BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: ACTING CHAIRPERSON KATHY OSBUN, GEORGE IRIZARY, PHYLLIS SANDS, BUD SUITER, MIKE LEMOLE, JOE HOOTMAN, DAVIS BROWN AND KAREN LOVVORN. ALSO ATTENDING WAS SUZANNE DEKOZAN.
CALL TO ORDER: The meeting of the Parkinson’s Support Group of Sonoma County (PSGSC) was called to order at 10:07 a.m. May 18, 2011, by Acting Chairperson Kathy Osbun.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Kathy Osbun read the minutes from the meeting of April 13, 2011. Those minutes were approved as read.
CALL TO ORDER: The meeting of the Parkinson’s Support Group of Sonoma County (PSGSC) was called to order at 10:07 a.m. May 18, 2011, by Acting Chairperson Kathy Osbun.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Kathy Osbun read the minutes from the meeting of April 13, 2011. Those minutes were approved as read.
TREASURER’S REPORT: The treasurer’s report was received as e-mailed to individual board members, along with a letter from Treasurer Sandy Grant. In the letter, Sandy explained that the monthly statement reflects a $100 amount that goes “in and out” of checking in order to maintain free checking. The letter also credits efforts by Kathy Osbun to mention the “donation jar” at meetings and, as a result, donations exceeded $100 in April and totaled $133 at the May meeting. A total of $81 was paid to PANC (Parkinson’s Association of Northern California) for one-time memberships of new board members, and $14.17 was issued for a replacement of a lost check for tapes used to record meetings. An amount of $500 was transferred from savings to checking to maintain a $1,000 balance for free checking. George Irizary asked why the $100 goes in and out rather than just remaining in checking along with the $500 transfer. In her letter to board members, Sandy said she would be available before or after the meeting to answer any questions that came up.
NON-PROFIT STATUS: Suzanne Dekozan, who later in the meeting was voted in as a new board member, was authorized to spend approximately $40.00 to purchase a Nolo Press publication on formation of a non-profit. The PSGSC currently is registered as a “federal” non-profit, but a certified public accountant (CPA) recently advised the board that we need to be recognized separately by the State of California as well. The motion for approval was made by Bud Suiter and seconded by Davis Brown. Also mentioned as a resource was The Non-Profit Assistance Group based in Sebastopol, which offers help in “getting and staying legal” as a non-profit.
PROGRAMS: Kathy Osbun reported that Madhavi Rao and Veronique Enos of the Michael J. Fox Foundation will be the speakers at the June 4, 2011, general meeting. They are slated to talk about developments in Parkinson’s Disease research and clinical trials.
MEETING WITH NEUROLOGISTS: A lengthy discussion dealt with plans to meet with several Sonoma County neurologists to explore ways to work with hospitals on urgent issues that affect patients with Parkinson’s Disease. The problems, as outlined in a power-point printed version presented by Suzanne Dekozan are:
“Severe lack of Neurologists, and no movement disorder specialists to serve PD patients in Sonoma County; reports of Parkinson’s patients being improperly treated while in hospital care; first responders’ lack of knowledge of PD and its proper treatment.”
Board member Karen Lovvorn said the perception of hospitals may be that only a small portion of the population has Parkinson’s Disease. “I know that we have a lot of people with PD.” Regarding difficulty getting PD medications while in a hospital setting, Karen intimated, “I’m a registered nurse and I hid them under my pillow.” Mike LeMole noted that it is imperative to space medications so that they are not taken at the same time as meals, which can cancel out their effectiveness.
The outcome of the discussion was for Davis Brown to set up a meeting with three neurologists with whom he has been in contact. Meeting with them will be Kathy Osbun, Davis Brown, Suzanne Dekozan. Also available for the meetings are George Irizary and Karen Lovvorn.
Rather than include discussion about a future Parkinson’s care center, it was decided to focus only on the medications and treatment issues in the meeting with the neurologists.
On a motion by Mike LeMole and seconded by Phyllis Sands, the board voted unanimously to reimburse Davis Brown $13.86 for copying the material presented to the board and, at a later date, to the neurologists.
NEW MEMBER: Kathy Osbun nominated Suzanne Dekozan for board membership. It was approved unanimously.
PRACTICAL PLOYS UPDATE: Joe Hootman, editor of the “Practical Ploys” booklet, said the support group’s library has four copies, three of which were checked out, and Mike LeMole will return his copy, to make a total of five available in the PSGSC library. Kathy suggested we wait until June to see how many copies come back before ordering another printing.
WOMEN’S GROUP: On a motion by Suzanne and seconded by Karen Lovvorn, Suzanne was authorized to establish a women’s group for women with Parkinson’s Disease and their supporters. Currently there is a Men’s Breakfast Club, which meets the first and third Fridays of each month, 8:30 a.m., at the IHOP restaurant near Fourth Street and Farmers Lane. Kathy Osbun will make an announcement about both the men’s and women’s groups at the June 4 general meeting.
HANDOUT: It was noted that the PSGSC tri-fold handout is due for revision and updating.
FUND RAISER: Kathy Osbun tabled until the next meeting a decision on when to hold a fund raiser at Mary’s Pizza. She said PSGSC could receive 20 per cent of the price of purchased dinners in a fund raising program available at Mary’s.
The board meeting was adjourned at 12 p.m. by Kathy Osbun. The above minutes are subject to approval at the next board meeting scheduled for Wednesday, June 15, 2011, at 10:00 a.m. at Emeritus (formerly Brighton Gardens), 300 Fountain Grove Parkway, Santa Rosa.
Respectfully Submitted.
George Irizary
Secretary, PSGSC
NON-PROFIT STATUS: Suzanne Dekozan, who later in the meeting was voted in as a new board member, was authorized to spend approximately $40.00 to purchase a Nolo Press publication on formation of a non-profit. The PSGSC currently is registered as a “federal” non-profit, but a certified public accountant (CPA) recently advised the board that we need to be recognized separately by the State of California as well. The motion for approval was made by Bud Suiter and seconded by Davis Brown. Also mentioned as a resource was The Non-Profit Assistance Group based in Sebastopol, which offers help in “getting and staying legal” as a non-profit.
PROGRAMS: Kathy Osbun reported that Madhavi Rao and Veronique Enos of the Michael J. Fox Foundation will be the speakers at the June 4, 2011, general meeting. They are slated to talk about developments in Parkinson’s Disease research and clinical trials.
MEETING WITH NEUROLOGISTS: A lengthy discussion dealt with plans to meet with several Sonoma County neurologists to explore ways to work with hospitals on urgent issues that affect patients with Parkinson’s Disease. The problems, as outlined in a power-point printed version presented by Suzanne Dekozan are:
“Severe lack of Neurologists, and no movement disorder specialists to serve PD patients in Sonoma County; reports of Parkinson’s patients being improperly treated while in hospital care; first responders’ lack of knowledge of PD and its proper treatment.”
Board member Karen Lovvorn said the perception of hospitals may be that only a small portion of the population has Parkinson’s Disease. “I know that we have a lot of people with PD.” Regarding difficulty getting PD medications while in a hospital setting, Karen intimated, “I’m a registered nurse and I hid them under my pillow.” Mike LeMole noted that it is imperative to space medications so that they are not taken at the same time as meals, which can cancel out their effectiveness.
The outcome of the discussion was for Davis Brown to set up a meeting with three neurologists with whom he has been in contact. Meeting with them will be Kathy Osbun, Davis Brown, Suzanne Dekozan. Also available for the meetings are George Irizary and Karen Lovvorn.
Rather than include discussion about a future Parkinson’s care center, it was decided to focus only on the medications and treatment issues in the meeting with the neurologists.
On a motion by Mike LeMole and seconded by Phyllis Sands, the board voted unanimously to reimburse Davis Brown $13.86 for copying the material presented to the board and, at a later date, to the neurologists.
NEW MEMBER: Kathy Osbun nominated Suzanne Dekozan for board membership. It was approved unanimously.
PRACTICAL PLOYS UPDATE: Joe Hootman, editor of the “Practical Ploys” booklet, said the support group’s library has four copies, three of which were checked out, and Mike LeMole will return his copy, to make a total of five available in the PSGSC library. Kathy suggested we wait until June to see how many copies come back before ordering another printing.
WOMEN’S GROUP: On a motion by Suzanne and seconded by Karen Lovvorn, Suzanne was authorized to establish a women’s group for women with Parkinson’s Disease and their supporters. Currently there is a Men’s Breakfast Club, which meets the first and third Fridays of each month, 8:30 a.m., at the IHOP restaurant near Fourth Street and Farmers Lane. Kathy Osbun will make an announcement about both the men’s and women’s groups at the June 4 general meeting.
HANDOUT: It was noted that the PSGSC tri-fold handout is due for revision and updating.
FUND RAISER: Kathy Osbun tabled until the next meeting a decision on when to hold a fund raiser at Mary’s Pizza. She said PSGSC could receive 20 per cent of the price of purchased dinners in a fund raising program available at Mary’s.
The board meeting was adjourned at 12 p.m. by Kathy Osbun. The above minutes are subject to approval at the next board meeting scheduled for Wednesday, June 15, 2011, at 10:00 a.m. at Emeritus (formerly Brighton Gardens), 300 Fountain Grove Parkway, Santa Rosa.
Respectfully Submitted.
George Irizary
Secretary, PSGSC
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