Serving Healthcare Since 1949
*** General Membership Meeting***
Minutes to the Meeting of
September 15, 2005
Healthcare Facilities Management Society of New Jersey, Inc.
Serving Healthcare Since 1949
*** General Membership Meeting***
Minutes to the Meeting of
September 15, 2005
President Joseph Berlesky, CHFM, called the meeting to order on Thursday, September 15, 2005, at the Galloping Hill Inn, Union, New Jersey, commencing at 6:15 p.m. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited, followed by self-introductions.
TOPICS OF DISCUSSION
SOCIAL SPONSOR/EDUCATIONAL SESSION TOPIC
GAS DRIVEN ENGINES AND COOLING SYSTEMS
Our Social Sponsor for tonight as well as our present for this evening’s education session is D&B Engineering of New Jersey, Inc. Thank you to John P. Taguer and Jeff Barat. Tonight’s educational topic is Gas Driven Engines and Cooling Systems. The scheduled presenter, Mr. Jeff Glick, Regional Sales Manager of Tecogen, Inc., was delayed in Boston at Logan Airport due to bad weather and could not attend our meeting. The alternate present was Mr. Jeff Barat. Mr. Barat is a principal at D&B Engineering, Bloomfield, New Jersey, with a twenty-five year history in the HVAC industry.
The topic, Gas Driven Engines and Cooling Systems, will allow healthcare institutions to use natural gas driven engines to significantly reduce their energy costs. The Power Point presentation was supplemented by extensive literature handed out at the meeting as well as questions from our members. For more information, visit www.tecogen.com or contact D&B Engineering, Inc., 444 J.F. Kennedy Drive, Bloomfield, New Jersey, 07003.
To help with financing your project, check out New Jersey’s Smart Start Building Programs at the B.P.U.
DINNER BREAK AT 7:00 P.M.
HMFSNJ ELECTIONS
SLATE OF OFFICERS FOR 2006
Oscar Gonzales, CHFM, submitted this Slate of Officers for consideration for our leadership team in 2006. They are as follows:
President: John DiGirolomo, CHFM
President-elect: Benedict DiFranco, CHFM
Treasurer: Robert Thompson
Secretary: Mark Ligon
The election will be held next month at our General Membership meeting on Thursday, October 20, 2005 at the Galloping Hill Inn, Union, N.J.
CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAW REVIEW
PROPOSED CHANGES FOR 2006
Mr. Robert Neuman submitted a draft of the proposed Constitution and By-Laws. This is the first reading of the changes. A discussion ensued on a few of the points, most notably Article VII. There was an Ad Hoc Committee appointed to create new language to make the intent and spirit of Section 1 become more understandable. Mr. Peter Schmidt led the discussion group in its efforts to clarify the issue.
There were significant changes in Articles V, VI and VII. These changes can be found at our website. Members should review and comment on these changes.
SECRETARY’S REPORT
Ben DiFranco, CHFM, was not able to attend tonight’s meeting. Please submit all reports electronically to Mr. DiFranco.
TREASURER’S REPORT
We are solvent. Treasurer’s report accepted and subject to audit. The first 2006 dues mailing will go out October 15, 2005. The mailing will include e-mail and post office mail. Please get your check in early.
MEMBERSHIP
Mr. Peter Appelmann reports there are no new members present to propose for new membership at tonight’s meeting.
AD JOURNAL
Mrs. Margaret Nesby of Living Hardware reported she is ready to go to press. There are some last-minute items to do but she will take ads for a few more days. The membership application will be included. The distribution to all members will take place in January, 2006 at our regular meeting. Next year’s deadline to place an ad in the Ad Journal will be June 15, 2006.
EDUCATION AND EVENTS CALENDAR
John DiGirolomo, CHFM, reported the following items:
ADVOCACY/ASHE ADVOCACY LIASON
Robert Roop, P.E., reported on the successful lobbying effort to obtain the right of a facility to repair, maintain and test its sprinkler systems.
The Delaware Valley group of Healthcare Engineers reported that the Philadelphia Fire Marshall was asking about an effort of the Federal Homeland Security to provide “shelter in place” plans. Has there been any activity in New Jersey regarding this issue?
Robert has heard that the JCAHO is discussing the 2005 edition of the NFPA 110 requirement in chapter 8 (8.4.9). That “Level 1 EPSS shall be tested for the duration of its assigned class (See Section 4.2) for at least 4 hours every 36 months.” Studies have showed that many generators fail after 45 minutes. Actual power outages lasting 45 or more minutes will qualify as the required test. The generator testing is not an advocacy issue at this time, but was brought up as an item of interest for the membership.
JCAHO is moving toward mandating Part 4 of your SOC be transmitted annually via e-mail. Included in this will be any basic building changes.
ASHE
Mr. Joe Rawson reported the convention in Anaheim was a financial success.
ASHE is looking for volunteer advisors to work on NFPA99, Standard for Healthcare Facilities. If you have the time to become a volunteer advisor you can obtain the ASHE volunteer form at: http://www.ashe.org/ashe/codes/nfpa/jsp/reengnfpa099volunteer.jsp. For more information you can also visit ASHE’s website at www.ASHE.org.
The last week in October is set aside for Healthcare Engineers Week. It is an excellent time to plan a lunch for your employees. Presenting them with a small token of your appreciation for their hard work is worth doing.
It is time to begin to think about your nomination for the regional leaders. This is an annual event, culminating in April.
LEVELS OF AFFILIATION
The Levels of Affiliation Report, an effort spearheaded by Oscar Gonzalez, CHFM, once again gave us the gold award. The ground work for the 2006 Levels of Affiliation has been put in place by Oscar. He will not undertake that task again. A round of applause was given to Oscar for all of the years of dedicated, hard work he has put into this project.
There was discussion between some of our members and Mr. Joe Rawson, the Region II Representative, regarding the strategy for obtaining the new Platinum Award. It seems, to a few members, that it is a plan not well thought out.
SAFETY
Mr. James Corueil submitted electrical safety information reflecting NFPA 70E and OSHA. The handout is attached hereto and made a part hereof as if set forth at length.
NEWSLETTER
Roger Shults is working hard on publishing our newsletter, The Blueline. He reminded us all that his job is to edit items for a paper, not create the paper by himself. Therefore, he needs articles. He said that the quality of the Blueline is a reflection of the quality of the members of this organization.
EAB
John Schliewenz, A.I.A., was not able to attend this meeting. He did not submit a report to be entered into the record.
SOCIAL JUSTICE
Frank Keller announced the next Bridges run is October 21, 2005. Your donation of clothing, food, toiletries and your time would be welcomed. We are beginning our toy drive in October. New, unopened toys will be collected at the door at next month’s meeting. Collected toys will go to the Marines’ Toys for Tots campaign. There will be an e-mail notification including Ms. Berkeyheiser’s address and directions to the house.
Frank is working with a group named Advent which is collecting items for the relief of the victims of hurricane Katrina. The items that are especially important are for babies. Things like formula and diapers are desperately needed. Frank will send a truck out for large donations.
Of concern to many of our members is the well being of Viola Berkeyheiser. It was announced that her house is just about ready for a coat of paint. A painting party will go to her house on Saturday, October 8, 2005. The paint will already be there. Please bring brushes, rollers, etc.
GOLF OUTING
Roger Ennis is willing to take on the task of organizing this event again in 2006. He will see us in March regarding this event. Thank you Roger.
WEBSITE
We need more control on our content. There were objections to some pictures on the website that were taken at our “Day at the Races.” The permission to enter content must come from an officer of this organization.
VENDOR LIASON
Ms. Mary Padgett was absent and there was nothing to report.
PUBLIC RELATIONS
Mr. George Thomas has nothing to report.
DOH UPDATES
No hospital member in attendance tonight had recent surveys.
JCAHO UPDATES
The Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, Hamilton Campus, is currently undergoing a JCAHO inspection. Mike DePadova will have a full and complete report at the next meeting for the members.
One outstanding issue on the minds of the surveyors was that of wall penetrations. Mike reports the surveyors followed the exit corridor walls and fire/smoke partitions looking for unfilled holes. He reports that the surveyors he is dealing with seem to be well-versed in the LSC.
Another issue while on the building tour was that of latching doors. They had to check a fairly large amount of doors to find one that would not latch. Storage in corridors was another hot item. Good luck to Mark Ligon and Mike DePadova in their inspection.
OLD BUSINESS
Mr. Louis Schoen, District Account Manager, Environmental Hygiene Services, was given a Certificate of Appreciation for his help in working the June 16, 2005, program with Mr. Anthony Monaco. H is expertise in many environmental issues was a great help in fielding the question that night. Thank you Mr. Schoen.
NEW BUSINESS
A motion was made and approved to send $2,000 to the Healthcare Engineering Association in Louisiana. Joe Rawson will contact his Ashe counterpart for that region and obtain for us a name and address to which we can send out the money.
GOOD OF THE ORDER
The Healthcare Facilities Management Association of Delaware Valley will have a fall 2005 conference with Mr. Gary Slack as the guest speaker. Mr. Slack is well-known to the healthcare community. For details to go: www.hfmadv.org.
Mr. Richard A. Schnieder of the Lew Corporation gave us a fast run down on a new N.J. law regarding dealing with lead, specifically lead based paint. If you have a residential setting as a temporary shelter then you must test for lead paint and train your staff to use safe work practices when dealing with lead based paint. For more information on this important and timely environmental law in the State of New Jersey go to www.nj.gov, click on “Legislature” and enter the search word. You can also contact Richard A. Schneider at the Lew Corp by telephone (908) 654-8068, via website at www.lewcorp.com, or via e-mail at tschneider@lewcorp.com.
John DiGirolomo said that monetary donations for healthcare workers can be sent to Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama via the website: www.thecarefund.org.
[webmaster's note: At the time of this posting, the web site for www.thecarefund.com is inoperable. A notice indicating that the domain needs to be renewed is all that is available. I will leave the link in the case they resolve this problem at some time in the near future.]
MEETING ADJOURNED AT 9:30 P.M.