Feb minutes I
City of Beverly, Massachusetts
Public Meeting Minutes
Board: Board of Health
Date: February 15,2023
Place: Beverly Council on Aging Building Suites A&B
Board members present:Dr.Justin Jordan MD,Dr.Sheryl Silva,Rachel Morse
Others present: Teresa Kirsch,Public Health Nurse,Joyce Redford,North Shore Tobacco Control
Recorder: Lynne DePiero
Dr. Jordan called the meeting to order at 6:31 p.m.
The minutes of the January 18, 2023 meeting were approved and accepted.
Ms. Redford began by introducing herself to the new board members. Ms. Redford handed out the
ordinance for prohibiting the sale of drug paraphernalia for the City of Lynn. She also shared a DRAFT
of a Regulation Prohibiting the manufacturing, sale and distribution of synthetically derived
cannabinoids and Kratom. She talked about the manufactured synthetic products, Delta8 and Kratom,
which are out in the marketplace now and are packaged to look like well-known snack products. Ms.
Redford suggested that members review the handouts and do some more research on these products. She
recommended for the City of Beverly to look into adopting a local guidance regulation of what
establishments can distribute in their stores. It was clarified that the Board is allowed to create a
regulation but the City Council has to pass the ordinance. Dr. Jordan asked what the process is for
implementing a regulation. Ms. Redford explained that you create a template, hold a public hearing for
comments, create a draft, hold another public hearing, approve it, adopt it, activate it and then enforce it.
Ms. Redford asked Dr. Jordan if he thought his colleagues in the surrounding North Shore Area Boards
would be interested to move on this all together. Ms. Redford supports working together and is hopeful
that the state would act quicker with more communities involved.
Ms. Redford recommended having a cap on tobacco licenses, as of now, Beverly has 44. She informed
us that if a tobacco establishment goes out of business we could retire that license and then slowly back
down the number of licenses that Beverly gives out. Ms. Redford will bring template and draft language
to next meeting.
The Brookline Bi-law regarding no tobacco sales to anyone born after January 1,2020 was added to the
shared drive for all members to take a look at. Dr. Jordan would like to see the outcome of what happens
in Superior Court.
Anti-Racism efforts in public health:
Dr. Jordan would like an on-going discussion every month about Diversity Equity Inclusion and
Belonging(DEIB). Members will be reading Political Determinants of Health by Daniel Dawes and
discussing next month.
Purdue Funds plan:
Dr. Jordan would like to keep this on the agenda. More to come on how much we will be receiving and
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how the Board of Health, Schools and Police will work together on how these funds will be allocated.
Community-Based Mental Health Programs:
Dr. Jordan commented on a trial in Africa regarding mental health that he found fascinating, he added
the report on the share drive. He said that Peabody has a line item each year for counselors on board for
assisting with mental health. Dr. Silva commented that she is in favor of any sort of assistance that will
help with mental health resources. Dr. Jordan also proposed that maybe a portion of the Purdue Funds
could be used to pay for mental health counselors. Dr. Silva commented on a program that Beverly
Hospital has with licensed Social Workers for support on substance abuse/mental health for Mom's run
by Dr. Melissa Sherman. Ms. Kirsch also added that we could partner with surrounding colleges that
have Master's program for Social Workers. Dr. Jordan also mentioned that Beverly Bootstraps might be
a good partner as well.
Departmental Updates:
There have been 3 candidates in the final interviews for the Director position, nothing official yet.
Teresa Kirsch, Public Health Nurse Updates for the Board:
The 7-day average/100K(2/5/23-2/11/23) Covid case reports were at 10.43%, and the 14-day
average/100K(1/29/23-2/11/23) cases reported were at 9.91%. The Covid numbers to date (2/15/23) in
Beverly are 11,313 total cases confirmed, 252 deaths, 11,023 confirmed cases who have recovered and
930 probable cases. These numbers do not include home tests that were positive.
Influenza activity is low. Ms. Kirsch has requested approval from Health Department Medical Director,
Dr. Demetrius Rizos, on the application for Massachusetts Controlled Substance Registration for
Municipalities and Non-Municipal Public Agencies use of Naloxone.Next steps are to apply for the
Community Naloxone Purchasing Program(CNPP), once approved,we can order naloxone from the
state and then order educational material and test kits. Ms. Kirsch attended the training program for
Opioid Overdose Rescue and Prevention on February 2nd and 9`h. Educational material is shared
regionally and edited to fit the needs of the community. The CNPP goal is to prevent deaths from
overdosing on opioids by increasing the distribution of free naloxone to community bystanders across
the state. The Beverly Health Department will provide counseling on overdose prevention and training
on overdose response to all who receive CNPP acquired naloxone.
Ms. Kirsch continues to provide Directly Observed Therapy(DOT) 5 days a week, expected to continue
for 4 additional months. She continues to investigate infectious disease reports through MAVEN and by
providers. She is also conducting yearly inspections of Body Art establishments and practitioners for
permit renewals.
Dr. Jordan motioned to adjoin the meeting. Dr. Silva seconded.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:54 P.M.
The next meeting will be scheduled for March 29, 2023
Respectfully submitted,
Lynne DePiero