Public Meeting Notice  August Board of Trustees Meeting

August 10, 2021

5:00PM

REGULAR MEETING OF THE SOLDIERS' HOME BOARD OF TRUSTEES

PUBLIC COMMENT:  PUBLIC COMMENT WILL BE HELD TO 2 MINUTES WITH A MAXIMUM OF 6 INDIVIDUALS MAKING COMMENT.THOSE WISHING TO MAKE PUBLIC COMMENT SHOULD EMAIL THEIR NAME AND A SHORT SYNOPSIS OF WHAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS TO THE BOARD TO: debra.foley@state.ma.us  

(Chairman reserves right to terminate if comments relate to same issue.)

A:  OPEN SESSION

1. CALL TO ORDER
2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
3. Public Comments (2-minute maximum speaking time/6 maximum public commentaries)
4. Approval of Holyoke Soldiers Home Board of Trustees Minutes from May 2021 Meetings
5. Approve credentialing and liability for Lisa Fargnoli
6. CFO/Treasurer Report (Mr Lynch)
7. DVS Staff Report (Sec Poppe)
8. Holyoke Soldiers’ Home Administrator/Staff Report  (Mr Lazo)
9. Holyoke Soldiers’ Home General Counsel Report (Atty Yankopoulos)
10. Home’s Family Advocate Committee Report  (Ms Menard/ Ms Foley)
11. Home’s Veterans Advocate Committee Report (Ms Menard/Ms Foley)
12. Trustees’ Finance Committee Report (Trustee Jourdain)
13. Trustees’ Operations Committee Report (Trustee Collins)
14. Trustees’ By Laws Committee Report (Trustee Lacoste)
     
15. OLD BUSINESS:
    1. Update Holyoke Soldiers’ Home Ombudsman Program (Trustee Collins/Mr Lazo)
    2. Update on Telephone/Television Account (Mr Lynch)
    3. Update on potential to expand License Plate revenues by non-veteran source (Mr Lynch/Trustee Maas)
    4. Update on $100k for EMR returned by state (Mr Lynch/Trustee Jourdain)
    5. Update on VA Survey Corrective Action Plan status (Mr Lazo)
    6. Update on VA state home grant application (Sec Poppe)
    7. Status of admissions based on Refresh Program Completion (5-10 beds) (Mr Lazo)
    8. Status of EMR vendor contract  (DVS/HHS rep)
    9. Update on status of Complaint/Whistleblower Process  & Program  (Trustee Collins/Mr Lazo)
    10. Status of reintroducing annual BBQ for residents w/ Trustees Serving (9/14/21)  (Mr Lazo)
         
16.  NEW BUSINESS:
    1. Finance Committee recommendation to Vote to approve (Trustee Jourdain)
       1. Adopting the policy to invest in veteran funds recommended by UBS
       2. Transfer $270,000 to the UBS account
       3. Forward a positive recommendation to the Full Board to resolve to request Secretary Poppe Convey to the Governor the express will of the Board of Trustees of the Holyoke Soldiers Home is that the cost of out of state travel for staff attending the NAVHC be allowed to be paid from the operating budget and to send a copy of said resolution to the Chairman of the Chelsea Soldiers Home.
       4. Vote to approve use Trustee funds for Mike Lynch’s attendance at the NASVH conference
    2. Revised Holyoke Soldiers Home By-Laws Vote to Approve  (Trustee Lacoste)
    3. COVID/ D- Variant Procedures being developed & implemented   (Mr Lazo)
    4. Possibility to research and adopt Management Advisory Council (MAC) as used by US Dept of Veterans Affairs as template for Veterans Organizations/Volunteer organizations/Community advocates Committee to further promote HSH Initiatives.  (Trustee Collins/Mr Lazo)
    5. Board Vote to terminate Outside Council (Morris & Mahoney)
       1. Board’s having voted to retain counsel, (April 21, 2020). While reference was made to all of the pending investigations and Mr. Walsh’s litigation, the driving issue in retaining counsel appears to have been the conflict the AGO would have had in representing the Board while simultaneously investigating the Home.
17. Enter into Executive Session to discuss declination of selected superintendent, and plan to advertise and hire position of Superintendent
     
18. ADJOURN – The Open Session will not reconvene at the conclusion of the Regular Meeting’s Executive Session.

B. EXECUTIVE SESSION
 

1. Pursuant to MGL c. 30A, S21 (a) (8) to consider and nominate an applicant for the open position of Superintendent of the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home, the Chair has determined that the applicants’ privacy during the final screening and selection process requires executive session as to not to have a detrimental effect in final screening and selection of a candidate.
2. Approve Executive Session Minutes dated 03/09/2021, 03/16/2021, 03/18/2021