Meeting Minutes Details
Commonwealth Neurotrauma Initiative
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Meeting Minutes: June 25, 2003
Members Present
- Jim Rothrock Commissioner, Virginia Department of Rehabilitative Services
- Jay McLaughlin Survivor
- Pat Tiernan Tree of Life
- John Ward, M.D. VCU Health System
- Doug Harris Virginia Department of Health
- Philip Brown City of Charlottesville Police Department
- Robert Boyd, II disAbility Resource Center
Staff
- Sandra Prince Virginia Department of Rehabilitative Services
Guests
- Patricia Goodall Virginia Department of Rehabilitative Services
- Eleanor Williams Virginia Department of Rehabilitative Services
The Commonwealth Neurotrauma Initiative (CNI) Advisory Board met for a regular quarterly business meeting at the Department of Rehabilitative Services, 8004 Franklin Farms Drive, Richmond, Virginia. John Ward, Chair, convened the meeting at 9:45 AM.
Public Comment Period
A public comment period was held. Patti Goodall announced that effective July 1, 2003, Sandra Prince will be retiring and will be employed by the Assistive Technology Loan Fund Authority (ATLFA). The Board members congratulated Ms. Prince on her retirement and new position, and thanked her for providing excellent staff support to the CNI Advisory Board.
Approval of December 11, 2002 Minutes
Philip Brown made a motion to approve the minutes of the December 11, 2002 meeting; the motion passed unanimously.
Financial Report
Dr. Ward requested that Eleanor Williams provide the financial report to the Board prior to reviewing and awarding funding to the research grant proposals. Eleanor Williams provided a current revenue report, a current financial report, and a cash in and disbursements report of the CNI Trust Fund as of May 31, 2003. It was the consensus of the Board, after review of the financial reports, that the next Request for Proposal for Option B not be issued during the next grant cycle, but should be delayed until 2004.
Review of Grant Proposals
Sandra Prince provided the Board members with a matrix of the grant reviewers’ recommendations. Ms. Prince noted that the grant reviewers reviewed and scored each grant proposal based on the screening criteria from the RFP. She also noted that reviewer scores and recommendations are provided to the Board for their consideration, but that the Board has responsibility for final selection of grantees to be funded. The grant reviewers were comprised of medical doctors and doctorates in the field of brain and spinal cord injuries from major universities across the country.
The Board exercised its option to disqualify from consideration for funding any project that received an evaluation score of 70 or below. Three (3) proposals received a panel review score of 70 or below and were eliminated from further consideration. The Board also determined that three proposals did not meet the criteria for Option A research proposals and were not selected for further review.
The Board gave priority for funding to proposals that, in its opinion, responded most fully to the seven (7) funding priorities in the RFP. The Advisory Board awarded funding to the following:
- Virginia Commonwealth University, Medical College of Virginia,
- Richmond, VA (Dr. Thomas Reeves, Dr. Linda Phillips & Dr. John Povlishock)
- University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA (Dr. Alan Horwitz)
- Virginia Commonwealth University, Medical College of Virginia,
- Richmond, VA (Dr. Leslie Satin)
- University of Virginia, Kluge Children’s Hospital (Dr. Peter Patrick)
- Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA (Dr. Povlishock and Dr. Wei)
- Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA (Dr. Richard Kennedy)
- University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA (Dr. John Jane)
- University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA (Dr. John Kern)
Pat Tiernan moved that the eight Option A grant proposals selected for funding be approved; the motion carried unanimously. Dr. Ward abstained from voting on the proposals submitted by Virginia Commonwealth University.
Pat Tiernan suggested that the CNI Advisory Board consider holding a meeting at one of the funded Option A (research) grant sites (e.g., University of Virginia or Virginia Commonwealth University). Board members would then have an opportunity to speak with the researchers themselves. It was also suggested that Board members could visit the specific departments where the research is being conducted, which Dr. Ward felt would be a great way to hear the progress of specific research rather than through written reports that are submitted to the Board annually.
New Business
Michael Scione, Executive Director of the Assistive Technology Loan Fund Authority (ATLFA), joined the Board meeting via telephone to discuss his request that the CNI Advisory Board consider transferring $200,000 in CNI funds, from state entity to state entity. The funds would be used as a cash match to be used by the ATLFA to apply for federal funding to establish a loan fund for people with disabilities, including people with brain injury and spinal cord injury. After much discussion, it was the consensus of the Advisory Board that an opinion should be obtained from the Office of the Attorney General regarding the Board’s authority to exercise such an option. Dr. Ward stated that the Advisory Board will provide an answer to the ATLFA once a definitive legal opinion is received.
Michael Scione, Executive Director of the Assistive Technology Loan Fund Authority (ATLFA), joined the Board meeting via telephone to discuss his request that the CNI Advisory Board consider transferring $200,000 in CNI funds, from state entity to state entity. The funds would be used as a cash match to be used by the ATLFA to apply for federal funding to establish a loan fund for people with disabilities, including people with brain injury and spinal cord injury. After much discussion, it was the consensus of the Advisory Board that an opinion should be obtained from the Office of the Attorney General regarding the Board’s authority to exercise such an option. Dr. Ward stated that the Advisory Board will provide an answer to the ATLFA once a definitive legal opinion is received.Sandra Prince provided the Board members with by-laws revisions to bring the Advisory Board into compliance with the legislative change that transferred responsibility of the CNI Trust Fund from the Department of Health to the Department of Rehabilitative Services. Doug Harris requested that on page 1, Article II, under Purpose, the wording be changed to "in coordination with the Commissioner". Mr. Harris also requested that on page 3, Article IV, Meetings, Section 2, the wording be changed to "Meeting notices shall be submitted and published in accordance with the law." A motion was made by the Chair that the Board accept the revised bylaws as amended. The motion was seconded by Doug Harris; it passed unanimously.
Jim Rothrock discussed with the Advisory Board the possibility of issuing "solicited grant proposals" in which the Board identifies specific areas of need. Mr. Rothrock stated that many boards id
