March 2020 Meeting Minutes

Robertson County Health Council

March 11, 2020

Members Present:  Anne Marie Bryant, Lisa Cobb, Jennifer Dusky, Rachel Ellis, Stephanie Evans, Donny King, Lauren Patterson, Asailio Timmermeier

Members Absent: Tony Cowan, Brad Edwards, Kathy Finley, Danielle Frazier, Rachel Goodman, Kelley Harris, Crystal Lemus, Rebecca Macfarlane, Ryan Martin, Johnny Norton, Jackie Pipes, Jackie Rawls

Staff:  Shirley Corker (Community Development Coordinator)

Guests:  Ashley Clinard (Cheatham Health Dept.), Amber Hester, Sara Evans, and LaSoya Mullins, (Robertson County Schools), Ray Render (Congressman John Rose 6^th District), Margaret Smith (RHA Health Services), Maria Smith (TAADAS), Candice Tillman (City/ Public Affairs Coordinator), Megan Williams (Cohen Clinic)

Business:  The meeting was called to order by Community Development Coordinator Shirley Corker.

Housekeeping/Announcements:

• Welcome was extended and introductions were made.
• The February 12, 2020 minutes were approved with a motion from Lauren Patterson and a second from Stephanie Evans.
• Appreciation was extended to 24-Catering for their meal and presentation of the food. 

New Business:

• School social worker Jennifer Dusky gave an overview of what social workers do an addition to distributing a handout called Social Workers. She listed their job tasks as:
  • working on attendance 
  • removing student barriers
  • putting services in place for students
  • identifying homeless
  • paying for caps and gowns and extra things students need
  • supplying food
  • sending food home for spring break
  • provide mental health referrals
  • use school van to transport children to doctor’s appointment
  • assist with glasses
  • attend disciplinary hearings
  • apply for resources for family needs

Ms. Dusky noted there were currently 349 students identified as homeless in the Robertson County School System. Ms. Dusky answered several questions from Members and quests.

• The applications of Health Department Director Rachel Ellis and Robertson County School Social Worker Jennifer Dusky were presented for membership. Each applicant was asked to share some information about them. A motion was made by Ace Timmermeier with a second to accept by Lauren Patterson.

Old Business:

•  Maria Smith gave an update on the Interfaith Recovery Coalition. Celebrate Recovery continues to meet every Thursday. Pastor Ron is looking to add another Alcoholic Anonymous group and is reaching out to other churches and groups. Copies of a Robertson County Recovery Meetings list is available that lists the dates, times and locations of all the meetings.   
• Lisa Cobb gave a brief report on My Father’s House. The shelters are not being heavily attended. Mostly it is men using the service although there are a few women. They have received their non-profit status and are in hopes of being able to get their own facility.

Laundry Love has received a donation to buy a portable shower to be used in Robertson County.

The need for affordable housing was discussed. Donny King was asked to invite Seth Hudson, Director of the Robertson County Housing Authority to the April or May meeting of the Health Council.

• Health Department Director Rachel Ellis announced the position of Health Educator was open at the Robertson County Health Department. She would like to hire someone from the county. She asked that if they knew anyone that might be interested to please let them know. 
• Various announcements of upcoming events were given by members prior to members breaking into their 3 groups to work on their established goals. Each group was asked to record their minutes.  Below are their notes.

Health and Wellness Committee

Interfaith Recovery Coalition (given by Maria Smith earlier in the meeting)

Drug Prevention Coalition (report will be given by Ace Timmermeier)

CASA of Robertson County is having their annual Human Foosball Tournament during the Discover White House event at White House Heritage High School on April 18^th. Teams of five can register by emailing casaofrobertsoncounty@gmail.com. This is a great way to be active and support a local organization!  We are still promoting the RCSTN Challenge which is a family friendly 5K and 1 mile fun run that supports Robertson County Schools! We encourage everyone to like, follow and share RCSTN Challenge on Facebook and Twitter and sign up for the race!

• Robertson County Extension is still taking applications for a health volunteer training that begins April 7^th. Participants receive 40 hours of education and in return, provide 40 hours of volunteer service. We are hoping to have more trained volunteers in Robertson County to serve in areas that are needed in the community and that they are passionate about whether it is youth substance abuse prevention, physical activity, etc. These volunteers could be very useful in helping with health council initiatives. Please contact Lauren Patterson at lpatte20@utk.edu for more information.
• No updates on NAMI.
•  For youth development opportunities, Robertson County 4-H has many overnight and day camp opportunities this summer for 4^th grade and up. Scholarships are available for some camps. Contact Kathy Finley at kfinley@utk.edu.

Please note during our committee breakouts “Vulnerable Populations” (Danielle Frazier is the lead, but was out at a conference today) discussed the following:

• Health & Wellness Fair at Vol State happening March 26^th 10A-2P.  If interested in participating, please contact Nik by emailing her:  angela.mabry@volstate.edu
• Child Abuse Awareness Seminar at Highland Crest scheduled for March 27^th 8A-12P; information forwarded to you in a separate email. 

Lead-Rachel Goodman

Attendees-Kathy Finley, Donny King, Ray Render, Meghan Williams, a new person and Maria Smith.

· Ray was not sure if Rebecca or Rachel went to the radio station to talk about the Robertson County Health Council and upcoming events to share with the community. We will follow up by the next meeting.

· We will check on the Recovery Meetings being placed on the website for the community to review. 

·  Also, making sure we can get the revised list to the library.

·  We are getting several more Celebrate Recovery meetings in the area. 

·  We had a discussion about utilizing each media to make the community aware of changes or events for the future. We are not sure if this information will go to Rachel or someone else each month to update the website. 

·  We discussed attending the First Friday event which will start on May 1, 2020 and using different media to share this information with the community.

We will follow up with Rachel for an update. 

Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 1:30 pm.