GH CAN Leadership Meeting 3/3/2021

 

GREATER HARTFORD COORDINATED ACCESS NETWORK MEETING AGENDA

Wednesday, March 3, 2021 via Zoom

 1PM – 2:15PM

 

1.       Welcome and Introductions – 5 minutes

2.       COVID – 19 Agency Updates – 5 minutes

a.       Vaccinations

b.       SPI, TOH – had 1^st and 2^nd dose of vaccines already

c.       TOH – staff have been vaccinated, 100%. 2 new staff will be vaccinated soon. Clients, about 100% have been vaccinated, with the exception of those who are new. New folks have been scheduled or will be scheduled. Staff were required to be vaccinated. Clients were urged to get vaccinated and expressed community need. Biggest concern – some thought they were being injected with COVID, discussion was done explaining. Fred was vaccinated first.

d.       EH Shelter – clinic will come in twice a month for COVID testing and education around the vaccine. Will have someone come in and talk with the families individually to discuss the need for vaccine and information around the vaccine. Will go over where they can go and get vaccinated. Wheeler Clinic will come in to educate. Staff 60% have completed vaccinations. Some staff are waiting to get vaccinated, staff will be at a 100%.

e.       SAMH – not mandating employee vaccinations. Employees are scheduling own vaccinations. Several staff have received 1^st does. SA is not collecting information on staff vaccination. Few staff members have had COVID,  waiting for immunity based on doctor recommendation. Shelter residents are working with the city. Case Managers are discussing with the residents about vaccinations. Collecting numbers and reporting to the city of those who are getting vaccine, who will get it, and who does not want it. The city will schedule based on quantity. Milner is gathering numbers – waiting for J&J vaccine. MH will have vaccine through the city.

f.        ImmaCare – half of staff and clients signed up for vaccine. Some staff have received 2^nd dose last week. Some staff are scheduled. Less than half signed up for vaccine. Some will receive vaccines this week. Through Charter Oak Health Center.

g.       Interval House – can’t do on site clinic. Advocates are working with residents to scheduled them for vaccinations based on eligibility/ age limit. Will provide transportation. Based on appointment eligibility. Recommending vaccine to staff but not mandating. Not tracking staff vaccinations. Difficulty finding apts.

h.       McKinney – 2 dose will be next week. Testing will be tomorrow. Will reduce testing to 1 time a month. IN April will schedule one more round of vaccinations. Had 3 vaccination clinics at hotel, next week will be 4. First 80 people including staff. Reduce number of people getting tested because they have received vaccination. Clients about 45%, staff about 90-95% received vaccine. Only staff that have not received vaccine is ones who have tested positive for COVID. Constantly talk to clients about vaccine, also have nurses talk to the client about vaccines.

i.         GHHRC – hotel, working with staff. One staff waiting to receive vaccination after doctor approval. 95% staff have been vaccinated. Hotel staff is harder to vaccinate. Hiring a peer to go to shelter site to discuss vaccinations.

j.         HOH – staff were vaccinated yesterday. Only 3 staff have not been vaccinated- medical or religious. 40 staff. 70% of tenants for onsite apartments have been vaccinated. Sharing information in conversations and written information. Direct Care staff works in health care and vaccinated early in the process and has discussed it with other staff. Day shelter guest have not been vaccinated yet. Possibly waiting for city to get J&J vaccine that is one dose.

k.       YWCA – 2/3 of staff have been vaccinated. Half signed up – clients. 3-week gap. Working with Charter Oak for vaccinations.

l.         Mercy – most have been vaccinated. Some waiting on 2^nd dose. Those who did not get shot was because of medical issues. Will work with new staff and residents that will receive vaccinations. 70% of staff and residents received vaccinations.

m.     CHR Enfield – not mandatory, highly recommended. Infection control dept is tracking information. Working with clients to register through VAMS, CVS, and Walgreens. Some clients do not qualify – by age population.

n.       Chrysalis – 70 % of staff have received 1^st does, 2^nd dose 3/17. Not mandatory, doing lots of education. Lots of education for clients too. InterCommunity is providing vaccinations.

o.       Cornerstone – not mandatory. Vaccination on site. 14/40 clients- not counting warming center. 11/15 for staff. Volunteer visiting nurse has been educating. Urgent Care in Ellington did vaccination.

 

3.       Cold Weather/Winter Planning Updates – Lisa Cretella, Bryan Flint, Kara Capone, Mark Jenkins, Emily Soucy, and Kelly Gonzalez– 15 minutes

a.       Coming to end soon, March 31.

b.      Enfield – no major updates.

c.       Mercy – triage is going well. Consistently busy with at least 1 family every night.

d.      SA – positive cases, 2 staff decided to not return to work. Concerned about social distance. Reached out to city for curtains to keep census at 50. Afraid of what can happen behind a curtain is a major concern. Some staff have been asking for fewer shifts because of the concerns at the WC. Threats have been made to staff/other clients. Hoteled a few during cold weather activation.

e.       Manchester Warming Center – smaller location. At capacity last night for the first time. 9 people. Total of 23 different people, most has been 9 a night.

f.        Might be an opportunity to extend hoteling for those who have been matched to a housing program. Hotels are using FEMA funding. DO not want clients to go MIA if they have been matched. Would like to consolidate hotel to simplify. How many rooms and what population should we aim for after 3/31? 1 room available through GHHRC. Can fill this room based on CAN referral. Possibly another bed is available. Cornerstone – mixed populations can be difficult to manage. Enfield – some residents are not looking for a resolution, not looking for housing help. New smartsheet info ill be added with who has a plan and who does not. CHR – under capacity of PATH program.

4.       Updates/ Next Steps on Accessing In-home Intensive Services and Accessing Higher Level of Care/Residential Treatment Programs – Crane Cesario - 10 Minutes

a.       SubCommittee on topics –

b.       Next meeting add this for a longer time frame to discuss.

c.       Sustainability Workgroup Subcommittee – Matt Morgan

5.       Agency Removal from CAN ROI –Lisa Quach – 5 minutes

a.       Draft

b.      This is the first time this has happened in statewide CAN about removing an agency.

c.       When voted in not signing CAN participation agreement – something we want to develop in the near future.  Need written actions.

d.       Approval of policy is needed today.

e.       Crane – need a warning before termination. Appeal process also needs to be added. Offending party can have representation.

f.        Not talking about state federally funded agencies, only the community programs.

g.       Client should sign release with specific agency they are working with.

h.       Temporarily suspend access for the agency? Work on policy in the meantime.  

i.         Draft out to everyone before next meeting to further discuss and vote.

j.         CAN is ok with removing agency if there is violence involved.

6.       Family Homelessness and RAPs – Lisa Quach – 5 minutes

7.       Advocacy for CAN Leadership – Matt Morgan – 5 minutes

8.       Balance of State Continuum of Care Context/Updates –10 Minutes- Crane Cesario

9.       ESG-COVID Program Updates/FLASH –Jane Banks/Yoshi Bird, Andrea Hakian, Stephanie Corbin, Lisa Quach, Lionel Rigler, Barbara Shaw, Kara Zichichi, Matt Morgan – 7 minutes

a.       Prioritization for Rapid Rehousing – Lisa Quach

10.   Future Agenda Items or Additional Announcements – 1 minutes

a.       CT CAN Entity

GH CAN Leadership Meeting 2/17/2021

 

GREATER HARTFORD COORDINATED ACCESS NETWORK MEETING AGENDA

Wednesday, February 17, 2021 via Zoom

 1PM – 2:15PM

 

1.       Welcome and Introductions – 5 minutes

2.       COVID – 19 Agency Updates – 5 minutes

a.       ESG COVID (Outreach, RRH, Diversion, and Prevention) Updates

                                                               i.      ImmaCare –11 reported testing positive, those who have tested positive are at SPI. 2^nd round of testing was conducted and will be reported on Friday

                                                             ii.      McKinney – 2^nd round of vaccination is tomorrow, 44 residents getting vaccinated with 30 hotel staff. Will go to a site to be tested tomorrow.

                                                           iii.      SA – some positive cases at warming center – staff not shelter guest; vaccinations are being worked on with the city to be done at Marshall House. Staff vaccinations are being scheduled by staff through VAMS.

                                                           iv.      Capitol Region – last dose will be on 2/24^th for vaccinations. Some staff who has not been vaccinated will go to another location.

                                                             v.      GHHRC – one staff member tested positive. Individuals who have been exposed are being tested. Most staff have received 2^nd round of vaccinations. 1 staff has not been tested.

b.       Vaccinations

3.       New Outreach Collaborative Direct Referral Proposal – Barbara Shaw – 10 minutes

a.       Working with the city. City has broken up a few encampments, working with the city to slow down the process of breaking encampments. Meeting with them tomorrow to propose a plan. Outreach would like to be more involved.

b.      Outreach workers have been out in community. Trying to engage with those who are unsheltered. Some are hesitant to receive help from outreach workers.

c.       Proposal – some ability for outreach to use professional judgement and flex admission to some shelter beds for those who are refusing to go to the warming center or other options. Trying to prevent anyone from freezing outside. Would like to have the refusal group go into beds (hotel rooms – about 3 rooms) that are open.

                                                              i.      Kelly – had a cold weather meeting, agreed can case by case those who refuse warming center. Warming center is most likely reducing number of people at WC. Another Cold Weather Committee meeting to come to discuss those who are outside and into an available bed.

                                                             ii.      Need to work on logistics such as who are the contacts that will call hotel provider to make the direct referral. How do we stop with vacancies?

                                                           iii.      Leadership is in agreement with Barbara’s concept to leave hotel beds open for those who refuse to go to shelter.

                                                           iv.      Mark – beds are open, however filling up quickly.

4.       Cold Weather/Winter Planning Updates – Lisa Cretella, Bryan Flint, Kara Capone, Mark Jenkins, Emily Soucy, and Kelly Gonzalez– 15 minutes

a.       Triage has been closed but will reopen tonight.

b.      Warming Center – very different population is being served this year compared to others. Large amount if mental health and substance abuse. Lots of clients need more residential care and more supervision. Lots of clients need medication administration. Shelter providers can not provide this service. Food is provided at WC however most of the clients are still hungry and go through the trash for discarded meals. How can we open services that have closed during COVID? WC has to reduce capacity because of behavior issues and lack of staff. Safety is a concern for guests and staff. Capacity will be cut down to 50, will be in one room with social distancing guidelines.

c.       SPI – last Friday got a lot of clients who were substance users at 5pm. Hard to connect to providers to receive treatment. Had to manage withdrawal over the weekend. Lots of acute withdrawal in isolation area.  

d.      Manchester – working with town and HOH. 3^rd of clients are from the Hartford Warming Center.

5.       Accessing In-home Intensive Services – Breakout Rooms – 20 minutes Breakout

a.       Medications Administration/ Visiting Nurses/ Medication Assisted Treatment

b.       Home Health Aids/ Live in Aids

c.       Behavioral Health/ ACTT Teams (Hartford/Suburbs)

d.       Conservatorship/ Guardian Ad litem

e.       Elderly Protective Services/ Disability Protective Services/ DDS

f.        Accessing Waivers

g.       Other Programs Not Listed

6.       Accessing Higher Levels of Care and Residential Treatment Programs – Breakout Rooms

a.       Board and Care

b.       Group Homes

c.       SRO/ Rooming House

d.       Detox/ Rehab

e.       Convalescent Homes

f.        Skilled Nursing Facilities

g.       Other Program Not Listed

7.       Debrief of Topics Above – 15 minutes

a.       Crane’s group – short term – Yoshi and Elijah will look at how to access meds. Accessing In-home Intensive Services topic. Subcommittee to identify resources. Interconnecting services. DMHAS and DOH to look at connections to administer methadone. Adding Crisis services to the list. Guardianship steps and how to access.

b.      Lisa’s Group – Accessing Higher Levels of Care and Residential Treatment Programs David and Rebekah will look at board and care. Other have volunteered for other topics. Identified names. SRO/ Rooming houses – Fred. CHR Enfield will connect with sober houses. Bryan will reach out DCF. Half Way houses – entry location. System gap for skilled nursing. Will revisit in 2 weeks.

8.       HIC/PIT Update – Lisa Quach – 3 Minutes

a.       Data has been entered. CCEH going through them.

b.       Using PIT unsheltered enrollment moving forward.

9.       Future Agenda Items or Additional Announcements – 1 minutes

GH CAN Leadership Meeting 2/3/2021

 

GREATER HARTFORD COORDINATED ACCESS NETWORK MEETING AGENDA

Wednesday, February 3^rd, 2021 via Zoom

 1PM – 2:15PM

 

1.       Welcome and Introductions – 5 minutes

2.       Cold Weather/Winter Planning Updates – Lisa Cretella, Bryan Flint, Kara Capone, Mark Jenkins, Emily Soucy– 15 minutes

a.       Lisa - Triage will open tonight. Only one family in the hotel since last Thursday. Overflow – 7 families. Warming Center is full. One positive staff member at Warming Center, will have contract tracing done.

b.      Emily- Enfield has 4 open beds at the hotel/shelter.

c.       Bryan – hotels end today in Vernon area. Able to place clients in shelter. Receiving lots of community support! Advocating for more hotel rooms if possible.

d.      Mark – going well so far. At 20, keeping on room vacant for emergency. 2 beds have opened this morning. Kelly will send two people from Warming Center.

e.       Stephanie – going well. Will be back up tonight. Going well so far.

f.        Amanda – reach out to Amanda if slots that are open fill up. Contact if you need to turn someone away.

3.       COVID – 19 Agency Updates – 5 minutes

a.       Agency updates

                                                              i.      Sonia/ CRT – one household tested positive, father and son.

                                                             ii.      No major updates/ no recent positive cases.

b.      Vaccinations

1. How are GHCAN providers dealing with vaccine hesitancy/refusal among their staff?

2. Are they requiring vaccination among all staff?

3. Are they considering exemptions/accommodations?

4. If so, what specific exemptions/accommodations do they believe are feasible/reasonable?

5.  SPI reached out to a legal aid. Can mandate vaccinations. Medical and religious exemption allowed.

6. ImmaCare is having these conversations. Considering – extra PTO days for those who have been vaccinated.

7. CRT – have to mandate for vaccine but do accommodate for religious and medical exemptions. Have not rolled out specific positions. Case by case, goes through HR. representation for educational videos are needed. Sonia to possibly send us a link to video who represents people of color. Coalition Against COVD-19:   https://youtu.be/fv2qR6xniq4

8. Barbara HOH –

9. Interval House – not mandating vaccinations. Strongly encouraging vaccinations. Using masks. Employees to make best choices for themselves.

10.                     MSP – not mandating. Strongly suggesting. Sending out information about safety of vaccination for staff and clients. Understand people’s choices.

11.                     GHHRC – not mandated.  Only 2 staff possibly not vaccinated. No one is refusing. Some are waiting on 2^nd doses.

12.                     YWCA – not mandating. Want people to have choice. Developing lots of education about COVID vaccines for community and internally. Strongly encourage.

13.                     Lisa/ JH – how can we be more action driven? Should we discuss this as a CAN?

14.                     DMHAS – trying to educate everyone on staff about the vaccine. Not mandatory, strongly encouraged. One opportunity at facility for all staff, if missed will have to receive it elsewhere. Recognizing resistance to vaccinations. New infection control practitioner at DMHAS. Crane will possibly share information. Capitol Region is working with Griffin Hospital.

15.                     EH Shelter - Vaccinations are they for children too? Have not heard about children vaccinations. Lots of questions from families asking if children will need vaccination. Will work with HHC to set up vaccinations for clients. Have not been able to make a solid connection, have just reached out to health agencies.

16.                     McKinney – waiting on second dose.

 

4.       Electronic Medical Records in Shelter Clinics – Yoshi Bird

a.       Clinic advising electronic medical records. Any providers have access to this information? Apart of health dept. Advance MD, Theranest, credible – record databases

5.       ESG-COVID Program Updates/FLASH –Jane Banks/Yoshi Bird, Andrea Hakian, Stephanie Corbin, Lisa Quach, Lionel Rigler, Barbara Shaw, Kara Zichichi, Matt Morgan – 7 minutes

a.       Amanda – referrals are through 211. Eligible will go to SPI.

b.       Andrea – spending in regular ESG RRH program – need to limit some spending. Will take ESG RRH case managers and have them spend from CARES ACT. Stop taking referral for regular and take for CARES ACT ESG funds.

c.       2 new staff for diversion – will start next week. Looking for a 3^rd person. Will be back on schedule after cold weather.

d.       RRH – recruiting for 5 case managers. Interviews are scheduled for next week. 850K for financial assistance.

e.       Barbara – still hiring for positions. Expanded outreach is being done for Hartford and GH area. Staff have been trained. New hire will need training. Concerns from neighborhood constituents about those who are living outside.

f.        ESG Shelter Contracts have been finalized and will go out by end of the week.

g.       Kara – met with consultant for vaccination. State is working on media and information.

h.       COH – ESG HOPWA and CDBG application are out. Thursday, Feb 25^th Deadline to submit applications.

i.         SPI has dedicated beds for those who have tested positive for COVID.

6.       CHESS Program Updates– Beacon Health – 3 minutes

a.       Meeting was on Monday for provider update. Discussion on what was decided. Start on April 1^st. Needs some approval before start date.

b.      Added an additional domain to support criteria for those who are at risk of becoming homeless.

c.       Billing will be daily instead of monthly. Documentation will be required each day of billing.

d.      Looking to have one staff member to provide plan for delivery and one to actually deliver services. Can share one supervisor.

e.       Can external agency provide plan.

7.       HIC/PIT Updates – 5 minutes – Lisa Quach

a.       JH actively working on enrolling those in hotels.

b.      Data needs to be submitted by Feb 10^th.

c.       Tony is following up with clients who were possibly outside/unsheltered.

8.       Future Agenda Items or Additional Announcements – 2 minutes