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Members Present:
Sandy Grant, Kathy Osbun, Gloria Stubbs, Arlene Irizary, George Irizary, Suzanne deKozan, David Getzoff, Art Rosenblum, Marc Alexander, Ann Walker, Davis Brown, Dana May Casperson and Barbara France
Call to Order:
The Regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the Parkinson’s Support Group of Sonoma County (PSGSC) was called to order at 10:10 a.m. by Chair, Kathy Osbun.
Approval of Minutes:
Minutes of the March 19, 2014 Board meeting were approved as read.
Treasurers Report:
Sandy presented the revised budget reflecting the changes made at the March 19 Board meeting.
Arlene stated that she thought that the expenses and income in the budget should be equalized and that the financial books should be set up on a program specifically designed for non-profit accounting. This would, Arlene added, help the group if a big donor came to be interested in supporting the group.
This led to a discussion of what sort of undertakings the group might take in the future.
After discussion, it was agreed that we would allocate 15 minutes at the May Board meeting to discuss strategic aims for the future. After that there might be a special meeting to further refine future plans.
Suzanne then made a motion to pass the revised budget as presented by Sandy, Gloria seconded the motion and the motion was passed on a voice vote.
Programs:
Marc said that speakers for 2014 are set and that he would like to pass out a survey at a general meeting in a few months time in order to gauge the interests of the larger group. This would guide him in searching out speakers for 2015.
Susan Wiegman spoke to the caregivers breakout group at the April general meeting and many felt that what she had to say about how caregivers could help their patients would be very important to the patient as well. Discussion revolved around when to have Susan speak to the PD breakout groups. After the speaker at the Feb. 2015, meeting was mentioned, and Kathy said she would talk with Susan.
Facilitator Workshop:
Sandy reported that the dates available for the Redwood Caregiver Workshop were May 30, June 13 and June 20, all at 10 a.m. Those interested in attending were Kathy, Marc, Sandy, Arlene, George, Ann, Suzanne, and Davis. This group decided that June 13 would be the best date. Those members will also ask members of the group who might be interested to join in the workshop as well.
Publicity and Library Resources:
We received a partial order from the National Parkinson’s Foundation but the Aware in Care kits have been delayed. The orders were confused somewhere along the line but Kathy and Arlene have worked through the confusion and all materials should arrive shortly.
Fundraising:
The Mary’s Pizza fundraiser brought in approximately $340. This is an increase over our last fundraiser in October 2013.
The next fundraiser will be April 24th at Johnny Garlic’s. We can put out brochures from the National Parkinson’s Foundation along with our own brochure. Marc will check to see if there is Michael J. Fox Foundation materials available for placement as well.
Dana May is sending press releases to KZST and the Press Democrat websites. The press release will direct people to the PSGSC website for coupons to present when dining. Everyone should have several coupons to give to friends and family.
At the Round Table Pizza fundraiser on May 7, those dining will present a coupon and the restaurant will discount their bill by 20%, it is then hoped that the diner will contribute that amount of money (or more) to PSGSC. We need to find out if we should have jars for contributions available. The Roundtable fundraiser includes both dine-in and to go orders but not on delivery orders. We will have 50 pages of coupons printed to be available at the May meeting.
There have been 200 tulip pins sold with 100 remaining.
Telemedicine:
Dana May has looked into some of the Doctors who are using the internet to consult with Parkinson’s patients. The Michael J. Fox Foundation is just getting their program underway and at present will have just a one time meeting with the patient.
Dana May spoke to Gillian Lowell at the University of Rochester where Dr. Dorsey will consult with patients every 3 to 6 months but does not want to be the primary physician. The consultations are conducted over Skype, they are approved for California and there is no cost because it is part of a clinical research trial.
Marc had investigated another trial at the University of Rochester, but it was being conducted by someone else as a clinical trial and not approved for California.
Dr. Huang is working with tele appointments but at present the consultations are not approved by Medicare and the cost to patient is $300. In addition the consultation must be carried out in the presence of a physician and take place in an office fitted to purpose.
Dr. Kandar is doing tele appointments for his patients at Kaiser over Skype. Dana May said that she would contact Mike Cohill to urge him to offer an equivalent service at Sutter.
Aware In Care:
Suzanne wants to take the Aware In Care kits into hospitals to help train staff on the importance of timeliness in medication for Parkinson’s patients. This falls under strategic planning and can be discussed at the May meeting.
Adjournment:
The meeting was adjourned at 12:00 by Chair, Kathy Osbun. The next meeting will be Wednesday, May 21, 2014, at Brush Creek Senior Living.
Respectfully submitted
Barbara France, Recording Secretary