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IT'S FRIDAY, MARCH 13TH, 7:58 AM AND WE'RE CALLING THE BOARD OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES MEETING TO ORDER.
UM, LET'S, CAN WE START OFF WITH, WITH A ROLL CALL CHAIR MCNEELY HERE, VICE CHAIR LESSEN ABSENCE, UH, BOARD MEMBER BARRIOS.
ABSENCE BOARD MEMBER CURRENCY HERE.
ABSENCE BOARD MEMBER RELA HERE.
BOARD MEMBER GUPTA AND BOARD MEMBER VAN AVER.
CAN WE START OFF BY REVIEWING THE MINUTES FROM THE JANUARY 9TH MEETING? I WILL APPROVE.
WE HAVE A, WE HAVE A MOTION FROM NOT A SECOND.
UM, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE MINUTES FROM JANUARY NINE? SAY AYE.
AND DO WE HAVE, UH, ARE WE EXPECTING EITHER THE, THE DIRECTOR OR THE YES.
DEPUTY DIRECTOR ERICA VALENCIA'S ON HER WAY.
UM, WE CAN, WE HAVE TO, UM, APPROVE THE FIRST AND SECOND ITEM.
SO WE HAVE TO REAPPROVE THE JANUARY MINUTES.
UM, THAT'S WHEN WE WERE MISSING A BOARD MEMBER OFA ON THE VOTE.
SO THEN, UM, I'M GONNA ASK EVERYONE TO TAKE A FEW MINUTES IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY, TO UH, REVIEW THE FEBRUARY 13TH MINUTES ALL MOTION.
WE HAVE A, WE HAVE A FIRST SECOND.
UM, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE FEBRUARY 13TH MINUTES? SAY AYE.
SO, UM, AND, AND SORRY, ARE WE, ARE WE ALSO EXPECTING THE ACTING CITY HEALTH OFFICER TODAY? NO, UNFORTUNATELY THEY COULDN'T MAKE IT.
UM, ERICA WILL BE PROVIDING THE UPDATE AS WELL.
SO IF IT'S OKAY, WE CAN GET STARTED WITH THE BOARD FOCUS.
SO, UH, THE, THE HOPE TODAY WAS TO SPEND SOME TIME TALKING ABOUT BRAINSTORMING WHAT, WHAT AREAS OF FOCUS WE MIGHT WANT TO PURSUE FOR THIS COMING YEAR.
UM, WE HAVE A, WE HAVE A SMALL GROUP OF US TODAY, SO MAYBE IT WOULD BE HELPFUL IF WE BRAINSTORM SOME INITIAL KIND OF IDEAS.
AND THEN THE NEXT MEETING WE CAN HOPEFULLY THERE'S, THERE'S OTHER, OTHER PART, OTHER MEMBERS HERE, AND WE CAN MAYBE DECIDE ON A COUPLE OF MAIN FOCUS AREAS.
UM, I, I, I THINK THERE'S, THERE'S DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS WE CAN GO BASED OFF OF SOME OF THE DISCUSSIONS WE'VE HAD IN THE PAST.
UM, I'M JUST GONNA LIST A FEW IN CASE IT'S HELPFUL TO GET US THINKING.
UM, BUT COULD BE FUN, COULD BE FUNDRAISING RELATED.
WE KNOW THERE'S A BIG NEED AND THERE'S BEEN SOME CHANGES ON HOW THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT IS GOING TO BE ABLE TO ACTUALLY TO RAISE FUNDS FROM THE COMMUNITY.
UM, ALEJANDRA SENT AN EMAIL AFTER OUR LAST MEETING WITH A REQUEST, UM, TO, TO HELP WITH SOME ADVOCACY AROUND, AROUND POLICY.
UM, I WAS ABLE TO REACH OUT TO, UM, A, A, A COUPLE ELECT ELECTED OFFICIALS, UH, USING THE TEMPLATE THAT WAS PROVIDED.
UM, THAT COULD BE ANOTHER AREA THAT WE DECIDE THAT'S WHAT WE, WE WANNA WORK MORE ON.
UM, AND MAYBE WE CAN, UM, DECIDE ON IF, IF THAT'S THE DIRECTION WE GO, IF THERE'S SPECIFIC ISSUES WE WANNA FOCUS, UM, TRAINING FOR, FOR HEALTH DEPARTMENT STAFF OR MAYBE FOR THE, THE GREATER LONG BEACH HEALTH COMMUNITY.
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WE HAVE A LOT OF EXPERTISE IN THIS ROOM.UM, VERY MULTIDISCIPLINARY KIND OF EXPERTISE.
AND IF THAT'S SOMETHING OF ADVENTUROUS, PERHAPS WE CAN THINK ABOUT, UM, IF WE'RE ABLE TO VOLUNTEER SOME OF OUR TIME.
UM, AND ALSO JUST UTILIZING OUR NETWORK IF THERE'S TRAINING, UM, NEEDS THAT STAFF HERE HAVE OR, UM, SOME OF THE, UM, THE OTHER, JUST THE OTHER, UM, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICE RELATED AGENCIES THAT OPERATE IN THE CITY.
AND THEN, UM, AND, AND I THINK IN SOME, SOME BOARDS IN THE PAST, THESE SOMETIMES FOCUS ON SPECIFIC ISSUES, UM, THAT MIGHT BE REFLECTIVE OF LIKE A NEEDS ASSESSMENT OR, OR JUST ISSUES WE'RE SEEING IN THE COMMUNITY LIKE HOMELESSNESS OR SUBSTANCE USE OR PARTICULAR, YOU KNOW, HEALTH ISSUES THAT SPEAK TO US.
UM, SO I THINK THOSE ARE LIKE THE, THE FOUR BROAD CATEGORIES THAT I CAN THINK OF THAT, THAT WE MIGHT WANT TO CONSIDER.
UM, SO I'LL STOP THERE AND JUST WANNA HEAR FROM, FROM SOME OF YOU ABOUT IF ANYTHING SPEAKS TO YOU.
SO LIKE, I DON'T KNOW MUCH OTHER THAN TEETH, RIGHT? SO I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT THE CITY DOES.
DO YOU HAVE DENTISTS? DO YOU NOT HAVE DENTISTS? DO YOU, ARE THEY ON THE PAYROLL? ARE THEY VOLUNTEER? WHAT SERVICES DO YOU PROVIDE? HOW ARE YOU GOING ABOUT IT? WHAT ARE YOU DOING? I DON'T KNOW ANY OF THAT.
SO LIKE, WITHOUT KNOWING WHAT WE DO NOW, I HAVE NO IDEA OF KNOWING WHAT WE'RE DOING NOW WITH GOOD OR BAD OR ADEQUATE OR NON-EXISTENT.
AND YOU CAN'T, YOU, WHATEVER YOU MET, WHENEVER YOU DON'T MEASURE, YOU CAN'T TRACK.
SO I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT WE ARE DOING.
IT'S LIKE, IT'S TOUGH TO, IT'S TOUGH TO KNOW WHAT YOU CAN DO OR WHAT YOU SHOULD DO OR WHAT WE OUGHT TO, RIGHT, RIGHT.
BE TRACKING WHEN WE DON'T ALREADY KNOW WHAT WE ARE DOING.
SO, UM, SO I, WHAT, WHAT I'M HEARING IS, IS MAYBE LIKE A, A REPORT FROM THE CITY ON, ON, ON GAPS IN SERVICES AND NEEDS, INCLUDING DENTAL.
IS IS ONE SPECIFIC? WELL, THAT'S ALL.
I'M GOOD FOR
I, I BET, YOU KNOW, A LOT MORE
THE OTHER THING, WHEN YOU TALKED ABOUT FUNDRAISING AND ALL, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I KNOW THAT, UM, WAS LOOKING INTO IS IF WE WERE TO TRY TO DO FUNDRAISING, WHETHER PEOPLE WOULD BE ABLE TO GET THE TAX DEDUCTION, ASSUMING ELIGIBLE, BUT WHETHER THERE'S A 5 0 1, I DUNNO, 5 0 1 CPI DUNNO IF WE ARE CONSIDERED A NON-PROFIT OR SOMETHING WHERE PEOPLE COULD GET THE DEDUCTION ON IT, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE TO ME THAT WOULD BE IMPORTANT FOR FUNDRAISING PEOPLE TO SEE THAT, YOU KNOW, THE POTENTIAL TAX BENEFIT.
SO THAT ANYTHING YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, TRAINING THE STAFF, WE HAVE TO KNOW WHAT KIND OF HELP THEY NEED US FROM US.
YOU KNOW, WE CANNOT JUST GO AND SAY, OKAY, WE'LL TRAIN YOU.
WE HAVE TO KNOW PARTICULAR PLACE THAT WHERE OUR ROLE IS, WHAT KIND OF SUPPORT WE CAN GIVE THEM.
UM, WE WERE JUST, UH,
AND SOME OF THE, LIKE THE INITIAL THOUGHTS IT SEEMS LIKE THE BOARD MEMBERS ARE HAVING IS, WE KNOW IT WOULD BE HELPFUL IF WE KNEW MORE IF WE HAD LIKE A, KIND OF LIKE A NEEDS ASSESSMENT AND I, AND, AND PERHAPS SOME SPECIFIC TOPICS AS PART OF THAT NEEDS ASSESSMENT.
SO THAT COULD HELP INFORM, UM, AREAS WHERE WE MIGHT WANNA FOCUS.
UM, ALSO LIKE, UM, OTHER QUESTIONS THAT MIGHT BE SPECIFICALLY FOR CITY STAFF AROUND THE FUNDRAISING THAT THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT IS NOW DOING, IF THERE'S A, A TAX DEDUCTION, UM, FOR, UM, FOR ANY, FOR ANY KIND OF CONTRIBUTIONS THAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO, TO RAISE.
IF YOU DONATE, JUST ASK CAN I WEIGH IN OR DO I HAVE TO JUST LISTEN
UM, BUT THE, THE, SO IF YOU DONATE THROUGH THE HSS FUND, THEN THAT IS TAX DEDUCTIBLE.
ANYTHING GIVEN DIRECTLY TO THE CITY IS NOT TAX DEDUCTIBLE.
BUT OUR, THE HSS FUND IS LIKE A, A BRANCH FOR US.
SO WE COULD, THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE PREFERRED WAY TO FUNDRAISE IS BECAUSE THEN IT'S DEDUCTIBLE.
UM, AND THEN, UH, IN TERMS OF THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT, I WAS GONNA MENTION THIS IN MY NOTES, BUT WE ARE RELEASING A DOCUMENT CALLED THE STATE OF PUBLIC HEALTH OR THE STATE OF HEALTH IN THE CITY.
AND SO THAT'S GONNA GIVE US, UH, GIVE EVERYONE AN IDEA OF KIND OF LIKE WHAT THE BIGGEST NEEDS ARE IN OUR CITY, UH, WHEN IT COMES TO HEALTH.
I THINK WE'LL PROBABLY RELEASE IT IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS.
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AND THEN I WAS GONNA INVITE YOU ALL TO COME TO COUNCIL TO, UM, TO CITY COUNCIL TO WATCH THE, TO COME TO THE PRESENTATION.SO, UM, I CAN GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION FOR MY UPDATE, BUT WE'LL HAVE SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
BUT IF THAT'S NOT EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR, ONCE IT'S RELEASED, THEN WE CAN DIVE A LITTLE DEEPER AND SEE WHAT LEVEL OF, UM, AN ASSESSMENT YOU MIGHT BE LOOKING FOR.
AND THE HS FUND IS STUDENT, THE PROGRAM YOU STARTED TO YES.
WHEN YOU DONATE TO THE NON, UH, THROUGH OUR FISCAL SPONSOR AND INDIVIDUALS CAN DO THAT? CORRECT.
WOULD, WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE FOR AT OUR NEXT MEETING TO, TO MAKE THAT AN AGENDA ITEM? TO REVIEW THE STATE OF HEALTH? THE STATE OF THE, THE HEALTH, UM, OH, FOR NEXT MONTH? YEAH, YEAH, OF COURSE.
AND SO THEN IT'LL BE RELEASED BY THE, SO THEN WE CAN, YOU KNOW, TALK ABOUT THAT REPORT HERE AND THEN IF THERE'S OTHER FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS WE CAN ASK ABOUT.
OTHER THOUGHTS? UM, I'M HEARING YOUR FEEDBACK.
ONE, THE THINGS THAT WAS ON OUR STRATEGIC PLAN WAS LIKE ONBOARDING THE NEW FOLKS, THE FOUNDATION PARTICIPATION ON THE COMMITTEE, AS WELL AS INFORMATION ABOUT THE, MAYBE WE COULD GO BACK TO CREATING AN ONBOARDING PLAN OR, UM, INFORMATIONAL HANDBOOK.
WE, WE TALKED ABOUT THIS BEFORE, UM, WHERE SOME OF THE OTHER COMMITTEES BOARD, I GOT THE BINDER THIS BIG ON THE HOUSING PROJECT OR HOUSING COMMISSION THAT I WAS ON, GAVE ME THIS WHOLE THING.
AND THE STAFF MEMBERS SET WOULD MAKE FOR TWO HOURS, HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY, COMMITMENT, FINANCIALS, ALL THIS STUFF.
SO, UM, I STILL LIKE, I FEEL LIKE THAT WAS AN IMPORTANT ASPECT THAT SOME OF US MISSED GETTING STARTED.
AND THEN SOME OF US WHO'VE BEEN HERE FOR A MINUTE NOW HAVE 'CAUSE OF OUR EXPERIENCE.
SO THERE'S GONNA BE THAT MISMATCH.
SO GOING BACK TO THE FOUNDATION THROUGH SOME OF OUR DISCUSSIONS ABOUT JUST GETTING THE FOUNDATION OF WHAT YOUR GOALS IS.
SO, SO THAT, THAT COULD BE, UM, YEAH, ANOTHER REALLY IMPORTANT FOCUS IS TO, TO, TO REALLY MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT AND CREATING THIS, THIS PACKET FOR ONBOARDING.
I REMEMBER WHEN I WAS ASKED TO SERVE ON THIS BOARD, THIS IS QUITE A FEW YEARS AGO NOW, I WENT ON THE WEBSITE AND I WAS ABSOLUTELY FOUR WITH HOW MANY DIFFERENT, HOW MANY DIFFERENT THINGS HAVE THE BOARD OF HEALTH DID.
AND IT WAS JUST SORT OF OVERWHELMING.
AND AT THAT, JUST HOW MANY SERVICES WERE BEING PROVIDED.
UM, YOU KNOW, JUST LOOKING AT THE WEBSITE, THE DIFFERENT PROGRAMS AND ALL.
AND THEN SEEING WHAT THEIR BUDGET WAS FROM THAT POINT OF PART AT THE CITY.
I MEAN, JUST LIKE $130,000 AND ALL THE REST WAS, YOU KNOW, ELSEWHERE.
SO YOU MAY WANNA JUST, EVEN JUST LOOKING AT THE WEBSITE, WHAT WAS JUST AMAZING HOW MANY SERVICES WERE BEING PROVIDE.
ANY OTHER, ANY OTHER THOUGHTS? I THINK SORT OF, I'M IN A SIMILAR BOAT, SO I USE NICHE AND UH, IN LINE WITH THAT, MAYBE FOR, WE HAVE THESE DESIGNATED ROLES, LIKE WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE FILLING ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH DENTISTRY MM-HMM
WHATEVER THAT ROLE IS ON THE BOARD, MAYBE AS PART OF THE ORIENTATION, HAVING SECTIONS FOR EACH OF THOSE ROLES AND WHAT OTHER DEPARTMENTS THAT, THAT WOULD BE ASSOCIATED WITH THAT.
OR CROSS COMMISSION RELATIONSHIPS THAT MIGHT BENEFIT, MAKING SURE WE COVER THAT SECTION THAT WE'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR.
SO MAYBE INCLUDING THAT IN THE PACKAGE.
YEAH, THAT, THAT'S A REALLY GOOD POINT.
WE'RE, WE'RE REQUIRED TO HAVE CERTAIN ROLES ON THE BOARD, BUT THEN ONCE WE'RE, WE'RE HERE, WHAT DOES THAT ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE? RIGHT? THERE WAS INTENTION THERE.
I'M SURE INTENTION WAS TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE, THOSE PROGRAMS ARE, ARE REPRESENTED AND THAT SOMEBODY THERE TO ADVOCATE.
UM, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE FOR EACH SESSION? YEAH.
SO HOW ABOUT WE, WE WILL, UM, THAT'S, THOSE ARE REALLY GOOD.
WE'LL, UM, HEAR FROM, WE'LL HEAR ABOUT THE, THE, UM, STATE OF HEALTH AT THE NEXT MEETING, AND THEN WHEN THERE'S MORE OF US HERE, WE CAN MAYBE DECIDE WHICH ONES WE REALLY WANNA TAKE ON IMMEDIATELY.
UH, CAN, UM, I GET A, A, A FIRST TO, TO FILE AND APPROVE THIS DISCUSSION.
AND SO WE'LL, UM, WE'LL MOVE BACK TO THE, UM, THE REPORT FROM THE, UH, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES.
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IS THAT DEPUTY.ERIC VALENCIA RELATED FOR ALLISON KING TODAY.
UM, SO I WANTED TO JUST GIVE SOME, SOME QUICK UPDATES.
SO I HAD ALREADY MENTIONED WE'RE, WE'RE, WE ARE GOING TO CELEBRATE PUBLIC HEALTH MONTH IN APRIL.
NOT JUST PUBLIC HEALTH WEEK, BUT PUBLIC HEALTH MONTH.
I'M NOT SURE IF I HAD SENT YOU ONE OF OUR EVENTS.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE, UM, SOME GUEST SPEAKERS THAT YOU CAN JOIN VIRTUALLY.
UM, AND THEN WE'RE ALSO GONNA HAVE A HILL WALK RUN IF YOU'D LIKE TO RUN AND SOME OTHER EVENTS THROUGHOUT THE MONTH.
SO YOU'RE ALL INVITED TO ATTEND.
ALEJANDRA WILL BE SENDING OUT MORE INFORMATION FOR YOU.
ONE BIG INITIATIVE THAT WE HAVE COMING UP IS THAT IN APRIL WE'RE GONNA BE GOING TO CITY COUNCIL.
THE DATE WILL EITHER BE, LET ME PULL IT UP REALLY QUICKLY.
THE DATE WILL EITHER BE ON TOMORROW, EXCUSE ME, NOT MARCH.
IT'S EITHER GONNA BE APRIL 14TH OR APRIL 21ST.
UM, WE HAVEN'T SOLIDIFIED THE DATE YET.
IT'S, WE'RE FINALIZING THIS REPORT.
SO THE PURPOSE OF GOING TO COUNSEL IS ANNUALLY WE'D LIKE TO GIVE AN UPDATE ON THE STATE OF PUBLIC HEALTH.
AND SO WE JUST TALK ABOUT KIND OF WHAT ARE THE EMERGING ISSUES, WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT WE'RE STILL WORKING ON.
AND THEN WE'D LIKE TO ALSO CELEBRATE 120 YEARS OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT HERE IN LONG BEACH.
SO IT'LL BE A LITTLE BIT OF A CELEBRATION, YOU KNOW, TALKING ABOUT THE GREAT WORK OF PUBLIC HEALTH.
I DON'T THINK, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE TO KNOW JUST HOW ROBUST IT IS AND ALL OF THE, THE, THE WORK THAT GOES INTO PUBLIC HEALTH.
SO WE'LL BE PRESENTING TO COUNCIL YOUR, WE WILL GIVE YOU MORE INFORMATION.
WE'D LOVE FOR YOU TO ATTEND IF YOU'D LIKE.
UM, I MAYBE GIVE SOME PUBLIC COMMENT.
YOU CAN JUST INTRODUCE YOURSELF AS BOARD MEMBERS.
UM, NO PRESSURE TO ATTEND, BUT WE WILL COME BACK AND THEN GIVE THAT PRESENTATION HERE AS WELL SO THAT YOU, EVERYONE IS FILLED IN.
WHAT WAS THE DATE AGAIN? IT'S EITHER GONNA BE ON THE 14TH OR THE 21ST, BUT WE WILL KNOW VERY SOON JUST A MATTER OF FINALIZING THE REPORT.
SO ONCE THE REPORT GETS FINALIZED, PUT INTO A NICE GLOSSY PAPER AND THEN WE'LL THEN WE'LL RELEASE IT.
I FEEL LIKE THAT REPORT, AND I THINK IT'S THE ANNUAL REPORT WAS VERY, VERY EDUCATIONAL.
AND I THINK, I WONDER IF THAT REPORT SHOULD BE PART OF, LIKE, THE ONBOARDING.
'CAUSE IT WAS A REALLY BEAUTIFUL OVERVIEW AND VERY THOUGHT OUT, GREAT SLIDES AND ALL THAT STUFF.
SO THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT I THINK.
AND IF I CAN OFFER A SUGGESTION, WE ALSO GIVE AN ANNUAL BUDGET REPORT.
AND SO THAT COULD BE PART OF THE ONBOARDING.
I MEAN, YOU WOULD BE GETTING IT KIND OF, YOU'D JUST BE RECEIVING THE MOST RECENT ONE, BUT THAT COULD BE ALSO PART OF, UM, THE OVERVIEW, YOU KNOW, DOCUMENTS.
UH, SO WE'LL BE DOING THAT 12TH WEEK OR HOW A MONTH.
UM, I WANTED TO ALSO JUST GIVE, PROVIDE AN UPDATE.
I KNOW WE'VE BEEN PROVIDING YOU WITH UPDATES REGARDING KIND OF WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON, UM, AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL AND HOW IT'S IMPACTING US
SO TWO OF OUR BIG GRANTS, UM, PUBLIC HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE GRANT AND OUR SS SC GRANT, WHICH IS SEXUAL STI GRANT, THOSE WERE TERMINATED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
AND THEN THERE WAS A TRO, A TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER THAT WAS IN PLACE YES, UP UNTIL YESTERDAY.
AND SO YESTERDAY WE HEARD BACK AND, UM, ESSENTIALLY NOW WHAT'S HAPPENED IS THAT COURTS HAVE RULED IN OUR FAVOR.
AND SO WE CAN CONTINUE MOVING FORWARD WITH THE GRANTS, UM, DRAWING DOWN AS NORMAL BUSINESS AS USUAL UNTIL THERE'S A HEARING.
BUT THE HEARING MAY NOT HAPPEN FOR THE NEXT THREE MONTHS OR SO.
SO WE'RE NOT REALLY SURE WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN IN THREE MONTHS, BUT FOR NOW, WE'RE OKAY.
WE'RE REALLY HAPPY ABOUT THAT BECAUSE WE HAVE ABOUT 15 TO 20 STAFF ON THOSE GRANTS.
UM, SO THAT WOULD'VE BEEN A HUGE, IT WAS VERY STRESSFUL.
IT WAS A VERY, VERY STRESSFUL TIME AND THERE WAS NO WAY FOR US TO CONTINUE TO CARRY THEM.
SO THAT WAS REALLY, REALLY GOOD NEWS THAT WE HEARD YESTERDAY.
WE'RE REALLY EXCITED AND HAPPY ABOUT THAT.
AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO KEEP YOU POSTED.
UM, I ALSO WANTED TO JUST PROVIDE A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT FOR ALL OF YOU.
UM, SO IN TOTAL THIS PAST YEAR, WE'VE, THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT SPECIFICALLY HAS LOST $13.9 MILLION IN FEDERAL FUNDING COSTS.
SO 29 GRANTS HAVE BEEN AFFECTED IN TOTAL, WE'VE LOST $13.9 MILLION.
UM, WHAT THAT MEANS FOR US PRACTICALLY IS THAT WE'VE LOST A LOT OF SERVICES, UM, AND, AND PEOPLE AS WELL.
ON TOP OF THAT, YOU ALREADY KNOW THAT THE CITY IS IN THE DEFICIT.
SO THE CITY IS GOING INTO, UH, FISCAL YEAR 2027, WHICH STARTS OCTOBER 1ST.
AND THEY'RE ANTICIPATING ABOUT A $16.1 MILLION DEFICIT, 6 66 0 6 0 $0.1 MILLION DEFICIT.
SO EVERY CITY DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN GIVEN TARGETS THAT THEY HAVE TO REACH.
UM, OUR TARGET IS $10 MILLION.
SO IT IS DEEP, IT'S REALLY, REALLY DEEP.
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I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S GOOD NEWS, BUT WE HAVE BEEN PREPARING FOR THIS FOR A LONG TIME.WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS FOR A LONG TIME.
SO THIS ENTIRE YEAR, WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING IS IF THERE'S NOT, UM, IF THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY NOT TO BACKFILL POSITION, WE DON'T BACKFILL THE POSITION.
WE'VE BEEN CUTTING DOWN ON EVERYTHING, ON OVERTIME, ON CONFERENCES, EVERYTHING THAT WE CAN COME BACK ON, WE'VE BEEN CUTTING BACK ON.
SO IN SOME WAYS WE'RE MOVING TOWARDS THAT TARGET.
UM, BUT IT'S, WE STILL HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO.
UM, SO WE'RE GONNA, YOU KNOW, GIVE OURSELVES CREDIT FOR THE THINGS THAT WE'VE DONE THIS YEAR.
AND THAT WILL COUNT FOR CUT REDUCTION, CUT CUTS IN FISCAL YEAR 27.
BUT THE CUT IS REALLY, REALLY DEEP.
AND SO WE'RE STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO MITIGATE THAT.
EVERYTHING IS DUE TO THE CITY MANAGER FOR REVIEW, UM, IN THREE WEEKS, TWO WEEKS, TWO AND A HALF WEEKS.
SO OUR FINANCE TEAM, OUR BUREAUS, ALL OF US ARE WORKING REALLY DILIGENTLY TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO MEET THAT, THAT REDUCTION TARGET.
UM, BUT IT'S GOING TO BE FELT ACROSS THE CITY 'CAUSE THE CUTS ARE, ARE, ARE COMING AND THEY'RE EVERYWHERE.
SO WE'LL KEEP YOU POSTED ON WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
BUT JUST TO GIVE YOU SOME INSIGHT AS TO HOW THE, THE BUDGET WORKS FOR THE CITY.
SO WE PROPOSE OUR REDUCTION TARGETS TO THE CITY MANAGER.
THE CITY MANAGER MEETS WITH EACH DEPARTMENT IN APRIL, MAY, GOES OVER THOSE REDUCTION TARGETS, AND THEN HE APPROVES DISAPPROVES, WHATEVER, RIGHT? WE MOVE FORWARD OR NOT.
EVERYTHING THEN GETS PACKAGED TOGETHER AND PRESENTED TO THE CITY COUNCIL AND THEN MAYOR.
AND THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN IN, AND THEN THE PUBLIC, AND THEN IT BECOMES PUBLIC INFORMATION THAT BECOMES PUBLIC INFORMATION IN AUGUST.
AND THEN WE PASS OUR BUDGET BEFORE OCTOBER 1ST.
SO IT'S A VERY, VERY LONG AND DRAWN OUT PROCESS.
SO THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT WE JUST WON'T BE ABLE TO SHARE WITH YOU UNTIL EVERYTHING IS MADE PUBLIC.
BUT I WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW, UH, AHEAD OF TIME THAT IT'S GONNA BE, IT'S GONNA BE REALLY TOUGH, UM, ON TOP OF THE, ON TOP OF THE, UH, THE, YOU KNOW, $13 MILLION THAT WE'VE ALREADY LOST.
BUT, UM, AS I SAID, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN PREPARING FOR THIS FOR A WHILE.
IT WAS STILL KIND OF A SHOCK TO SEE A NUMBER IN, YOU KNOW, AN ACTUAL NUMBER EVEN IF YOU'RE ANTICIPATING IT.
BUT, UM, WE'RE GONNA DO EVERYTHING THAT WE CAN TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE PRESERVING OUR CORE SERVICES.
OUR GOAL IS TO, UM, MAINTAIN OUR PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT AND OUR LOCAL HEALTH JURISDICTION.
AND SO WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO DO THAT, BUT IT'S GONNA BE A TOUGH YEAR AHEAD, IT END OF REPORT.
ANY QUESTIONS? YEAH, T LIKE THE AUTONOMY THAT WE HAVE, LIKE, WE HAVE A SEPARATE HEALTH DEPARTMENT, RIGHT? WE DO.
AND PASADENA SAID IS THE ONLY OTHER ONE LAST TIME PASADENA AND CALIFORNIA IS TO US, PASADENA AND BERKELEY.
WHEN PEOPLE ASK US AT DINNER PARTIES AND THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY, LIKE, WHY, WHY, WHY US? WHY, WHY HAVE A SEPARATE DEPARTMENT? LIKE WHY, WHY HAVE THAT WHOLE THING? WHAT'S, WHAT'S A GREAT ANSWER? WELL, YEAH, I'M GLAD YOU ASKED.
SO, UM, THE GREAT THING ABOUT HAVING A LOCAL PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT IS THAT WE'RE ABLE TO HAVE LOCAL DATA AND THEN CATER OUR SERVICES TO, TO THOSE IN OUR COMMUNITY DIRECTLY.
ALSO, I'M GONNA GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE.
SO RIGHT NOW WE HAVE, UH, YOU KNOW, THERE'S MEASLES, RIGHT? SO WE'VE BEEN ABLE, WE HAVE OUR OWN PUBLIC HEALTH LAB.
SO THERE WAS A CASE RECENTLY WHERE SOMEBODY, WE, IT WAS A SUSPECT CASE OF MEASLES, WE'RE ABLE TO THEN WORK DIRECTLY WITH THE PEOPLE THAT ARE HERE, GET THEM TESTED AT OUR LAB IMMEDIATELY VERSUS HAVE, SO THEN WITH MEASLES, IT'S LIKE, YOU KNOW, IF I HAVE THE MEASLES, I CAN, UM, UP TO, I CAN INFECT UP TO 12 TO 18 PEOPLE, RIGHT? AND SO, SO WE ARE ABLE TO IMMEDIATELY TEST FOR THAT WITH LIKE WITHIN FOUR HOURS.
IF WE HAD TO WAIT FOR OC OR LA UM, LA COUNTY TO GO TO THEIR LAB, THAT WOULD'VE BEEN 24 TO 48 HOURS.
AND THAT'S JUST BECAUSE IT TAKES, I DON'T KNOW, TWO HOURS TO DRIVE TO LA AND THEN THEY GOTTA TESTED AND THEN THEY GOTTA GET BACK TO US.
AND THEN THE SAMPLE THAT WE GOT WASN'T GOOD ENOUGH.
SO THEN WE HAD TO GO DIRECTLY TO GO TO THE PERSON'S HOME TO MAKE SURE THAT WE COULD GET A CORRECT SAMPLE.
ALL OF THIS TO SAY WE'RE MUCH MORE EFFICIENT.
AND THAT SAVED, LIKE, LOOK, THANKFULLY THE, THE CHILD DID NOT HAVE MEASLES, BUT IF HE HAD MEASLES, LIKE THOSE 24 HOURS, 48 HOURS WOULD'VE BEEN ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL.
AND SO HAVING SOMETHING SO LOCALIZED IS REALLY IMPORTANT, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE THINK ABOUT COMMUNICABLE DISEASES.
AND ON TOP OF THAT, OUR SERVICES HERE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A WATERFRONT, SO WE'RE ABLE TO TEST OUR WATER EVERY SINGLE DAY.
WE GO OUT AND WE TEST OUR WATER TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S NO CONTAMINANTS, THAT IT'S SAFE FOR PEOPLE.
AS WE THINK ABOUT THE GRAND PRIX THAT COMES ANNUAL, THAT COMES HERE ANNUALLY, WE'RE
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ABLE TO THINK ABOUT, WE'RE ABLE TO LOCALIZE OUR SERVICES.UM, WE CAN ADDRESS ANYTHING RELATED TO BIO-TERRORISM.
WE CAN, WE CAN ADDRESS THINGS REALLY, REALLY QUICKLY.
UM, THE OTHER WONDERFUL THING ABOUT HAVING A LOCAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT IS THAT IT'S NOT, WE DON'T OPERATE IN A SILO.
SO WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IS, LIKE, WE ISSUE HEALTH PERMITS, BUT WE WORK REALLY CLOSELY WITH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TO MAKE SURE THAT SOMEBODY, LIKE OUR MIKO PROGRAM, WHICH IS OUR, UM, HOME ENTERPRISE PROGRAM WHERE, WHERE FOLKS CAN COOK, BECOME HOME COOKS AND HOME CHEFS OUT OF THEIR KITCHEN, RIGHT? WE ISSUE THOSE HEALTH PERMITS AND WE WORK REALLY DIRECTLY WITH BUSINESS LICENSING.
SO IMMEDIATELY, IF THERE'S SOMEBODY WHO NEEDS A LICENSE TO BE ABLE TO OPERATE THEIR HOME KITCHEN, WE CAN GET TO THEM PROBABLY IN 24 HOURS.
IF WE HAD TO WORK WITH LA COUNTY TO ISSUE A HEALTH PERMIT, THAT WOULD BE A MONTH LONG PROCESS.
UM, WE'RE ABLE TO RESPOND AND TO ALL OF OUR RESTAURANTS, MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE GETTING INSPECTED IN A TIMELY MANNER, MINIMIZING THE DISEASE.
WE'RE ABLE TO WORK REALLY CLOSELY WITH OUR LOCAL, UM, DISTRICT SCHOOL DISTRICTS SO THAT THERE'S ANY SORT OF OUTBREAK WITHIN THE SCHOOLS, NEUROVIRUS, HAND, FOOT, AND MOUTH DISEASE.
WE CAN GO DIRECTLY AND PROVIDE SERVICES FOR THEM.
SO HAVING A LOCAL CENTRALIZED HEALTH DEPARTMENT MEANS THAT WE CAN WORK LOCALLY WITH ALL OF THE DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE HERE IN LONG BEACH AND RESPOND REALLY EFFECTIVELY AND EFFICIENTLY AND QUICKLY.
UM, SO IT REALLY SAVES A LOT OF TIME AND IT SAVES, AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT SAVES A LOT OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS BECAUSE THAT MEANS THAT WE'RE WORKING ON PREVENTION SERVICES INSTEAD OF GETTING PEOPLE INTO THE HOSPITAL WHEN IT'S MORE OF AN EMERGENCY.
AND I WORK FOR THE DISTRICT AND I CAN TESTIFY THAT I HAVE A CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LOCAL HOSPITAL.
OH MY GOD, I JUST, JUST MADE THIS CONNECTION.
SO WE CAN CALL THEM, WE HAVE LIKE A DIRECT NUMBER THAT WE CAN CALL WHEN SCHOOLS START TO STAY IN A CLASSROOM.
THEY HAVE FIVE RESPIRATORY ILLNESSES, WE CAN CALL 'EM, AND THEN THEY CAN CALL THE SCHOOL AND THEN THEY FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION.
AND THEN IF THEY HAVE TO TRACK THE FAMILIES, THEY WILL.
UM, WE HAVE AVALON, WHICH IS A LITTLE TRICKY BECAUSE IT'S KIND OF LA COUNTY, BUT IT'S OUR SCHOOL.
SO WHEN WE, WE TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHO DO WE CONTACT AND WHEN WE CONTACT THE LA HEALTH DEPARTMENT, YOU KNOW, IT TAKES A LITTLE BIT LONGER.
WE'RE HERE, THEY CALL US, THEY GIVE US THE INFORMATION, LA WE TRY TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO WAIT.
SO IT IS REALLY QUICK AND, UM, WE REALLY APPRECIATE IT.
ROSE, UM, WORKS REALLY CLOSELY WITH OUR COMMUNICABLE DISEASE AND EPI TEAM, AND SO THEY'RE LIKE, ON THIS MEASLES CASE, THEY'RE LIKE, THEY'RE TALKING AND THEY'RE IN CLOSE COMMUNICATION.
LIKE WE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO HAVE THAT SORT OF RELATIONSHIP WITH THE COUNTY OR WOULD BE, IT'D JUST BE MUCH MORE DIFFICULT TO HAVE THAT SORT OF RELATIONSHIP.
AND THEN WE ALSO USE THEM PRIORITIZATION AND STUFF.
THEY PROVIDE THE SERVICES WHERE THEY CAN COME TO THE SCHOOLS AND TO DO TA CLINICS.
AND, UM, WE ALSO REFER OUR, OUR STUDENTS WHO DON'T HAVE ORGANIZATIONS TO THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT IN THEIR CLINIC.
AMAZING BENEFITS OF THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
UM, WE, AND THEN WE ALWAYS ARE VERY HONORED WHEN WE CAN SAY WE HAVE OUR OWN HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
YOU KNOW, WHEN I, BECAUSE AFTER THIS, I GO TO WACO, LOS SANTO COUNTY OF EDUCATION, THEY'RE MEETING WHERE IT'S ALL THE NURSES, LEADERS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA THAT WE MEET AND THEY HAVE THE LA YOU KNOW, HEALTH DEPARTMENT THERE.
AND THEY ALWAYS SAY PASADENA AND LONG BEACH HAVE THEIR OWN, WHERE WE HAVE TO FOLLOW OURS.
BUT I THINK IT'S MORE PERSONAL TOO.
YEAH, I THINK IT'S MORE LIKE, UH, YOU CAN REALLY CATER MORE TO YOUR COMMUNITY, RIGHT? ESPECIALLY LIKE, WE HAVE OUR OWN PD, RIGHT? OUR OWN FIRE DEPARTMENT PD.
AND SO WE TALK TO THE, WE TALK TO THEM ALL THE TIME.
LIKE IF THEY WERE COUNTY SHERIFFS, IT WOULD BE REALLY DIFFICULT TO TALK ABOUT VIOLENCE PREVENTION ISSUES OR GUN RELATED ISSUES OR GET DATA.
BUT WE'RE ABLE TO HAVE VERY LOCALIZED DATA ACROSS MULTIPLE SECTORS HERE IN LONG BEACH BECAUSE WE HAVE OUR OWN SCHOOL DISTRICT, WE HAVE OUR OWN HEALTH DEPARTMENT, WE HAVE OUR OWN SHERIFFS, OUR OWN FIRE DEPARTMENT.
UM, SO IT, IT JUST MAKES THINGS A LOT BETTER FOR COORDINATION.
ROSE, I NEED TO TALK TO YOU,
DO, UM, WITH ALL THE, THE VERY SOMBER THINGS HAPPENING, ARE ANY, ANY HINTS OF, OF OPTIMISM? YES.
UM, ACTUALLY, BACK TO BEING OUR LOCAL, OUR LOCAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
I THINK SOME THINGS THAT, LIKE WHEN, WHEN WE TALK, I MEET WITH OUR EPI TEAM EVERY WEEK.
WE TALK ABOUT MEASLES EVERY SINGLE WEEK.
I WANNA TELL YOU THAT OUR TEAM IS SMALL, BUT THEY ARE PREPARED.
LIKE THEY ARE SO PREPARED FOR WHEN MEASLES COME.
WE HAVEN'T HAD A MELES CASE YET SO FAR.
WE HAD ONE LAST YEAR, BUT WE HAVEN'T HAD ONE THIS YEAR.
[00:30:01]
UM, I FEEL LIKE ONE THING THAT WE'VE REALLY BEEN TALKING TO OUR TEAM ABOUT IS LIKE GROUNDING OURSELVES IN THE HOPE OF PUBLIC HEALTH.LIKE I THINK THE VERY, BY IT'S VERY NATURE OF PUBLIC HEALTH IS THE WORK OF HOPE.
AND SO MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE GROUNDING OURSELVES IN THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING IS SO IMPORTANT.
AND I DO FEEL LIKE MORE THAN EVER, PEOPLE ARE, MORALES IS LOW, BUT I THINK MORE THAN EVER, PEOPLE ARE REALLY GROUNDED IN THEIR WORK.
UM, AND THAT'S REALLY BEAUTIFUL.
I ALSO WANTED ANOTHER HIGHLIGHT IS THAT WE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN, AND KIND OF THIS DEFICIT SITUATION IS A LOCAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT FOR A LOT, FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS NOW BECAUSE OF JUST DECLINING REVENUES AT THE STATE LEVEL.
AND AFTER COVID, THE PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT DIDN'T REALLY, LIKE, THERE WAS A SURGE, AND THEN WE STARTED KIND OF LIKE, UM, SUPPORT STARTED KIND OF WANING, RIGHT? PEOPLE KIND OF FORGOT ABOUT COVID AND ALL THE THINGS THAT HAPPENED DURING COVID.
UM, AND SO YOU MIGHT REMEMBER THAT OUR LOCAL PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT WAS NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED FOR BEING ABLE TO MOVE SO QUICKLY, UM, DURING COVID, WE WERE A NATIONAL MODEL, BUT I THINK PEOPLE KIND OF FORGET ABOUT THAT, RIGHT? SO ANYWAY, SO WE'VE BEEN KIND OF IN THIS DEFICIT SITUATION AND WE'VE BEEN MEETING WITH OUR FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, OUR INTERNAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT TEAM FOR THE CITY.
AND WE'VE BEEN TELLING THEM THERE ARE JUST SOME COSTS THAT WE CANNOT COVER AS A LOCAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
LIKE THESE TECH COSTS THAT ARE CHARGED TO US BY THE CITY, WE CAN'T COVER THEM.
IT'S LIKE $5 MILLION FOR OUR DEPARTMENT.
AND THERE ARE NO GRANTS THAT WANNA PAY FOR TECH COSTS.
THEY JUST DON'T WANT TO, RIGHT? OR, OR YOU CANNOT CHARGE FEDERAL GRANTS LEGALLY.
YOU CANNOT CHARGE FEDERAL GRANTS TECH COSTS.
AND SO WE'VE BEEN KIND OF TALKING TO THEM OVER THE PAST COURSE OF THE PAST YEAR JUST SAYING, IF YOU WANNA MAINTAIN A LOCAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT, YOU GOTTA, YOU HAVE TO INVEST THAT.
THAT'S, WE'RE NOT A NET NEUTRAL DEPARTMENT.
EVERY DEPARTMENT REQUIRES INVESTMENT.
AND SO JUST LAST WEEK, UM, WE, THIS WEEK ACTUALLY, WE HEARD FROM OUR FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT TEAM THAT ONE, THEY'RE GONNA REDO THE TECHNOLOGY MOU, WHICH SEEMS LIKE, OKAY, HOW EXCITING IS THAT? BUT IT IS VERY EXCITING FOR US BECAUSE, BECAUSE IT'S BEEN SUCH A DETRIMENT FOR US.
AND NOT ONLY THAT, BUT THE CITY IS ALSO GOING TO COVER OUR TECH MOU FOR NEXT YEAR.
SO THAT MEANS THAT THAT'S $5 MILLION THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT COVERING.
UM, SO I DO THINK LIKE WE'VE BEEN ADVOCATING AT THAT LEVEL.
THE OTHER THING, LIKE AT OUR LOCAL LEVEL, RIGHT? JUST KIND OF INFORMING PEOPLE OF THE SITUATION THAT WE'RE IN.
THE OTHER THING IS THAT, UH, I READ, WE WERE READING THE STATISTICS.
SO EVERY TIME THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAS CUT OR TERMINATED ONE OF OUR GRANTS, IF THERE'S A LAWSUIT TO SIGN ONTO, WE SIGN ONTO THAT LAWSUIT EVERY SINGLE TIME.
LIKE, AND WHAT WE HAVE FOUND IS THAT FOR EVERY JURISDICTION THAT IS IMPACTED BY FEDERAL FUNDING CUTS, IF THEY FIGHT BACK UP TO 80% OF THAT FUNDING IS THEN, UH, GIVEN BACK, RIGHT? YEAH.
AND SO WE, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'VE HEARD THIS TERM, BUT LIKE, WHEN WE FIGHT, WE WIN, RIGHT? YEAH.
AND SO WE HAVEN'T BEEN JUST LIKE TAKING IT PASSIVELY.
WE'VE BEEN ACTUALLY ADVOCATING AND WE CONTINUE TO ADVOCATE.
AND SO WE'VE WON IN SEVERAL CASES.
THE OTHER THING IS THAT, UM, ALLISON HAS BEEN IN DC REALLY LOBBYING AND REALLY TRYING TO ENSURE THAT PEOPLE KNOW HOW ALL OF THESE CUTS ARE IMPACTING, UH, THE PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
AND SO WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO TALK TO MANY LEGISLATORS TO MAKE, TO JUST INFORM THEM WHAT THE SITUATION IS.
AND WE'RE ACTUALLY INVITED TO APPLY FOR FUNDING AND FEDERAL EARMARKS FOR VERY SPECIFIC THINGS.
SO JUST LAST WEEK, I BELIEVE THAT IT WAS, UM, GARCIA'S OFFICE THAT ASKED US TO APPLY FOR STREET MEDI TO ASK US TO APPLY FOR OUR FEDERAL EARMARK THAT COULD, UM, HELP WITH OUR STREET MEDICINE OUTREACH AND OUR HIV PREVENTION WORK.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO.
WE'RE COMING UP WITH A, WE'RE GONNA COME UP WITH A PROPOSAL AND WE GOTTA SUBMIT IT TODAY, BUT WE'RE GONNA DO IT BECAUSE THERE'S INTEREST AROUND THAT.
SO ALL OF THE ADVOCACY AND PEOPLE ARE, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ARE GENERALLY LISTENING AND THEY'RE UNDERSTANDING, AND SO WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO DO THAT.
UM, THE OTHER THING IS THAT IF WE STABILIZE, SO IF WE MAKE THESE REALLY HARD DECISIONS NOW AND WE STABILIZE FOR NEXT YEAR, UM, THE CITY'S ANTICIPATING, OF COURSE, BARRING LIKE ANY NATURAL DISASTER, YOU KNOW, WE SHOULD BE STABLE MOVING FORWARD.
SO WE HAVE TO MAKE THESE DEEP CUTS NOW, BUT THEY THINK THEY'RE ANTICIPATING THAT IF WE'RE ABLE TO MEET, MEET OUR REDUCTION TARGETS AND EVERY DEPARTMENT IS ABLE TO MEET THEIR REDUCTION TARGETS, WE SHOULD BE PRETTY STABLE FOR THE NEXT FEW YEARS IN SPITE OF LIKE, WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE FEDERAL LEVEL.
MAY I ASK QUESTION? YEAH, PLEASE.
DOES THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT HAVE ANY, IS ANY PART IF THERE WERE A NUCLEAR ATTACK AT THE PORT, FOR EXAMPLE? YEAH, WE'RE READY.
YOU'RE READY? YOU GUYS HAVE LIKE A WHOLE THING AND CASCADE AND ALL THAT GOOD STUFF?
[00:35:01]
YEAH, YEAH.ACTUALLY THE FOLKS THAT WORK IN THIS BUILDING, IT'S ALL, UH, THEY'RE THE ONES, THIS IS OUR, UM, PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
YEAH, I LOSE SLEEP ON THAT ONE.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? ALL RIGHT.
UM, THAT, THAT'S REALLY HELPFUL.
UM, AND, UM, BEFORE WE, I ALSO JUST, WE JUST WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE FOR THOSE THAT WEREN'T HERE FOR THE LAST MEETING, WE WERE ABLE TO, TO RANK AND HELP SELECT, UM, THE, THE FUNDED AGENCIES FOR THE, THE MINI GRANT THAT THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT IS DISTRIBUTING.
UH, I, I JUST, I JUST THOUGHT THAT WAS JUST REALLY AMAZING THING TO BE PART OF, UM, WHO, WHO WAS HERE FOR, FOR THAT.
YEAH, NO, IT WAS, IT WAS COOL.
SO, UM, AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR GIVING US THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE INVOLVED IN THAT.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, AND IT, IT SEEMS LIKE THERE MIGHT BE SOME OTHER IDEAS THAT YOU'RE, THEY'RE COOKING UP FOR US.
UM, AND YEAH, WE, WE APPRECIATE BEING IN INCLUDED AS MUCH AS WE CAN.
UM, WITH THAT SAID, CAN WE, CAN I GET A MOTION TO, UH, TO, UH, FILE, UM, THE, UH, THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR'S, UH, REPORT? I MOTION, I ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE.
UM, THE AGENDA ITEM IS NUMBER THREE.
IT SAYS REPORT FROM THE DIRECTOR, THE HUMAN.
DO WE NEED TO BE CAUTIOUS ABOUT WHAT WE'RE ON AGENDA? UH, YEAH.
DO WE NEED TO CORRECT, CORRECT THAT FOR THE LANGUAGE, THE DIRECTOR'S REPORT, RIGHT? YEAH.
SO SHE'S SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF ALISON, SO WE NEED, SO WE NEED TO CLASS AS THE DIRECTOR.
SO, UM, SHOULD I DO ANOTHER, ANOTHER MOTION? ANOTHER MOTION? OH, NO, IT'S BEEN FINE.
IT'S OKAY BECAUSE ERICA'S SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF ALLISON.
UM, YEAH, AND ALLISON'S AWARE.
AND THAT WAS, UM, AND YOU INCLUDED THE, THE CITY HEALTH OFFICER DATA? OR IS THAT, ARE WE GOING TO DO THAT SEPARATELY NEXT, OR, I DON'T HAVE ANY UPDATES FROM DR.
YOU WANTED TO ASK, I'LL JUST INCLUDE IN THE DIRECTOR'S REPORT, I GUESS.
SO YOU, YOU COULD TALK ABOUT IT.
REALLY QUICKLY, WE, YOU KNOW, DR.
OTA HAS BEEN ACTING FOR, SINCE DR. DAVIS HAS BEEN GONE.
SO YESTERDAY WE, UM, RECEIVED FINAL APPROVAL FOR OUR JOB POST TEAM, FOR OUR CITY HEALTH OFFICER, OUR PERMANENT POSITION, WHICH MEANS THAT WE'LL PROBABLY POST THE POSITION HOPEFULLY IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS.
UM, SO IF ANY, IF YOU KNOW OF ANYONE THAT'S INTERESTED IN BECOMING, UH, THE CITY HEALTH OFFICER, IT'S A BIG JOB.
A REALLY CRITICAL JOB, AN IMPORTANT JOB, UH, WE'LL SEND THE POSTING TO YOU.
IT'S OBVIOUSLY, IT'S GONNA BE AN OPEN RECRUITMENT.
UM, SO WE'LL, WE'LL, UM, HOPEFULLY HAVE A PER SOMEONE IN THE PERMANENT ROLE REALLY SOON.
THAT'S THE ONLY UPDATE I HAVE BECAUSE I KNOW DR.
SHOULD, SHOULD I DO A, A MOTION FOR THAT? DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? OKAY.
SO, UM, CAN I HAVE, HAVE A, A FIRST TO RECEIVE AND FILE THE, UM, THE ACTING CITY HEALTH OFFICER'S REPORT THAT WAS PROVIDED, UM, BY, UM, BY, BY MS. VALENCIA DE, BUT FIRST, SECOND.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, CI? ANY OPPOSED, SAY NAY.
UM, WE ALREADY, UM, DISCUSSED, UH, ITEM FIVE.
UH, WE HAVE NO PUBLIC COMMENT.
UM, DO WE HAVE ANY, ANY ANNOUNCEMENTS? UM, I JUST WANNA, UM, THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT FOR FENTANYL OUTREACH, EDUCATIONAL PACKETS, THAT WAS, UM, SOMETHING, I DUNNO WHERE I SAW IT ADVERTISED, BUT I ORDERED IT AND REALLY, REALLY GRATEFUL FOR THAT 'CAUSE OF THE FENTANYL DUST WE'VE HAD IN OUR FAMILY IN FRIEND CIRCLE.
AND, UM, SOMETHING WE TALKED ABOUT A COUPLE YEARS AGO.
SO IT WAS GOOD TO SEE THE OUTREACH AND THE PR PIECES THAT WENT OUT SO THE AVERAGE PERSON CAN YEAH.
I JUST REALIZED SOMETHING WHICH IS THAT, UM, WHAT WE CAN DO IS SEND YOU, EVERY TIME WE GET, WE SEND OUT A PRESS RELEASE, WE CAN, I CAN ASK ALEJANDRO TO SEND IT TO ALL OF YOU JUST SO THAT YOU'RE, WE SEND OUT PRESS RELEASES ALL THE TIME.
SO WE CAN GO AHEAD AND MAKE SURE THAT WE SEND IT TO YOU JUST SO YOU'RE AWARE OF WHAT'S GOING ON, THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING.
UM, FOR THOSE WHO, UH, I HAD SAID EARLIER, I'M
[00:40:01]
PART OF LIKE A, A NICHE, A CAREER.UH, SO I, I WORK FOR A MOSQUITO AMERICAN CONTROL DISTRICT FOR THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES.
UM, AS PART OF OUR STATEWIDE ASSOCIATION, WE WERE IN SACRAMENTO ON TUESDAY TO ADVOCATE FOR ALL THINGS MOSQUITO BOARD DISEASE CONTROL AND SURVEILLANCE.
UM, WE MET WITH TWO STATE SENATORS OFFICES THAT ARE ON THE OLYMPIC PLANNING COMMITTEE.
AND I SORT OF BROUGHT UP THE CONVERSATION OF, UH, WHEN WE HAVE FOLKS COMING INTO THESE VERY LARGE EVENTS, THEY ARE BRINGING THINGS WITH THEM ALSO MM-HMM
AND THAT SEEMED TO BE KIND OF A SURPRISING IDEA FOR THOSE FOLKS ON THE PLANNING.
SO I'M JUST KIND OF SHARING IT OUT.
I'M SURE THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IT HERE AT THE LOCAL LEVEL BECAUSE WE DO HAVE, AND THINGS LIKE THAT, BUT MAYBE DOING SOME MORE ADVOCACY TO OUR LEGISLATORS SO THAT, UM, AT THAT PLANNING LEVEL, THERE'S SOME SUPPORT, FUNDING MANAGE, UH, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT FUNDING, THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, AND THEN I ALSO MET WITH ASSEMBLY, ASSEMBLY MEMBER GIBSON AND, UH, ASSEMBLY MEMBER
SO THAT UP, MAKE SURE THEY KNEW LONG BEACH.
IS, IS THERE ANYTHING, UM, ANYTHING SPECIFIC IN THOSE CONVERSATIONS THAT, UM, STAND OUT FOR YOU? UH, NO.
IT'S, IN TERMS OF THEIR RESPONSE, IT'S USUALLY JUST A LOT.
THIS IS MY THIRD OR FOURTH TIME, BUT MY FIRST TIME WITH LOS ANGELES COUNTY REPRESENTATIVES, BECAUSE THEY USED TO WORK OUT IN RIVERSIDE COUNTY.
SO IT'S A NEW GROUP OF, OF LEGISLATIVE OFFICES FOR ME.
BUT MY FOURTH TIME THEY'RE DOING SORT, SAME THING.
IT'S USUALLY JUST A LOT OF REMINDING FOLKS THAT WE EXIST,
UM, BUT THAT WAS SORT OF A LITTLE BIT OF A RED FLAG TO ME THAT BRINGING IT UP TO THE FOLKS THAT ARE ALREADY ACTIVELY ON THESE PLANNING COMMITTEES.
'CAUSE IT'S OLYMPICS AND WORLD CUP AND WORLD CUPS MATERNITY PROMISE.
SO THE IDEA THAT IT HADN'T REALLY NECESSARILY BEEN BROUGHT UP WAS A LITTLE BIT NERVERACKING.
SO WHEN YOU, AT LEAST YOU, WE HAD WE'RE THERE TO SAY LIKE, THIS IS A REALITY.
ZIKA WAS A SITUATION IN RIO, THAT WAS AN ACTUAL SCENARIO THAT WAS ON UNFOLDING ALL THE OLYMPICS WERE THERE.
UM, SO THERE, THERE ARE EXAMPLES OF THIS.
UM, SO JUST KIND OF JUST BRINGING THAT UP THAT WE'RE ALL HERE, WE LIVING HERE TOO, SO IT IMPACTS US.
AND, AND, AND YOU KNOW, THE DISEASES THAT WE REFER TO RIO, IN RIO, WE HAVE THAT MOSQUITO HERE NOW, AND WE HAVE THAT SEED HERE NOW.
SO IT'S MORE, IT'S A MORE, UM, HAS A HIGHER POTENTIAL.
NOT THAT, THAT IT'S A VERY HIGH POTENTIAL OVERALL, BUT IT HAS A HIGHER POTENTIAL THAN MAYBE 10 YEARS AGO.
AND THEN THOSE FOLKS MAY TAKE THE DISEASE BACK TO THEIR COUNTRY.
WE'RE ALL MOVING AROUND AND UNFORTUNATELY WE'RE MOVING BEFORE WE REALIZED WE'RE SO MM-HMM
UM, JUST THE FYI, UM, THE, THE BOARD A COUPLE YEARS AGO TALKED ABOUT WHEN ALL THE FLOODING CAME IN, UM, FROM THE RIVER AND WENT INTO THE OCEAN.
THE BOARD MEMBER'S DAUGHTER WAS ON A SELLING CLUB OR SOMETHING.
OH, REALLY? AND THEY, THERE WAS NEVER ANY DANGER, YOU KNOW, THERE ALL DIRTY WATERS COMING IN.
SO THE BOARD DID WRITE A FORMAL LETTER TO THE CITY ABOUT PUTTING DANGER SIGNS OUT, OR, YOU KNOW, ONLY THEY WORK IN THE, WHATEVER THAT'S CALLED THE CHANNEL.
THERE HAS BEEN STANCES, UM, WHEN THIS BOARD DID MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS AND BRING UP SPECIFICALLY FROM THE EXPERTISE OF THIS GROUP AS IT RELATED TO THE LARGER COMMUNITY.
SO THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THAT.
IT MIGHT BE SOMETHING THAT WE WANNA MAKE SURE THERE'S, IF THERE'S ACTIVE OUTBREAKS GOING ON ELSEWHERE, MAYBE WE'RE SURE THAT THERE'S SOME SIGNAGE IN THE AIRPORTS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, THAT IS, IS PROVIDING THAT OUTREACH INFORMING FOLKS TO MAKE SURE PROTECTING USING THIS GOES BACK TO WHERE OUR MINUTES DON'T REALLY REFLECT SOME OF THE DISCUSSIONS AND EXPERTISE FROM OUR EXPERTS AND THE MEMBERS THAT ARE NOT HERE FROM THE STAFF.
YOU KNOW, HOW DOES THAT INFORMATION LOCK IN, UH, AND GETTING PASSED ON TO THE GREATER GOOD OF THE LOAN ORGANIZATION.
SO WE HAVE A REPRESENTATIVE HERE, BUT HOW DO WE LOCK IN THAT BIT OF INFORMATION SO THAT FROM THIS EXPERT TO THE LARGER COMMUNITY? SO I JUST WANNA THAT OUT.
DO, DO YOU MEAN LIKE, UM, HAVING
[00:45:01]
SOME FOR, FOR SOME OF THE DISCUSSION TO HAVE SPECIFIC DETAILS IN THE MINUTES OR DO YOU MEAN SOMETHING BEYOND THAT? WE, THROUGH THIS DISCUSSION BEFORE WITH THE MINUTES ARE REALLY JUST, UH, YOU KNOW, BESPOKEN WHAT VOTES SAW ON THERE.UH, AND UNLESS SOMETHING IS MOVED TO A VOTING AGENDA IDENTITY, IT'S NOT REALLY REPRESENTED MM-HMM
EXCEPT FOR THIS, THAT MOST IMPORTANT ON THIS THING TOO.
UM, I JUST VALUE THIS INFORMATION.
BECAUSE IT IS PRETTY POWERFUL.
I, I DID, I DID WRITE IT AS ANOTHER, UM, POSSIBLE LIKE FOCUS AREA, YOU KNOW? 'CAUSE WE, I MEAN, THIS IS A UNIQUE TIME WHEN WE HAVE TWO REALLY LARGE INTERNATIONAL EVENTS BEING PLANNED AND, AND YOU KNOW, THEY'RE GONNA BE EITHER CLOSE TO LONG BEACH OR ACTUALLY IN LONG WITH THE EVENTS IN LONG BEACH.
AND SO WITH, ESPECIALLY WITH THE 2028 OLYMPICS, UM, MAY, MAYBE THAT'S AN AREA WHERE WE WANNA HAVE SOME, SOME SPECIFIC FOCUS OR ADVOCACY.
I WONDER IF, IF ME, IF MEMBERS ARE, ARE SHARING SPECIFIC ANNOUNCEMENTS, MAYBE WE CAN WRITE UP LIKE THREE SENTENCES AND SET IT.
BECAUSE THAT CAN, SOMETIMES WE CAN GET VERY SPECIFIC OR BE USING LANGUAGE.
I DON'T THINK IT'S FAIR NECESSARILY TO HAVE SOMEBODY ELSE SUMMARIZE IT FOR YOU IF YOU'RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE CONTENT.
SO I THINK WE'RE SHARING ENOUGH THAT WE CAN ALWAYS SEND IT AND REFLECT THAT SOMEHOW IN THE MINUTES OR A SEPARATE SHEET FOR THAT DAY OR SOMETHING.
I THINK 'CAUSE YEAH, YOU KNOW, I, I, I AGREE WITH THE IMPORTANCE OF IT AND I ALSO AGREE LIKE THERE'S A, THE PRAGMATICS, YOU KNOW, LIKE HOW DO WE, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE DECIDE WHICH SPECIFIC COMMENTS WE REALLY WANT TO MEMORIALIZE? UM, MAYBE IT, IF WE DECIDE WE WANNA MOVE FORWARD, IF THERE WAS ANOTHER REQUEST FOR FUTURE ITEMS. OKAY.
WE HAVE LIKE A REQUEST FOR FUTURE ITEMS. YEAH, GO AHEAD.
IS THERE A REASON THAT THE MINUTES TEND TO BE PRETTY, UH, WITHOUT A LOT OF DETAIL? IS THERE A REASON FOR THAT OF HOW THE CITY WANTS THINGS DONE OR SOMETHING, OR YEAH, THAT'S WHEN, SO WHEN I WAS TRAINED, UM, WE HAD TO KEEP IT SHORT AND KIND OF JUST TO THE POINT.
UM, AND THAT IS WHY WE HAVE TO RECORD.
AND IF SOMEONE WANTS TO KNOW THE SPECIFICS, UM, THEN THEY GO IN AND HEAR THE RECORDING.
I THINK THE MINUTES HAVE CHANGED FROM HOW THEY USED TO BE.
THEY'RE VERY BASED OFF OF, IF YOU SEE OUR CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS, UM, THEY'RE THE SAME WAY.
SO WE KIND OF USE THAT AS THE, UM, BASELINE FOR THE WHOLE CITY AND HAVE EVERYTHING SORT OF USING THE SAME FORMAT.
IS IS THERE ANYTHING THEY DO FOR CITY COUNCIL TO SPEAK TO THAT SAME KIND OF CONCERN? DO THEY HAVE ANY OTHER STRATEGIES THEY USE? UM, IT'S THE SAME.
SO THEY HAVE THE AGENDA JUST LIKE US, AND THEN THEY ALSO HAVE THE REPORTING.
THE CITY COUNCIL ALSO, EACH MEMBER I THINK SENDS OUT A NEWSLETTER TO ANYBODY WHO SIGNED UP FOR IT.
SO YOU GET MORE DETAIL IN THAT WHAT WAS ACTUALLY DISCUSSED OR WHAT ACTUALLY MAY HAVE HAPPENED, UH, PENDING.
SOME HAVE SUMMARIES OF WHAT THEY PERSONALLY DISCUSSED IN THAT COUNCIL MEETING AND SOME DON'T.
AND IT JUST VARIES BETWEEN EACH ONE.
LET'S, UM, WELL LET'S, LET'S, LET'S KEEP THIS ON OUR RADAR.
UM, IF ANYONE HAS, YOU KNOW, ANY IDEAS OF HOW WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO, I MEAN, WITH THAT OTHER, WITH THE DIRTY WATER SITUATION, IT WAS A MEMO THAT WENT OUT FROM THE BOARD TO THE COUNCIL MM-HMM
UM, AND I THOUGHT THAT WAS VALUABLE, RIGHT? MM-HMM
HAVE EXPERTISE TO SHOW OUR VOICE REPRESENTING WIDER.
AND IF IT IS SOMETHING, THIS IS WHERE YOU WANT THE STAFFING.
IF IT IS SOMETHING THAT IS ON THE AGENDA, THERE MAY NEED RIGHT RESOURCES OR SOMETHING DOWN THE ROAD, THEN YOU ARE LEVERAGING THE BOARD TO HELP ADVOCATE SPEAK UP DOCUMENT GOES INTO THE, AS A MEMO, WHATEVER IT IS, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE AN EXPERT ON THE BOARD THAT WE REINFORCING IN A LARGER DISCUSSION IF INDEED BECOMES SOMETHING LARGER THAN CAN SAY, YOU KNOW, WE SPOKE, PUT THIS ON THE AGENDA.
AND I JUST FELT REALLY STRONGLY ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE COMMITTING OUR TIME AND EFFORT TO BE HERE, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, TAKE MY VOICE SERIOUSLY.
RIGHT? TAKE OUR EXPERTISE SERIOUSLY.
UM, AND SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I FEEL LIKE YOU, HEY, THIS IS, I THIS, BUT TAKE MY VOICE SERIOUSLY VERSUS JUST, RIGHT.
MAYBE IT'S JUST AN INITIAL ASK.
IS THERE SOMEBODY OR IS THERE A TEAM IN THE DEPARTMENT WE CAN TALK TO ABOUT
[00:50:01]
ALL THINGS HEALTH RELATED? WHAT CAN, CAN, SHOULD WE, UM, ARE YOU SO SPECIFIC? ARE YOU, DO YOU, I MEAN, I'M SPECIFIC TO MOSQUITO-BORNE INTER, LIKE THAT'S MY, THERE'S OTHER HEALTH CONCERNS THAT WILL BE ASSOCIATED WITH ALL THESE FOLKS COMING IN, UM, TO OUR, TO OUR CITY HERE.SO I'M SURE THAT THERE'S OTHER YEAH, SO SEVERAL OF US ARE ON THE OLYMPIC COMMITTEE FOR, UM, SEVERAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES ARE ON THE OLYMPIC COMMITTEE FOR THE CITY.
UM, SO WE CAN PUT YOU IN CONTACT.
I'M DOING THE VIOLENCE PREVENTION STUFF, BUT WE CAN PUT YOU IN CONTACT WITH PROBABLY SANDY WEDGWORTH, WHO'S OUR BUREAU MANAGER OVER COMMUNICABLE DISEASE AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE.
AND IF YOU WANTED TO JUST LIKE, SIT DOWN WITH HER AND CHAT THAT, AND THEN SHE COULD, OR, OR SHE COULD COME AND PRESENT ON LIKE ALL THE THINGS THAT THEY'RE ALREADY DOING TO MITIGATE THAT.
AND THEN EVERYONE'S KIND OF AWARE, RIGHT? LIKE, HOW ARE WE PREPARING FOR THE OLYMPICS? HOW ARE WE PREPARING FOR THE, UM, THE WORLD CUP? AND THEN, SO WE COULD DO, WE COULD HAVE HER COME AND PRESENT OR HER TEAM COME AND PRESENT.
SO THEN ALL OF YOU ARE AWARE, AND THEN YOU CAN RELAY BACK ANY COMMENTS, CONCERNS, IDEAS YOU HAVE.
AND THEN SHE'S DEFINITELY THE PERSON TO RELAY IT BACK TO THE, THE, THE LARGER CITY TEAM.
DO YOU WANNA, YOU WANNA DO THAT FOR NEXT MONTH? YEAH.
WELL HOW ABOUT FOR, UM, WOULD IT BE OKAY IF WE DID IT FOR, WHERE ARE WE IN MARCH? MID MAY.
UH, SO 'CAUSE SO NEXT MONTH WE'LL DO THE, THE STATE OF HEALTH, RIGHT? YEAH.
AND THEN IN MAY, IF SHE'S AVAILABLE YEAH.
I DON'T WANNA SPEAK FOR EVERYBODY, BUT I KNOW WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT SOME THINGS NOT BEING BACKFILLED, SOME THINGS MAYBE REQUIRING MORE HANDS.
SO IF THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES THAT THEY SEE FOR US TO ADVOCATE OR FOR US TO VOLUNTEER OR FOR US TO DO WHATEVER IT LOOKS LIKE.
MAYBE WE ALSO HAVE SOME OF THOSE READY.
UH, I, I JUST, UM, JUST, JUST REAL, REAL QUICK, RELATIVELY QUICK.
UM, I WENT TO, UM, A SYMPOSIUM A COUPLE WEEKS AGO THAT HAD A HEAVY RESEARCH FOCUS TO IT.
AND THERE WAS A PROGRAM OFFICER FROM FROM NIH THAT SPOKE TO THE GROUP.
AND, UM, IT IS, IT IS A VERY, UH, CANDID DISCUSSION, BUT SHE WAS ESSENTIALLY SAYING, UM, THINGS HAVE REALLY CHANGED WITH APPLICATIONS FOR FEDERAL RESEARCH IN TERMS OF, THERE USED TO BE MORE OF AN RFP PROCESS, REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS.
AND NOW THE WAY IT'S STRUCTURED, UM, YOU KNOW, RESEARCHERS, UM, ARE ENCOURAGED TO APPLY, YOU KNOW, JUST WHATEVER, FIND THEIR INTEREST AREA IN THESE, THESE, THERE'S A SET OF CATEGORIES AND SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION.
AND SHE SAID, DON'T BE DISCOURAGED BY THE LANGUAGE AND WHAT'S HAPPENING.
AND EVERYTHING IN THE, WITH THE, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT RIGHT NOW, THERE ARE WAYS, NO MATTER WHAT YOUR RESEARCH IS, THERE ARE WAYS TO, TO FRAME IT SO THAT IT FITS IN ONE OF THESE CATEGORIES.
AND NAH WILL, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE REALLY IS OPPORTUNITY FOR NH TO, TO, TO FUND THESE, THESE HEALTH INTERESTS.
SO, I MEAN, THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF OPTIMISM WITH THE, AT LEAST THE, THE HOW, HOW SHE WAS, UM, YOU KNOW, SHARING, YOU KNOW, THE CONNECTED STRATEGY TO, TO GET FUNDED.
UM, SO THAT, THAT'S ONE THING THAT JUST, THAT STUCK WITH ME.
SO I JUST WANTED TO SHARE THAT HERE.
UM, CAN, CAN WE GET A, UM, A FIRST TO, UH, RECEIVE AND FILE? DO WE HAVE TO RECEIVE AND FILE THE ANNOUNCEMENTS? NO.
TO, CAN WE GET A FIRST TO ADJOURN THE MEETING? HAVE FIRST AND THE SECOND.
UM, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE.
MY WORST, MY WIFE'S MY WIFE'S PARENT BACKYARD.