A meeting of Partners for a Healthier Community was held on Friday, March 12, 2004 at South Coast Hospital. Chairperson David Weed called the meeting to order at 8:45 AM.

The minutes of the February 13, 2004 Steering Committee were circulated in advance.

VOTED to approve the Minutes of the February 13, 2004 meeting of Partners for a Healthier Community as circulated.

The Financial report for March, 2004 was presented.

VOTED to approve the Financial Report for March 2004 as presented.

Special thanks to Karen Scott-Statser for all her hard work as Chairperson for the last two years. Karen has done quite a bit of work to get our finances in order and secure our status as a 5014C. Thank you Karen!

REPORT OF WORK GROUPS

Met with Paul Martin to review changes of the video. We will be adding some additional voice-overs. The group will be finalizing a distribution plan when the video is finished. Additional funds will be needed for the changes and distribution. Work continues on the survey. Pat Fanning will be using software at Family Service to develop the survey.

The group continues to work on expanding the membership. Representatives from tobacco control have been attending, which is a presence we have not had in quite a long time. The group will be concentrating on some small projects such as developing a nutrition packet for kindergarten students, a presentation for parent PTO’s, and a newsletter for parents. The rewrite of the mission statement will be completed soon.

The poster contest will be March 24^th. We will have the Steering Committee meeting from 8:30 – 9:30, with the poster contest at 10:00. Continental breakfast will be served. If anyone works with youth who may be interested in participating, please let BJ know. Also planning the Mayor’s Youth Summit for May 1^st. The Summit will be held at Henry Lord Middle School from 10:00 – 4:00. Joseph Jennings will be the guest speaker. He is an ex-gang member who speaks to youth in regards to making healthy decisions. We may call upon local agencies to facilitate groups and there will be an area for resource tables.

The Health City Fall River Summit is March 25^th from 1:00 to 7:30 at BCC. Invitations for the summit have gone out. Responses are coming in slowly with an expected increase as the event gets closer. There will be presentations, break out groups, dinner and entertainment. The product of the Summit will be Healthy City Initiative agenda for at least the upcoming year. We need to make people aware of what the group is doing. FREDTV will be setting up a link to the website where people can actually view footage. We may want to look at local community organizations and current surveys they are using and possibly add some HCI questions to that survey.

The work place no-smoking law is in the review process. It is expected that this may be passed as soon as July 5^th. The state is currently working on an implementation plan. The Fresh Air Network will be presenting to the Fall River Chamber of Commerce to discuss the upcoming law and its implications on businesses. This law effects all businesses that employ one or more persons. St. Anne’s hospital will have a drop in day with the same information presented for the Chamber available for smaller businesses. This may create a wave of those wanting to quit but there are very limited resources available for them. It may be a good idea to tap into local EAP’s for assistance.

Sue Sterrett of the School Department handed out copies of the Fall River Youth Risk Behavior Survey. The State has this data also, but Fall River is doing their own survey to compare with state information. Data was collected on students from 8-12^th grade in areas of smoking, drinking, drugs, violence, sexuality and mental health. This information will help develop the health curriculum and indicates current training needs.

Adjourn

The meeting was adjourned at 10:00 a.m. The next meeting for Partners for a Healthier Community will be held on Friday, April 9, 2004 – Jackson Conference Room – Charlton Memorial Hospital.

minutes 2-13-04.html