEW UPDATES ON THE CHA AND CHIP.
SO WE'RE STILL WORKING WITH HEALTHIER SOMERSET.
THAT'S OUR THREE YEAR HEALTH NEEDS ASSESSMENT DOCUMENT.
WE ARE CURRENTLY WORKING ON UPDATING THE COMMUNITY HEALTH IMPROVEMENT PLAN.
THAT IS OUR THREE YEAR PLANNING DOCUMENT THAT WILL IDENTIFY THE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES THAT WE SHOULD WE SHOULD ADOPT FOR THE NEXT THREE YEARS. SO THAT'S STILL IN PROGRESS AND I WILL SHARE THE DRAFT VERSION ONCE.
THE OTHER UPDATE WAS REGARDING THE PUBLIC HEALTH COSTING ASSESSMENT.
I'D SENT KERRY IN AN EMAIL. IT SHARED THE TEMPLATE.
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE, ALL OF THE LOCAL HEALTH DEPARTMENTS ARE BEING REQUESTED TO COMPLETE.
THIS TOOL WILL HELP US IDENTIFY WHAT OUR RESOURCE NEEDS ARE AND HELP US IDENTIFY WHERE OUR FUNDING GAPS ARE SO THAT CAN HELP US BETTER ADVOCATE FOR APPROPRIATE FUNDING BASED ON SERVICES THAT WE ARE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE BY LAW.
THE POLICE DEPARTMENT HAD REACHED OUT REQUESTING TRAINING FOR THEIR OFFICERS ON A PROGRAM.
IT'S AN EVIDENCE BASED PROGRAM THROUGH SETON HALL UNIVERSITY.
IT'S CALLED OPERATION READINESS FOR POLICE OFFICERS.
IT'S TITLED PRACTICAL SKILLS FOR ADDRESSING OPIOID USE DISORDER AND CO-OCCURRING CONDITIONS.
IT'S AN ONLINE FOUR HOUR TRAINING THAT THE OFFICERS CAN COMPLETE AT THEIR CONVENIENCE.
AND SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE THAT WE'RE COLLABORATING WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT ON.
WE ARE ALSO PARTNERING WITH THEM ON THE THINK FAST INITIATIVE.
[00:45:02]
IF YOU IF YOU READ THE MOST RECENT MONTGOMERY NEWS, I THINK THEY TALK ABOUT THE.I THINK THEY HAD DISTRACTED DRIVING AS THE TOPIC FOR THAT THINK FAST INITIATIVE.
SO WE HAVE FINALIZED JUNE 6TH AS THE DATE TO DO THIS AT.
I THINK AT THE HIGH SCHOOL AND THIS IS WE ARE THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT IS SPONSORING THIS EVENT, AND THIS IS POSSIBLE DUE TO THE LICENSING FEES THAT WE COLLECT FROM RETAIL FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS THAT SELL VAPING DEVICES IN TOWN.
AND IT'S A VERY INTERACTIVE, EXPERIENTIAL AWARENESS TYPE PROGRAM, AND I HOPE THAT THE STUDENTS ENJOYED THE PROGRAM THAT THEY HAD WITH THE DISTRACTED DRIVING MODULE. AND WE'RE HOPING TO TO HOST AND PARTNER WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT ON THESE THINK FEST PROGRAMS AS OFTEN AS WE ARE. WE CAN. AND THIS I MEAN, DEPENDING ON FUNDING AVAILABLE.
SO THAT IS WHAT I HAVE IN TERMS OF PROGRAMING WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
WE. WE HAVE A TABLETOP EXERCISE COMING UP WITH AND THIS IS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE NEW JERSEY ASSOCIATION OF COUNTY AND CITY HEALTH OFFICIALS.
WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT AND REALLY KEEPING AN EYE OUT FOR ANY UPDATES ON H5N1.
ONE OF THE THE MOST RECENT UPDATES I SHARED SOMETHING WITH THE BOARD.
RECENT STATISTICS IDENTIFY AT RISK POPULATIONS, AND SO THE STATE AND THE NEW JERSEY ASSOCIATION OF COUNTY AND CITY HEALTH OFFICIALS HAVE IDENTIFIED H5N1 AS A TOPIC FOR PUBLIC HEALTH PREPAREDNESS.
SO THEY'RE HOSTING TABLETOP EXERCISES THROUGHOUT THE STATE.
SO IF ANY BOARD MEMBER IS INTERESTED IN ATTENDING THE SOMERSET COUNTY TABLETOP EXERCISE IS APRIL 10TH, AND IT'S IN HILLSBOROUGH AT THEIR EMERGENCY SERVICES BUILDING AND ROYCE FIELD, SO LET ME KNOW IF YOU'RE INTERESTED.
I, I CAN SHARE MORE INFORMATION ON REGISTRATION.
THOSE TRAININGS WILL BE RIGHT HERE IN THE LIBRARY MEETING ROOM NEXT WEEK, ON TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY.
WE ARE PLANNING TO HAVE A INFLATABLE COLON IN THE LOBBY ON MARCH 29TH, ON THE SAME DAY AS THE FARMERS MARKET TO PROVIDE EDUCATION AND RAISE AWARENESS. I ENCOURAGE ALL OF YOU TO COME OUT AND CHECK OUT THE INFLATABLE COLON. YOU CAN WALK THROUGH IT LIKE WE'RE ALL LIKE TRYING NOT TO LAUGH.
I JUST NEED TO SAY IT OUT LOUD. IT'S. LOUD. AND THERE'S BOTH ENTRY AND EXIT POINTS.
SO YEAH. SO THIS IS IMPORTANT. YEAH. THIS IS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH SCREEN NJ.
SO WE'RE VERY EXCITED. WE WILL ALSO HAVE RUTGERS STUDENT NURSES AVAILABLE.
AND ONCOLOGIST FROM ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON SOMERSET.
AND WE'LL BE PROVIDING TONS OF EDUCATIONAL INFORMATION.
THERE'S ALSO AN INTERACTIVE CALENDAR THAT ARE REGIONAL CHRONIC DISEASE COALITION.
WORKED ON THAT. IT'S HOPEFULLY, YOU KNOW, ON OUR SOCIAL MEDIA OR ON OUR WEBSITE, BUT I'LL, I'LL MAKE SURE TO SHARE THAT OUT IF IT, IF IT'S NOT POSTED ALREADY.
BUT I ENCOURAGE YOU ALL TO COME OUT TO EXPLORE THE INFLATABLE COLON.
THANKS. SO THAT WILL BE MARCH 29TH SATURDAY RIGHT HERE IN THE LOBBY FROM 10 TO 1.
AND AND IT'LL BE FUN. SO ENCOURAGE YOU TO, TO COME OUT FOR THAT.
WE ARE ALSO, I JUST WANTED TO REMIND EVERYBODY ON THE BOARD THAT THE FAMILY CONNECTS NEW JERSEY PROGRAM IS NOW LIVE IN SOMERSET COUNTY. SO THIS IS A PROGRAM THAT WAS REALLY SPEARHEADED BY TAMMY MURPHY, GOVERNOR MURPHY'S WIFE. THIS PROGRAM INVOLVES UNIVERSAL HOME VISITING SERVICES TO NEW MOMS, AND IT'S IT. NO, NOT NOT DOULA, BUT THEY THEY CAN CONNECT YOU TO OTHER DOULA
[00:50:04]
SERVICES. THROUGH THE I THINK IT'S CALLED THE CONNECT NEW JERSEY PROGRAM.SO THIS UNIVERSAL HOME VISITING IT INVOLVES NURSE VISITS THAT ARE PROVIDED AT NO COST AND AVAILABLE TO ALL REGARDLESS OF INSURANCE, INCOME AND IMMIGRATION STATUS. SO IF YOU WORK WITH NEW MOMS THIS IS YEAH.
NO, THIS IS WORTH SHARING. SHARING WITH THROUGH YOUR CONTACTS AND YOUR NETWORK.
IT WAS ROLLED OUT, I THINK LAST YEAR. IN IN OTHER COUNTIES, WE WERE ONE OF THE LAST COUNTIES TO, TO BE ENROLLED. AND IT'S BEEN A REALLY GREAT RESOURCE AND A VERY VALUABLE FOR NEW MOTHERS.
SO AGAIN, THIS IS FOR EVERYBODY IN THIS ALL NEW MOMS IN NEW JERSEY.
SO I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THE BOARD MEMBERS WERE AWARE OF THAT.
COULD YOU SHARE THAT WITH MS? YEAH. THANK YOU.
YEAH. APRIL IS THE FIRST WEEK OF APRIL IS NATIONAL PUBLIC HEALTH WEEK.
SO WE'RE PLANNING TO DO A NATIONAL PUBLIC HEALTH WEEK RESOLUTION THROUGH THE TOWNSHIP.
WE ALSO HAVE A SERIES OF EVENTS PLANNED. ONE OF THEM IS MYSELF AND OUR PUBLIC HEALTH NURSE WILL BE SPEAKING AT THE CAREER LUNCH AND LEARN AT THE HIGH SCHOOL. AND WE'RE ALSO PLANNING TO HAVE A HEALTH DEPARTMENT OPEN HOUSE.
IT'S GOING TO BE RIGHT HERE IN THE LIBRARY MEETING ROOM.
I THINK THAT'S APRIL 7TH. I'LL I'LL SHARE OUT THE SPECIFIC DATES.
I THINK THE TIMES THE TIMING IS FROM 1230 TO 230.
SO I ALSO HAD A MEETING WITH THE MONTGOMERY BUSINESS ASSOCIATION THIS MORNING, AND WE SHARED INFORMATION ABOUT OUR OPEN HOUSE WITH THEM AND ENCOURAGING BUSINESSES IF THEY ARE INTERESTED IN IF THEY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS AND THEY'RE INTERESTED IN MEETING THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT STAFF TO COME OUT AT THIS OPEN HOUSE.
SO THE NJDOE AND THE THE NEW JERSEY ASSOCIATION OF COUNTY AND CITY HEALTH OFFICIALS THEY ARE JUST ALLOCATING SOME EXTRA FUNDS TO OUR GRANTS. SO THEY THEY ARE AGREEING TO GIVE US AN EXTRA $20,000.
SO THIS IS MONEY THAT WE CAN SPEND THROUGH MARCH 2026.
SO I'M GOING TO BE WORKING WITH WITH THE ASSOCIATION AND NJDOE ON FINALIZING WHAT THAT BUDGET WILL LOOK LIKE AND WHAT THE CRITERIA IS TO TO SPEND THAT MONEY. WE'VE WE'VE ALSO WE SUBMITTED A GRANT, THE AARP GRANT. AND THE TOPIC WAS FOR DISASTER PREPAREDNESS FOR SENIOR CITIZENS.
I HAVEN'T HEARD BACK, BUT I WANTED TO LET THE BOARD KNOW THAT WE DID APPLY FOR THAT GRANT.
AND WE TRIED TO TIE IN MANY OF OUR NEEDS. AND OUR PUBLIC HEALTH PREPAREDNESS GOALS THAT WE HAVE FOR H5N1 TO JUST HELP US GET A HEAD START ON JUST PROVIDING SOME EDUCATION, SOME PPE KITS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY GEARED TOWARDS OUR SENIOR POPULATION AND HIGH RISK POPULATIONS.
THEY ARE HOSTING THESE BOOK CLUBS FOCUSED ON THE ANXIOUS GENERATION BOOK, AND THEY'VE BEEN GETTING REALLY GOOD INTEREST. I MEAN, THE, THE REGISTRATION, I THINK, FILLED UP.
THEY HAD ABOUT 100 REGISTRATIONS IN THE FIRST DAY ALONE.
WE'VE EXPANDED THE NUMBER OF BOOK CLUBS, AND MUNICIPAL ALLIANCE WAS ABLE TO USE GRANT MONEY TO PURCHASE ADDITIONAL BOOKS BECAUSE THERE WERE OVER 40, 50 HOLDS ON WITH THE LIBRARY. SO WE HAVE SOME ANXIOUS GENERATION BOOKS AVAILABLE FOR PARENTS IF THEY'RE INTERESTED, AND WE WILL BE SHARING OUR MESSAGING THROUGH THE SCHOOLS BECAUSE THIS IS REALLY BEING SPEARHEADED BY BY THE SCHOOLS.
AND COREY DELGADO HAS BEEN PHENOMENAL IN HELPING US GET, YOU KNOW, GET THIS PROGRAM UP AND RUNNING.
I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE I'M NOT FORGETTING ANYTHING.
I THINK THAT THAT'S IT. THEY HAD STAFF UPDATES.
OKAY. I'M NOT SURE. I'M NOT SURE WHAT THE STAFF UPDATE WAS.
THAT'S OKAY. THAT'S ALL RIGHT. ALL GOOD. OKAY.
[00:55:05]
DO WE HAVE ANY ANY QUESTIONS? THANK YOU. WELL, THE STAFF UPDATES WERE REALLY JUST, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THE ALL OF THE STAFF. IT WAS REALLY THE STAFF REPORTS BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE THEY HAVE BEEN SO BUSY.THEY'VE BEEN DOING SO, SO MANY PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES AND WORKING ON SO MANY DELIVERABLES.
FOR ME, SO JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE, YOU KNOW, IF YOU ALL TOOK A LOOK AT THOSE REPORTS.
SO SHE'S BEEN HELPING A LOT WITH ALL OF THE EDITING.
OUR DEADLINE FOR REACCREDITATION IS IN AUGUST, BUT OUR GOAL IS TO TRY TO GET IT IN IF POSSIBLE, IN MAY OR JUNE. THE GOOD THING IS, BECAUSE WE ARE ACCREDITED, WE ARE DOING EVERYTHING ACCORDING TO ACCREDITATION STANDARDS.
BUT WE WILL PROVIDE MORE OF A TECHNICAL UPDATE OF OUR PROCESSES FOR REACCREDITATION AS WE AS WE GET, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALREADY FULL SWING INTO IT. BUT ONCE WE'RE READY TO TO PRESENT, WE'LL SHARE SOME OF THAT UPDATES THOSE UPDATES WITH YOU.
I DID HAVE TEXACO ON HERE, BUT I'M SURE YOU ALL KNOW THAT THE THAT THE GAS STATION WAS TORN DOWN.
I DON'T KNOW THAT THEY KNOW THE CONNECTION. SO YEAH.
SO. NO. YEAH. MAYBE. SO, YOU KNOW, THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT, WE WE ARE ABLE TO GO OUT BASED ON COMPLAINTS RECEIVED FROM THE COMMUNITY AND FROM RESIDENTS AND ENFORCING SOME OF OUR BOARD OF HEALTH LAWS.
AND OUR INSPECTORS ARE REALLY THE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS IN GOING OUT AND BEING ABLE TO IDENTIFY, FOLLOW UP AND IDENTIFY ANY VIOLATIONS AND FOLLOWING UP WITH ANY VIOLATIONS IN COURT.
SO NOT EVERY DEPARTMENT IS ABLE TO DO THAT. AND IT TAKES A LOT OF WORK.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, KRISTEN SERGEANT WAS VERY INSTRUMENTAL IN HELPING IN ADDRESSING THOSE ISSUES AND CONCERNS AND FOLLOWING UP AND AND ALSO COMMUNICATING WITH, WITH THE COURTS AND WITH TOWNSHIP ADMINISTRATION AND THE, AND THE RESIDENTS AND THE PROPERTY OWNER.
SO WHAT WAS THE ISSUE IN THIS CASE? SORRY, WHAT WAS THE CONCERNS? I THINK CONCERNS WERE JUST STRUCTURAL DAMAGE.
IT WAS I THINK THERE WAS THIS GAS STATION. IT WAS RIGHT ACROSS WAWA, YOU KNOW, ON THE CORNER OF 518 AND 206. OKAY. YEAH. IF YOU'RE GOING SOUTH, IT'S ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE NEXT TO TIGER'S TIGER.
NEXT TO TIGER'S TAIL. OH, YEAH. YEAH. OKAY. YEAH.
JUST RUNDOWN AND DILAPIDATED. A LOT OF RISKS, HAZARDS IN AND AROUND THE PROPERTY.
BUT THAT, LIKE. OKAY, I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THERE WAS TEXACO BECAUSE I'VE ALWAYS SEEN.
THAT'S A DEAD SPACE RIGHT AT THE INTERSECTION.
YEAH, BUT IT DID HAVE PUBLIC HEALTH IMPLICATIONS.
I THINK THAT WAS THE THING THAT WE, YOU KNOW, YES, IT WAS UNSIGHTLY, BUT THERE WERE A NUMBER OF ISSUES THAT WERE OF CONCERN FOR THE HEALTH OF THE RESIDENTS. AND AS WE WERE GETTING MORE RESIDENTS IN THAT AREA AND LITTLE KIDS, WE WERE STARTING TO GET CONCERNS ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT THEY WOULD GO INTO THE PROPERTY.
IT WAS STRUCTURALLY UNSAFE. THERE WAS A TREE GROWING OUT OF THE MIDDLE OF IT.
YEAH. AND THAT SORT OF THING. AND SO I'VE WORKED WITH HER STAFF TO GO CHECK IT OUT.
AND SO WHO PAID FOR THE DEMOLITION? THE OWNER.
AND THEN THE OWNER ESSENTIALLY TOOK IT DOWN. YEAH.
AND THERE'S ALSO PUBLIC HEALTH HAZARDS AROUND THE PROPERTY, TOO.
THERE WERE SOME AREAS WHERE WATER WAS COLLECTING AND THEN THERE WAS NO RISK OF MOSQUITO AND.
OTHER ISSUES. BUT THERE IS. AND I SHARED THIS WITH DEEWANGI.
THERE'S SOME LITERATURE TO SUGGEST THAT LIVING IN PROXIMITY TO DILAPIDATED, UNKEPT BUILDINGS ACTUALLY DOES IMPACT THE HEALTH AND THE MENTAL WELLNESS OF THE RESIDENTS SURROUNDING THAT AREA, TOO.
SO THAT WAS ANOTHER CONCERN AS WELL, BECAUSE WE'RE GETTING MORE PEOPLE MOVING IN THAT AREA,
[01:00:02]
AND WE WANT THEM TO FEEL LIKE THEY'RE PART OF THE COMMUNITY, AND WE ARE CARING FOR THEM AND CARING FOR THEIR HEALTH AS WELL.IT'S BEEN LIKE WHEN YOU TALKED ABOUT LIKE A TEXACO GAS STATION.
I'M LIKE, I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THAT EXISTED. IT WAS A TEXACO GAS STATION.
YEAH, BECAUSE I'VE NEVER SEEN THAT IN SERVICE.
I'VE BEEN HERE 20 YEARS, AND IT'S. HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN? I'VE BEEN HERE 20 YEARS. AND IT'S BEEN ABANDONED ABOUT.
IT HASN'T BEEN IN USE EVEN WHEN I FIRST MOVED HERE.
THAT'S IMPRESSIVE. SO. WELL, ANYWAY, SO IT IS.
IT IS GOOD THAT HE WAS. DEMOLISHED? YEAH. YEAH.
AND HE WAS COOPERATIVE. HE WAS COOPERATIVE. OKAY.
I THINK THAT'S IT. OKAY. I'M GOING TO DO THE NEW BUSINESS ROUND.
[VI. NEW BUSINESS ]
OKAY. ANY NEW BUSINESS FROM MONTY SCHOOLS, BERT? NO. I MEAN, DO YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT. OR DO YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE VARICELLA OUTBREAK? YEAH. THE VARICELLA. YEAH. I THINK WE HAVE A QUESTION. WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THE VARICELLA OUTBREAK.SO IF YOU WANT TO I MEAN IT WAS CONTAINED RIGHT.
SO THERE WAS NOTHING MORE TO SAY THAN A FAMILY WITH VARICELLA.
YEAH. SO I'M SORRY. YEAH I MEAN WE HAVEN'T SEEN ANY, ANY OTHER CASES OTHER THAN I THINK THE THREE. OKAY. AND I THINK WE. AND THERE WAS THE FLU AND THAT WAS THE ELEMENTARY FLU OUTBREAK IN TWO CLASSROOMS OR WHATEVER.
THE MEMO THAT YOU SENT OUT. YEAH. SO, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE SEND OUT, AS WE IDENTIFY, YOU KNOW, THESE REPORTABLE DISEASES, YOU KNOW, WE WORK WITH THE STATE.
YOU KNOW, THE QUESTION WITH VARICELLA, WE GOT AND SO DID THE SCHOOL NURSES.
WHY AREN'T WHY AREN'T THE PARENTS OF, OF THE CHILDREN IN THE CLASSROOMS GETTING IT.
WHY ARE YOU SENDING IT OUT TO EVERYBODY? AND IF WE'VE IDENTIFIED THAT EXPOSURE HAS OCCURRED IN COMMON AIR SPACES WHERE AIR IS SHARED, IT IS IT IS NOT WORTH, YOU KNOW, SENDING, SENDING IT OUT TO JUST 1 OR 2 CLASSROOMS WHEN WE KNOW THAT EVERYBODY WAS EXPOSED, ESPECIALLY IF THE STUDENT WAS THERE DURING THEIR INFECTIOUS PERIOD. SO THAT WAS REALLY THE MAIN REASON.
SO WE'VE BEEN KIND OF GOING BACK AND FORTH, YOU KNOW, IN-HOUSE ABOUT MESSAGING.
SOMETIMES IT'S JUST BETTER TO KEEP KEEP THAT GENERAL.
BUT, YOU KNOW, LIKE I WAS TELLING, YOU KNOW, WE'RE TRYING TO LEARN FROM BASED ON THE QUESTIONS THAT WE'RE GETTING FROM PARENTS TO TRY TO, TO SEND OUT. AND TRY TO MESSAGE IT IN A WAY WHERE IT'S CLEARER.
BUT SOMETIMES JUST KEEPING IT GENERAL IS BETTER.
BUT I DON'T KNOW IF YOU IF YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS OR IF ANY OF YOU RECEIVED THOSE LETTERS, IF YOU HAD SIMILAR QUESTIONS OF WHERE EXPOSURE MIGHT HAVE OCCURRED, IF YOU IF YOU'D WANT MORE INFORMATION. SOMETIMES WE'RE NOT ALLOWED TO SHARE MORE INFORMATION.
AFTER THAT, SUBSEQUENTLY THERE ARE THERE WAS LIKE AN UPRISE OF SO MUCH, YOU KNOW, MESSAGES WE DO HAVE LIKE THOSE WHATSAPP GROUPS FOR EVERY SCHOOL WHEN THIS THING COMES, LIKE, YOU KNOW, ALL PARENTS ARE PANICKY, LIKE, YOU KNOW, WHY ARE WE SENDING IT? LIKE, YOU KNOW, WHAT SHOULD I DO FOR MY KID? LIKE, YOU KNOW, WHY IS THAT? LIKE EVERYTHING IS HAPPENING IN THAT ASPECT. SO THERE IS SOME KIND OF COMMOTION THAT HAPPENS AFTER THAT AND THEN IT DIES DOWN. SOME PARENTS DO STEP UP AND SAY LIKE, YOU KNOW, THE REASON IS BECAUSE THE KID, YOU KNOW, YOU GO TO THE CAFETERIA OR YOU ARE THERE IN THE COMMON GROUND.
SO IT'S IMPORTANT THAT THIS THING HAPPEN. AND SO THAT'S BEEN CLARIFIED LIKE BY SOME OTHER PARENTS LIKE, YOU KNOW, EXPLAINING IT TO THE OTHER PARENTS.
SO PROBABLY WE CAN INCLUDE THAT STATEMENT IN THAT ASPECT.
AND IT'S KIND OF THE AFFECTED KID COULD HAVE GONE, YOU KNOW, THEY COULD HAVE HAD THE SAME GYM TIME, OR THEY COULD HAVE HAD THE CAFETERIA TIME OR, YOU KNOW, OUTDOOR RECESS.
WE DO NOT KNOW. BUT THAT'S THE REASON WHY YOU'RE DOING IT.
IF YOU COULD CLARIFY THAT PART, I THINK IT CAN, YOU KNOW, BE HELPFUL FOR OTHER PARENTS.
AND WHEN THEY RECEIVED THAT NOTIFICATION. NOW, WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO? YEAH. SHOULD I TAKE MY KID TO THE DOCTOR? LIKE, YOU KNOW, THEN THERE IS A LOT OF MESSAGES THAT HAPPENS IN THE SOCIAL MEDIA AFTER THAT.
YEAH. NO. AND I KNOW THE DOCTORS WERE GETTING CALLS AND VISITS.
YEAH. AND BUT I THINK THAT THAT'S A VALID POINT.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE SENDING THIS OUT TO THE 5000 STUDENTS IN THE DISTRICT.
THEY WERE ALL NOT EXPOSED. BUT IF WE SAY TO THEM IT HAS TO BE SENT THIS WAY, BECAUSE THE STUDENTS ARE IN MULTIPLE SCHOOLS AND THEY TRAVEL AROUND AND THIS IS AIRBORNE. WHETHER OR NOT WE ALSO ADD IN THAT THE RISK IS LOW.
[01:05:01]
LIKE FROM THIS EXPOSURE, EVERYONE WHO HAD IT WAS UNVACCINATED AND PART OF THE SAME FAMILY.SO THERE WAS NO SPREAD WITHIN SCHOOL. BUT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO INCLUDE INFORMATION ABOUT THE DISEASE TO SAY LIKE YOU'RE YOU KNOW, VARICELLA VACCINATION IS REQUIRED FOR SCHOOL.
SO CHANCES ARE YOUR KIDS ARE VACCINATED. AND HERE WOULD BE THE SYMPTOMS JUST TO GIVE SOME GUIDANCE, BUT BE HAPPY TO HELP YOU. YEAH, IT WENT TO THE EXTENT WHERE, LIKE, PARENTS WERE POSTING THEIR VACCINE RECORDS IN THE SOCIAL MEDIA, LIKE TO SAY LIKE IF THEIR KIDS WERE VACCINATED OR NOT. LIKE, SHOULD I NOW TAKE TO THE PEDIATRICIAN OFFICE TO GET THEM VACCINATED? SO IT DOES CAUSE SOME PANIC IN THAT ASPECT. SO, YOU KNOW, I DON'T BLAME THEM.
SO I DON'T BLAME PEOPLE WHO DON'T HAVE, YOU KNOW, MEDICAL EXPOSURE.
AND THEY GET THIS EMAIL FROM FROM AN, YOU KNOW, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH.
IT DOES CREATE SOME, YOU KNOW, CONCERN IN THAT ASPECT.
WE COULD CLARIFY A LITTLE BIT IN THE WORDING IN THAT ASPECT.
OKAY. I DO THINK I MEAN WE'VE DONE WE'VE. I DON'T REMEMBER THAT ALL THAT WAS IN THE THE NOTE, I WILL SAY THAT WHENEVER WE SEND A NOTE THERE'S ALWAYS A PANIC.
IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW MUCH HOW MUCH CLARITY WE GIVE AROUND LOW RISK, AROUND CONTAINMENT, AROUND ANYTHING IN THOSE REGARDS THAT IT IS. IT'S JUST A CONCERN THAT HAPPENS.
SO IT'S IT'S HELPFUL TO HEAR WHAT YOU EXPERIENCED AND YOU SAW.
SO I THINK YOU KNOW, MOVING FORWARD, WE CAN CONTINUE TO THINK ABOUT THAT, BUT I DID I WILL SAY THAT THERE ARE THE OTHER THING THAT HAPPENS SOMETIMES IS WHEN WE ASK THE PRINCIPAL, THE PRINCIPALS IN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT WANT TO COMMUNICATE ON THEIR OWN.
AND SO THAT CONTEXT CAN ALSO BE A LITTLE BIT OF A.
YEAH. BECAUSE IT'S LIKE, WAIT A MINUTE. SHE SAID NOTHING. AND THEN THERE'S THIS OTHER LETTER THAT SAID SO MUCH. SO YOU KNOW, IT IS GOOD THAT WE HAVE A NICE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE SCHOOLS AND THEY ARE WILLING TO LET US IN AND EVEN TAKE OUR GUIDANCE ON HOW TO CLEAN AND HOW TO PREVENT FURTHER SPREAD. BUT, YOU KNOW, IT'S ALWAYS A CONCERN.
AND THE CHICKEN POX, OF ALL THE THINGS THAT I THINK WE'VE HAD TO EXPERIENCE IN THE PAST FIVE YEARS, THAT WAS THE LEAST OF MY CONCERNS. FOR ALL THE THINGS LIKE THE NOROVIRUS OUTBREAKS THAT WE'VE HAD THIS YEAR, HAVE BEEN A LITTLE BIT MORE CONCERNING TO ME.
SO, YEAH, AND EVEN EVEN THE MEASLES, YOU KNOW YOU KNOW, WHEN, YOU KNOW, THE ONE CASE THAT WE INVESTIGATED IDENTIFIED 92 CLOSE CONTACTS TO MONITOR TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE EDUCATED AND AWARE THAT THEY'RE NOT FURTHER SPREADING IT.
SO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S THAT'S A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WORK THAT HAPPENS BEHIND THE SCENES.
SO THEY'RE PROBABLY MANAGING AN OUTBREAK. AND THERE'S A LOT OF INFORMATION THAT'S SHARED BETWEEN THEM AND THE HEALTHCARE FACILITY AND NJDOE AND THE REGIONAL EPIDEMIOLOGIST AND, AND THE SITE AND THE LOCATION OF THE OUTBREAK.
I HAVE A GENERAL QUESTION, ACTUALLY, AS THIS CDC OR THE I DON'T KNOW, THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, WHATEVER CHANGES THEIR GUIDELINES AND CHANGES THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS, ARE WE AS AN INDEPENDENT BODY THAT'S NOT CAN WE MAKE OUR OWN RECOMMENDATIONS? WE DON'T HAVE TO FOLLOW WHAT THEY SAY.
CORRECT. WE WE HAVE TO FOLLOW NJDOE REGULATIONS.
SO AND NJDOE THEY LARGELY GO GO OFF OF THE CDC GUIDELINES.
AND AGAIN, I MEAN, THERE MIGHT BE SPECIFIC SITUATIONS WHERE THERE ARE GAPS IN THE GUIDELINES. AND THAT'S WHERE WE CAN, AS A LOCAL BOARD, COME IN TO FILL THOSE GAPS. I MEAN, DID I ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? NO, I MEAN, IT'S JUST A LEVEL OF CONCERN THAT I SEE FROM, I DON'T KNOW, I SEE THIS BECOMING A PROBLEM OVER THE NEXT. WHAT'S THE THIS THIS WHATEVER KENNEDY'S GOING TO CHANGE IN THE HEALTH CARE GUIDELINES? NOT BASED ON ANY SORT OF SCIENCE, YOU KNOW. GOT IT.
[01:10:03]
LEGISLATURE CHANGES. AND IF IT DOES, WE ARE PUTTING MORE AND MORE PEOPLE AT RISK BY FOLLOWING GUIDELINES THAT WE KNOW, AT LEAST AT THE LOCAL LEVEL, ARE WRONG.RIGHT. BECAUSE NOTHING THAT'S BEEN ISSUED SO FAR HAS ANY SCIENCE BEHIND IT.
IT'S ALL OPINION, RIGHT? AND WE TEND TO GET VERY BENT OUT OF SHAPE ABOUT WHAT OPINIONS ARE.
AND I DON'T THINK THAT WE HAVE TO AND I WOULD LIKE TO SEE US NOT DO THAT THIS TIME.
WHEN WE HAD THE COVID OUTBREAK, WE WERE SUBJECT TO DO WHAT WAS POLITICALLY EXPEDIENT AT THE TIME. AND THAT WAS DESPITE SCIENCE TELLING US THAT THERE WERE THINGS THAT WERE WRONG WITH THE WAY IT WAS BEING HANDLED.
AND I DON'T THINK THAT YOU CAN DO THAT AGAIN.
SO I JUST KIND OF WANT TO BE ON THE RECORD WITH THAT.
I JUST DON'T THINK THAT THAT'S THE RIGHT WAY TO DO THINGS.
I AGREE. I AGREE WITH THE, YOU KNOW, EVIDENCE BASED GUIDELINES AND THEN GO WITH IT.
I'M FOR IT. YEAH. NO, I APPRECIATE THAT. THAT'S WE I THINK WE ALL FEEL THAT WAY.
AND WE WOULD LIKE TO MAINTAIN THAT AND RETAIN THAT AUTONOMY.
WE WOULD PROBABLY HAVE TO. YEAH. I MEAN, I THINK I THINK IT'LL BE EASIER AS WE KNOW WHAT'S CHANGING.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE SEEING AN INCREASE IN RELIGIOUS EXEMPTIONS.
AND THAT'S A CONCERN WHEN WE ARE DEALING WITH OUTBREAKS OR IF, YOU KNOW, IF ANY GUIDANCE CHANGES AS IT RELATES TO MEASLES INVESTIGATIONS, YOU KNOW, WE WE CANNOT AFFORD TO HAVE LARGE NUMBERS OF PEOPLE BEING EXPOSED AND INFECTED WITH MEASLES IN AN AREA LIKE, YOU KNOW, LIKE MONTGOMERY OR NEW JERSEY OR MONTGOMERY AND THAT, THAT THAT PUTS A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF PRESSURE ON THE HEALTH DEPARTMENTS AND THE STAFF THAT ARE DOING THESE INVESTIGATIONS. SO, YOU KNOW, IF, IF AND AS THINGS CHANGE, YOU KNOW ANYTHING I HEAR, I WILL SHARE WITH THE BOARD OF HEALTH AND WE CAN HAVE A CONVERSATION AND DISCUSSION ON IT.
BUT YES, WE WE ARE ALL VERY NERVOUS. YEAH. I'LL, I'LL PREP ONE THING FOR THE BOARD, I GUESS, TO JEREMY'S POINT ABOUT VACCINATIONS. THERE'S STATUTES IN NEW JERSEY THAT MANDATE WHAT THE VACCINATIONS ARE.
THOSE STATUTES WOULD HAVE TO CHANGE. AND BECAUSE OF THE RELATIVELY EASY LOOPHOLE OF RELIGIOUS EXEMPTIONS, I DON'T THINK ANY I DON'T THINK ANYONE WOULD TAKE THE TIME TO LEGISLATE THAT AND CHANGE IT, BECAUSE PEOPLE COULD JUST OPT OUT. SO I SUSPECT THAT WON'T CHANGE.
BUT FOR MEASLES IF PEOPLE DO OPT OUT AND I BELIEVE IT'S ON THE LOCAL BOARD, BUT WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO RESTRICT KIDS WHO ARE NOT VACCINATED TO MEASLES FROM SCHOOL FOR 21 DAYS IN THE SETTING OF AN EPIDEMIC OR OF A SPREAD.
SO BUT THAT WOULD FALL UPON US. THAT'S RIGHT.
SO JUST TO BE PREPARED THAT WE MIGHT HAVE TO MAKE THAT DECISION.
WE WERE NOT WILLING TO SAY THAT WE ARE GOING TO TAKE ENFORCEMENT TO THE NEXT LEVEL.
WE SORT OF EVERY SINGLE TIME THERE WAS AN OPPORTUNITY, WE DID NOT FOLLOW THROUGH.
AND THAT WAS VERY UNNERVING. AND THIS IS THESE ARE PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD GUIDELINES THAT SAY THAT YOU HAVE TO DO THIS, THAT NEW JERSEY BOARD OF HEALTH WOULD SAY THAT I THINK WE MIGHT HEAR PUSHBACK, BUT THAT WILL BE THE THE FALLOUT OF IF THAT'S WHAT IS HAPPENING IN TEXAS. AND THAT WOULD BE THE FALLOUT HERE.
SHOULD THERE BE SOMEONE UNVACCINATED IN SCHOOL AND A LOCAL MEASLES OUTBREAK? AND I THINK IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO KIND OF REITERATE THE FACT THAT WHEN YOU VACCINATE, IT'S MORE ALSO ON THE HERD IMMUNITY THAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT, WE ARE ACTUALLY PROTECTING THE PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT ABLE TO GET VACCINATED.
SO YEAH, THAT'S IMPORTANT TO BRING THAT AWARENESS.
YEAH, THAT IS RIGHT. AND I MEAN, WITHIN THE THE STATUTE FOR NEW JERSEY HEALTH, NEW JERSEY HEALTH, PUBLIC HEALTH STATUTE LAW, YOU CAN IF YOU CARE TO READ THAT IT WAS IN YOUR ORIENTATION PACKAGE THIS SO FROM JANUARY.
[01:15:03]
I WOULD REALLY ENCOURAGE EVERYBODY TO LOOK AT THAT BECAUSE WHAT WE CAN DO FOR PUBLIC HEALTH LAW AND ORDINANCES IT'S ARE VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT BERT JUST SUGGESTED. AND I YOU KNOW, AS LONG AS IT'S EVIDENCE BASED AND WE FEEL LIKE WE CAN DO IT.AND I THINK THAT'S THE THING THAT WE CAN LEAN INTO, AND WE NEED TO REALLY HOLD THAT.
AND THERE HAVE BEEN OTHER THINGS THAT OTHER DECISIONS IN THE PAST, NOT JUST THE ONE THAT JEREMY MENTIONED, WHERE WE'VE HAD A HARD TIME NAVIGATING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHAT IS GOING TO PROTECT THE HEALTH OF THE TOWNSHIP AND WHAT IS POLITICALLY ACCEPTABLE TO DO.
AND I, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO THE THE HEALTH OF OUR CHILDREN IN THIS TOWNSHIP, I THINK WE CAN HAVE A STRONGER APPROACH MOVING FORWARD, AND WE WILL HAVE TO DO THAT.
AND MAYBE JUST JUST SO THIS COMMITTEE REMEMBERS IT, SHOULD A MEASLES OUTBREAK START TO HIT NEW JERSEY, IT MIGHT BEHOOVE US TO SEND THIS MIGHT BE ACTUALLY A GOOD PUBLIC NOTICE TO SEND TO EVERYONE TO SAY, MAKE SURE YOU'RE VACCINATED. AND IF YOU'RE NOT AND THE MEASLES EPIDEMIC HITS LOCALLY, WE WILL HAVE TO EXCLUDE YOUR STUDENTS.
SO YOU HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET VACCINATED.
SO AND SO IT'S NOT THE LAST MOMENT THEY'RE EXCLUDED.
WE'VE GIVEN THEM NOTICE AMPLE OPPORTUNITY TO PROTECT THEIR KIDS.
THAT'S A GOOD THAT'S A GREAT IDEA. YEAH I KIND OF FEEL LIKE WE DO NEED TO BE MORE PROACTIVE.
AND AS A PEDIATRICIAN FOR BOTH OF US, LIKE IF WE HAVE PEOPLE KNOCKING ON OUR DOORS TRYING TO GET THE VACCINE AND WE MAY RUN OUT, I MEAN, IF IT TRULY WERE, I'M EXTRAPOLATING TO THE WORST CASE.
IT COULD BE THAT YOU DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO THE MMR. LIKE THAT COULD TOTALLY HAPPEN IF, I MEAN, I WOULD.
IT'S MANDATORY. I MEAN, OUR GENERAL POPULATION.
WHAT WAS IT SUBCHAPTER FOR THE LAW ON IMMUNIZATION OF PUPILS IN THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY.
YES, THIS IS IN THE NEW JERSEY STATE ADMINISTRATIVE CODE AND IT'S TITLE EIGHT, CHAPTER 57, ON THE IMMUNIZATION OF PUPILS IN SCHOOL. SO THIS REALLY OUTLINES, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE SCHOOL'S REQUIREMENTS ARE, WHAT OUR REQUIREMENTS ARE IN TERMS OF ENFORCEMENT.
BERT, DO WE KNOW WHAT THE OPT OUT RATE IS IN OUR TOWN? PERCENTAGE? NO, I WAS JUST THINKING THAT I DON'T KNOW IF IT SHOULD BE ME ASKING OR DEEWANGI.
RIGHT. BUT IT'D BE NICE TO KNOW WHAT PERCENTAGE.
YEAH. TO TO THE POINT OF LIKE HERD IMMUNITY. YEAH.
YOU NEED TO BE IN THE WE HAVE TO HAVE UPPER 90S.
IDEALLY, YEAH. IT'D BE. I'D BE CURIOUS TO KNOW WHAT WHERE WE STAND AS A BASELINE.
ARE WE IN THE 80S? I WOULD HOPE WE'RE IN THE LOW 90S.
I HOPE. YEAH. YEAH. I THINK THAT'S NEXT MONTH.
PIECE OF DATA TO KNOW AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, ACTUALLY.
YEAH, WE CAN MAYBE DISCUSS THAT AT THE NEXT MEETING.
YEAH, WE'LL DEFINITELY HAVE IT ON THE AGENDA FOR NEXT MEETING. THAT WOULD BE GOOD TO KNOW. YEAH. THAT'S GREAT. YEAH. WELL, THAT WAS AN ACT OF NEW BUSINESS. THAT WAS AN IMPORTANT NEW BUSINESS.
AND, JOE, WHAT WE WE GOT THE UPDATE FROM MS. SO I THINK WE'RE GOOD THERE.
ANYTHING FROM TOWNSHIP COMMITTEE? ANY UPDATES? NEW BUSINESS. WELL, I THINK THE BACKYARD PROJECT ALREADY SHARED WITH YOU THAT WE VOTED ON SUPPORTING THE ACCREDITATION, I THINK LAST MEETING OR MEETING BEFORE. YES, WE DO, AND I DO NOT THINK THAT THERE'S ANYTHING ELSE, ALTHOUGH I WILL SAY THAT WE ON BEHALF OF THE COMMITTEE, WE REALLY APPRECIATED THE MS PRESENTATION TONIGHT.
THAT WAS VERY HELPFUL BECAUSE WE CONTINUE TO BE VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE IMPACT OF MS ON DIFFERENT DEVELOPMENT IN TOWN, AND ALSO VERY INTERESTED IN CONTINUING TO SUPPORT THEM.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH. OKAY. ANYTHING FROM YOU, VARSHA? NO. NO ONE. OKAY. SO HAVING NO FURTHER BUSINESS TO DISCUSS THIS MEETING WILL NOW ADJOURN AT 854. MOTION TO ADJOURN WAS MOVED BY. MOTION TO ADJOURN.
SECOND. SECOND. OKAY, WE ARE ADJOURNED. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
[01:20:02]
THANK YOU. THANK YOU.* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.