MN HIV Services Planning Council Meeting

May 9, 2006

9:00 am to 12:00 noon

Plymouth Congregational Church

1900 Nicollet Avenue, Minneapolis

Minutes

Council Members Present:
Andy Ansell	Bob Hanson
Aaron Keith Stewart	Jim Lawser
Ojuolape Olagbaju	Dan Capouch
Ephraim Olani	Gwen Velez
Antonio Marante	Suzanne Pfeil
Patrick Kramme	Francis Mark
Sarah Senseman	Ama Sabah
Eric Meininger	LeMonte Graham
Ron Schut	Rae Frank
Gary Novotny	Gilbert Achay
Lee Lewis	Dean Halland
John Cyzon
Council Members Absent:
Lois Crenshaw – LOA	Willie Wesley - Unexcused
Consultant:
Becky Kroll - CLEAR
Guests:
Marie Graham – Community Fitness Today	Reverend G. Allen Foster – Citadel of Hope Church
G-HAT:
Jonathan Hanft - Hennepin County	John Suhr - Hennepin County
Julie Hanson Perez - MDH	Mary Dwyer - DHS
Staff:
Lori Lippert	Wendi Kistner

I. Welcome and Introductions; Lighting of the Candle

The meeting was brought to order at 9:06 am. Introductions were made. Francis lit the candle in remembrance of all the work the Council is doing for prioritization and allocation this year. He wanted Council members to keep in mind those consumers living outside the EMA in the state. He also lit the candle for the Red Ribbon Ride.

II. Review the Minutes of April 11, 2006 Meeting and Proposed Agenda

The minutes were approved by unanimous consent. The agenda was approved by unanimous consent.

III. Open Forum

On May 18^th Oju, along with his organization, will be leaving for Nigeria for two months. During his time there he will be working with children affected by HIV/AIDS. He handed out flyers in case organizations would like to contribute or advertise his program. Information is available on the website. Oju plans to give a short presentation to the Council on what he learned when he returns.

IV. Co-chair Report

· Thanks and good-bye to Patrick Kramme – Patrick is moving to Tucson, Arizona and this is his last Council meeting. The Co-chairs thanked him for his contributions. They expressed their appreciation of Patrick’s willingness to speak his mind and let him know his voice will be missed.

V. Staff Report

· CSAD recommendations available – The draft of the CSAD report was distributed to Council members for use in the prioritization and allocation process. Joan is currently working on two articles about the study that will not be ready for use before prioritization and allocation. Lori directed Council members’ attention to pages 64 and 65 which include the recommendations. Aaron Keith is planning to have Joan do a one or two page write-up on the full recommendations that will be given to Council members. If the Council feels it necessary for Joan to give a presentation on her findings and recommendations let him know. There is not time for her to present at a Planning Council meeting before prioritization but a separate meeting could be held or she can come to a meeting after prioritization.

· Reminder that June meeting is EXTENDED: 9-1:30 pm (lunch served) – During the extended meeting the following things will be covered: Council members will receive prioritization sheets, they will receive the Needs Assessment results from CCG, the 2005 epi data will be presented, and Council members will be given information on assessing the grantees.

VI. Title I Update, Jonathan Hanft, Hennepin County

A. Staffing Update –

· Jonathan thanked everyone who came to the Executive meeting on May 5^th for the Coordinator candidate interviews. The interview panel is working on choosing a candidate and once a selection is made an email will be sent out to Council members. Lori assured Council members she will be available to train the new Coordinator in and will be here at least through the allocation process.

· The Quality Management Coordinator position has been filled by Sheila Murphy. Sheila is currently a Quality Manager at MHP. She will start with Ryan White on May 30^th and will begin attending committee meeting shortly thereafter.

B. All vendor meeting – An all-vendor meeting will be held on May 19^th for providers and any Planning Council members who wish to attend. Two presentations will be given at the meeting. The first presentation is on implementing change and the second is on unit rate contracting which will be just like the presentation given to Council members about six months ago.

C. June meeting – The final expenditure numbers will be available in the next week and will be put into a carry-over proposal which will be presented to the Planning and Priorities committee in May. All Council members are encouraged to come to the Planning and Priorities meeting to be involved in this process. The results of this proposal will be presented at the June Planning Council meeting.

VII. Title II and ADAP Update, Debra Riley, DHS

· PC/Commissioner meeting update – a meeting is scheduled for May 15^th for the Co-chairs and Jonathan to meet with the assistant commissioner to talk about the HIV/AIDS services, including a financial forecast for the ADAP program.

· Upcoming mental health training – On May 16^th there will be a mental health training. DHS staff will be explaining that mental health funds can be used to pay for therapy delivered via therapy groups. And, they will be training providers on how to start mental health therapy groups.

· Cost share closure final report – After implementing the cost share requirements for the DHS programs there were many people who fell behind in their cost-share payments. Under the rules of the programs, people who are not keeping current with their payments lose eligibility for the services and their case must be closed. Because this is a significant change in how those programs operate, cases were not immediately closed when people fell behind. Eventually, however, the program needed to start closing the cases for people who were lapsed. The closure process was undertaken in a three-phase process that started last fall. The first group to be closed were people who were farthest behind in their payments. Many people received closure warnings. DHS staff and other service providers made great effort to educate clients about their responsibilities and clients were given assistance such as setting up payment plans or getting access to the cost-share assistance program. These efforts meant that far fewer people were shut off the program than initially received closure warnings. The same was true of the second and third phases of closure notices. There are three weeks left in the third phase of closures. Out of 107 clients who received warnings, 91 clients have made arrangements to keep their cases open. There are 16 clients still pending.

A Council member asked if there were sufficient cost assistance funds to help these 16 people, if necessary. Jonathan replied that they are monitoring this situation. Debra pointed out that DHS has not been able to contact these last 16 people.

· Program HH – New funding for medication therapy management is available. It allows clients to meet with a pharmacist to figure out their drug plan. A flyer about the service will be going out to clients next week. Anyone in the HH program is automatically eligible for this service.

VIII. Committee Reports (Community Participation Committee on hiatus)

Operations

· ACTION ITEM: John Cyzon’s appointment as co-chair CVC. A motion was made to accept John as the new CVC co-chair. The motion was approved by unanimous consent.

· ACTION ITEM: A member who cannot fulfill their position as a full Council member may become a community member and retain their voting rights if they attend three consecutive committee meetings immediately prior to the change. The Operations Committee wants to encourage people leaving the Council to continue sharing their expertise with the Council. A motion was made to accept the proposal. Sarah asked for clarification on the attendance policy for community members. Andy clarified that the same attendance policy applies to community members as for Council members. The motion was passed by unanimous consent.

· ACTION ITEM: Council members who have fulfilled their term, and are in good standing, may become a community member and maintain their committee voting rights without having to attend three consecutive meetings immediately prior to the change. An amendment was made to language to state that once a person becomes a community member they may change committee and still maintain their voting rights. A motion was made to accept the item. A member asked about the required break after serving two full terms. Clarification was made that a community member is not the same as being a full Council member and this is a good way for people to stay involved with the Council during their “break” between terms. The motion was accepted by unanimous consent.

· ACTION ITEM: Co-chairs will have Executive committee as their primary committee. The reasoning behind this is because the Co-chairs have a lot of other meetings they are required to attend and by having an additional committee appointment makes the position too burdensome a time commitment for many people. A motion was made to accept the proposal. The motion was approved by unanimous consent.

Community Voice

· Invitation to CVC-hosted “Bring your PC Recruit to Lunch” Event – The Community Voice committee is hosting a recruitment lunch on June 7^th at a local restaurant. More information will be emailed later. Patrick pointed out that part of the Community Voice Committee’s purpose is to help new members, particularly consumers, better understand the way the Council works. Council members are encouraged to think of consumers to invite to the recruitment lunch.

IX. Presentation of Findings from Greater MN Forums, Mary Dwyer, DHS

Mary, Bob, and Francis went to Slayton and Alexandria to conduct consumer forums over the last month. At the forums Bob and Francis gave an overview of the Planning Council as well as prioritization and allocation. Mary led a discussion about services people need, barriers and gaps in the services. Consumers were given a forced-choice sheet of the top five funded service areas from last year to prioritize. She found that case management and client advocacy were the top two services areas but the consumers had trouble differentiating the two. Some of the things discussed were:

· Problems in services: Transportation, food (adequacy, cost, and getting enough), provider issues such as dental care and lack of adequate mental health providers.

· Some people do not receive reminder calls from their providers, but think this would be helpful.

· Lack of education in schools, providers, and the community

· Stigma is an issue in small communities.

· Isolation. There are reports that some people do not have a phone.

· Some medical providers see so few cases that it is very difficult to stay up-to-date in HIV care. For example, some nurses reported that their last HIV training was in 1993 from the Red Cross.

· Several consumers at the forums are interested in becoming members.

Francis is interested in attending monthly RAAN meetings to stay connected with the consumers he met.

In addition to the forums a provider training was held in Alexandria. Eduardo Parra did a piece on stigma. Overall the feedback on the training was great.

X. Learning Stations

Council members rotated in groups through learning stations, receiving service area/activity data at each stop.

A. Client Advocacy

B. Drug Reimbursement and Health Insurance

C. Ambulatory/Outpatient Medical Care

D. Capacity Development & Home Health Care & Transportation

XI. Announcements, Evaluation, Next Agenda

· The Planning and Priorities meeting is set for May 24^th from 8:45-11:15. Jonathan will be bringing the carry-over proposal to the meeting for discussion. Also at this meeting interpretation and translation will be discussed at length.

· There is a Community Advisory Board forum at Park House. The topic is “HIV and Street Drugs” and will be held from 6:00-8:30 pm.

· The AIDS Walk is Sunday, May 21^st.

Meeting Adjourned at 11:59 noon

Meeting Summary:

• This was Patrick Kramme’s last meeting before he moves to Tucson, Arizona.
• The CSAD report was made available to Council members to use for prioritization and allocation. The recommendations are listed on pages 64 and 65.
• REMINDER: The June Planning Council meeting has been extended to go to 1:30 pm. Lunch will be served.
• Sheila Murphy has been hired to fill the Quality Management Coordinator position and will start on May 30^th. The Planning Council Coordinator position has not yet been offered to anyone but the interview panel is working to make a decision. An email will be sent to Council members once a decision has been made.
• ACTION ITEMS: (Action item #1) – John Cyzon has been appointed
  Community Voice co-chair. (Action item #2) – A Council member who cannot fulfill their position as a full Council member may become a community member and retain their voting rights if they attend three consecutive committee meetings immediately prior to the change. (Action item #3) – Council members who have fulfilled their term, and are in good standing, may become a community member and maintain their committee voting rights without having to attend three consecutive meetings immediately prior to the change. They may also change committees and maintain their voting rights. (Action item #4) - Co-chairs will have Executive committee as their primary committee.
• The Community Voice Committee will be holding a recruitment lunch on June 7^th. Planning Council members should begin thinking about consumers who would be good additions to the Planning Council to bring to this lunch.
• Mary Dwyer gave an update on the Greater MN forums held in Slayton and Alexandria and some of the concerns consumers of that area have.
• Planning Council members attended learning stations for Home Health Care, Transportation, Drug Reimbursement (ADAP), Health Insurance, Client Advocacy, Capacity Development, and Ambulatory/Outpatient Medical Care.

Documents Distributed Before the Meeting:

· Agenda

· Minutes from April 11, 2005 meeting

· Committee Reports

· Action items for Operations Committee

Documents Distributed At the Meeting:

· Glossary of CARE Act Terms

· SAR Summaries for: Home Health Care, Transportation, Drug Reimbursement (ADAP), Health Insurance, Client Advocacy, Capacity Development, and Ambulatory/Outpatient Medical Care.

· Consumer Forum Report

· DHS Program HH flyers

· Title I Update

WK/lgl