Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Staff Reports topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Staff reports: accreditation resubmission, food code adoption, training plans and public-health surveillance updates
Summary
Staff updated the board on the public health accreditation resubmission, plans to adopt the FDA 2022 food code with ServSafe training, environmental health work (rats, ticks, sunscreen dispensers) and shared-service staffing vacancies.
Multiple staff reports at the meeting covered accreditation, food-safety training, environmental surveillance and staffing. Staff told the Board of Health they resubmitted the public health accreditation application after addressing reviewer feedback, will pursue adoption of the FDA 2022 food code with local ServSafe training in January, and reported surveillance updates on wastewater, rats, ticks and mosquito testing.
Lynn and Allison led an effort to resubmit the agency’s Public Health Accreditation Board application after reviewers requested clarifications on six documents; staff said they uploaded the resubmission and expect a site visit around Labor Day. Lynn noted some reviewer requests reflected differences in Massachusetts municipal accounting (general-fund appropriations versus the monthly revenue/expenditure format reviewers sought).
On food safety, staff said the Health Department plans to adopt the FDA 2022 food code early next year and will subsidize ServSafe Food Manager training and exam (participants to pay for the book, estimated at $73, while the town will cover training and exam fees). The department said it plans three training sessions, capacity for about 70 participants total, and will use grant funds previously set aside for training.
Environmental and program updates included: deployment of sunscreen dispensers at the pool and town common; rat-sighting mapping from a resident survey (heat map under development); no West Nile detections in town collections and a noted uptick in tick-borne disease diagnoses regionally; and the health department’s new Cepheid PCR machine for respiratory virus testing (COVID, influenza, RSV) to be promoted again when school season begins.
Staff also reported shared-service staffing vacancies (regional health agent and a training-hub role) and ongoing hiring for two positions; the department said it is adjusting position requirements to expand candidate pools. The board was also briefed on traveling meals and fundraising needs for Friends groups, and staff noted planned ServSafe alcohol trainings and peer recovery coaching activity.
No board action was required; staff will continue accreditation follow-up, finalize ServSafe training logistics, continue surveillance and proceed with hiring.
