Central Connecticut Health Board Holds Meeting Thursday

The Central Connecticut Health District’s Board of Health met Thursday night at the Wethersfield Community Center. The CCHD includes the four towns of Rocky Hill, Berlin, Newington, and Wethersfield. Rocky Hill had two representatives in attendance, Judy Sartucci and Arthur Yoaps.

Sartucci received dual-distinctions at the meeting. First, the board publicly commended her for being designated the National Association of Local Boards of Health‘s 2011 honoree for New England. NALBOH consists of local health board members from all over the country and every year it recognizes the work of one member in each region.

Also, the board held officer elections. Sartucci was voted its new chairperson, replacing outgoing chair Kevin Borrup of Newington. Other officers elected were Berlin representative Patricia Checko who retained her seat as vice-chair and Newington representative Enzo Pistritto who became the newest member of the board’s executive committee. 

The remainder of the meeting was largely split between a presentation by Chris Monroe, an insurance agent for the town of Wethersfield, and reports from committee chairs and others who oversee special CCHD programs.

During his allotted time, Monroe presented options for the new health benefits package that all CCHD employees are to receive. A plan that will ultimately be decided upon by the health board. The board made no decisions pertaining to the issue but, invited Monroe to return at its next session to provide additional information.

Committee and other special reports took up most of the rest of the meeting. Sartucci and Berlin representative Carolyn Wysocki of the governance committee made the most substantive presentation as they reviewed NALBOH’s “10 Essential Public Health Services” and discussed CCHD’s progress toward implementing these standards.

Paul Hutcheon, CCHD Health Director, supplied a post-hurricane report, which primarily focused on the conditions in the towns’ temporary shelters. During the director‘s overview, Sartucci demonstrated the compassion she will bring to the role of chair by pressing him about the specific accommodations the emergency shelters provide for individuals with special needs.

The final item of business was an update on the operations of the ACHIEVE program in the district, a grant-funded federal health and wellness initiative that focuses extensively on prevention. Wysocki provided the program's status report and tied it heavily into her earlier remarks about implementing NALBOH’s ten essential public health services.

The next CCHD Board of Health meeting is scheduled for Oct. 13 in room 2 at the Rocky Hill .