COUNCIL MEETING 5/2/11 #1

Since PlaintalkerII already has reported on IT Manager Payne's presentation, therefore any thoughts  today would be redundant.

The Plainfield Health Advisory Consortium was subject for discussion by both Councilors and public speakers before it was placed on next Monday's agenda. The City Health Officer explained that either a "Board of Health"  which had the capability of instituting and enforcing regulations (with out Council approval) or a Advisory Body which acts only in that manner, was a State requirement.  The Health officer has been on board for several years and yet the City has not been in compliance with State Regulations!. The Consortion is described in the City Code but last appeared  to be active in 1996 Its composition as described in the City Code consists of the following membership.

1. One Institutional Health Care Provider
2. One Community Health Care Provider
3. One Community Health Board Member.
4. One Community Physician
5. Two Community Health Consumers
6.  One member of the Council.

The Mayor nominated only four individuals to the Consortion. (An association or society), one Jenny Fischbein RN from the Neighborhood Health Center could fill position #1. Flemming a member of the Fire Department could be considered a Consumer whether he is a Plainfield resident or not since the third person Dr. Schaller is used by the city for Department Physical exams and compensation work.  And the fourth is an unknown quantity.

The Mayor when queered why only 4 appointees stated that she will add the three other names next month. Actually there is only two more needed since  the seventh is a Councillor.

As a Plainfield Citizen I find a problem  in trying to understand what the function of this "Consortium" is supposed to be.  Why an Physician who practices in Scotch Plains and performs functions for the City that was part of the defunct City Physician position and receives a substantial income from workman's compensation directed cases plus an unknown fee for employee physical exams, a physician whose hospital affiliation was to my knowledge never  with Muhlenberg  but Overlook can be considered as a Community Physician? Was there any out reach to physicians that live or maintain an office in Plainfield?

Where any of those  active in the restore MRMC considered much less contacted ?

This may seem to be small potatoes but there are too many question regarding the sudden emergence of this Consortium for action to be taken with deep consideration by the Council. It may be a stretch to suspect that there may be a connection with the fact that Solaris will probably terminate its SER in 2013.