The minutes of the September 12, 2003 Steering Committee were circulated in advance.

VOTED to approve the Minutes of the September 12, 2003 meeting of Partners for a Healthier Community as circulated.

The Financial report for September, 2003 was presented. There are funds in the general fund that were grant funds awarded to the Healthy Youth Task Force quite a few years ago. Billie Jane Valente is awaiting verification of the funds and will be addressing this at our next Steering Committee meeting.

VOTED to approve the Financial Report for September, 2003 as presented.

REPORT OF WORK GROUPS

The group will be meeting next week. Membership expansion is still a priority. The group will be working on a cultural diversity survey which will address barriers to health care. The survey will be translated into Portuguese, Spanish and Khmer. All members were given a draft of the survey for their review. The group would like to tie in prevention related topics.

Lifestyles did not meet for the summer. The group is working with Charlton to do health screenings on 10^th graders including cholesterol, blood pressure and health risks. This group will be followed until graduation. A nutritionalist and pharmacist will be educating students also. The walking project is still be considered. The Fall River School Department has received a substantial physical education grant to move traditional physical education away from a sports based emphasis to a wellness model. A wellness center will be put into Durfee High School.

Next meeting is October 22. A mailing has gone out targeting local agencies that are not represented encourage new members. The Mayor’s office has expressed interest in planning another Youth Forum and also some discussion of a youth center.

Maureen Ryan Estes joined our meeting. We have been presented with a grant opportunity through Harvard Pilgrim. The funding would tie in nicely with the Health City Initiative and its current projects. Future projects include a Healthy City Summit scheduled for February. This would mark the one year anniversary of the initiative featuring keynote speakers, small groups and a "report card" for the community as to what we have been doing throughout the year. The group is looking at a Fitness Fair for the spring. All of these events will be organized through the Mayor’s office, Partners and the Healthy City Initiative. These projects are all still doable without the grant money, but that would make things much easier, and also could provide for some in-kind services such as office space and equipment. Our group reviewed the grant proposal and made suggestions for minimal changes. It may also be helpful to obtain letters of support from legislators, the Mayor’s office and Partners.

The nominations are in and all award recipients have been notified. Lorraine Rosa will be contacting our legislative officers to confirm their attendance. There is a planning meeting this week and we should have a better idea about attendance. We have also advertised that organizations can put a display for a small fee. We will have a visual display of how the budget cuts have impacted the community.

Synergy will be having its annual meeting on November 21^st in Plymouth. The fee is $25.00 for the day with Loretta Laroche as a featured speaker.

Health First is have a fundraiser featuring Loretta Laroche on November 19^th. Tickets are $25.00 available through Health First or the Chamber of Commerce.