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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 02-18-1997 - 8h ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Action Agenda Item No. A--b- ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: February 18, 1997 SUBJECT: Temporary Project Coordinator - Orange County Healthy Carolinians Task Force DEPARTMENT: HEALTH PUBLIC HEARING: Yes X No BUDGET AMENDMENT: X Yes No ATTACHMENT(S) : INFORMATION CONTACT: HEALTH DIRECTOR' S OFFICE X2411 1 . Letter from the Orange County Healthy Carolinians Task Force. TELEPHONE NUMBER: Hillsborough - 732-8181 2 . Memorandum to John Link - Chapel Hill - 968-4501 proposal for a temporary project Mebane - 227-2031 coordinator for the Healthy Durham - 688-7331 Carolinians Task Force. 3. An abstract from the Orange County Community Health Assessment, September 1996. PURPOSE: To approve a half-time temporary project coordinator in the Health Department to serve the Orange County Healthy Carolinians Task Force through June 30, 1997. The main outcome of the coordinator' s work will be to assist the task force to select priority issues from the list in the attached letter and prepare a health improvement plan based on the results of the task force meetings. BACKGROUND: At previous meetings, the Board of County Commissioners has appointed the Orange County Healthy Carolinians Task Force and approved of a plan for the Health Department to participate in jointly funding a contract with the School of Public Health and UNC Hospitals to conduct the Community Health Assessment. A summary of the report, which was completed in September of 1997, is attached. The Task Force has met on several occasions and prioritized the list in the attached letter from the Chair, Moses Carey. The results of the community assessment an prioritization process will be presented at a work session of the Board of Commissioners on March 13, 1997. The assessment phase of the Task Force' s work has been concluded. The next step is for the Task Force to establish a Health Improvement Plan to address the problems identified. 2 The institutional partners on the Steering Committee of the Task Force, namely, UNC Hospitals, the School of Public Health and the orange County Health Department, have agreed that a temporary part-time coordinator is needed to manage the activities of the Task Force through the planning phase ending June 30, 1997. The partners have agreed to contributed Three Thousand dollars ($3, 000) each and have asked the Health Department to be the supervisor of this phase of the project. The Health Department funds would come from the Kellogg grant rather than the general fund. The Board of Health reviewed this proposal at its meeting of January 30, 1997, and approved this plan. The details of the plan are outlined in the attached memorandum to John Link. RECOMMENDATION (S) : The Manager recommends that the half-time temporary program coordinator be approved in the Health Department provided that the Kellogg grant is used to fund the Health Department' s share and UNC Hospitals and the School of Public Health agree to fund $3, 000 dollars each toward the project costs. 3 Task Force: Orange County Healthy Carolinians Task Force -dg . ;"' , Moses Carey,Chair Rev.George Allison Leo Allison Glenda Andrews Fletcher Barber Jimmy Barnes Fred Battle Mary Beck Ned Brooks December 2, 1996 Alan Cross Anita Daniels Nate Davis Dear Healthy Carolinians Task Force, Tara Fikes Beverly Foster Thanks to all who were able to join us last month at the Kenan Center for the Rev.Sharon Freeland Orange Co lin ty Health y Carolinians Priority S ett mg activities. I appreciate the time and Joseph Gatewood Joe Hakan effort that Task Force members dedicated to learning about leading health issues in Orange Paul Halverson County and participating in priority setting. Ann Hamner Frances Hargraves Through the voting process,the Task Force selected 11 priority health issues from Joel Harper Lorna Harris an original list of 48 issues impacting health and well being. These health priorities were William C.Harrison selected on the basis of their impact on the health of Orange County residents and the Rev.L.Gene Hatley willingness of the community to address the problems. Below is a list of those eleven H.Garland Hershey priorities in descending order of perceived importance,as indicated by our voting: Richard House Belinda Jones Albert Kittrell Priority Issues for Orange County Health Improvement Eileen Kugler Dan Lehman 1. Child abuse and neglect Teme Levbarg Rev.J.R.Manley 2. Substance abuse Torn Maynard 3. Poor parenting skills Donna Mebane 4.Health insurance coverage Charles Milch 5. Poverty rates among minorities Eric Munson 6. Availability and use of preventive services Robert Morgan Connie Mullinix 7. Teen pregnancy Neil Pedersen 8. Availability and use of prenatal care Lindy Pendergrass 9. Illegal drug sales Alice Pettitt 10. Sexual assault Peggy Pollitzer 11. AIDS awareness and education Marti Pryor-Cook Karen Raleigh Dan Reimer Planning is underway for the next meeting at which the Task Force will decide Jill Rigsbee how Orange County can best address the priority health issues we have identified. You Karen Rose will be notified as soon as the details are arranged. Susan Russell Wendy Sarratt Bob Seymour Thanks again to all who have contributed to the Healthy Carolinians Task Force Joann Shirer activities. I am pleased by the progress we are making toward community health Ed Siebert improvement. Philip Singer Susan Spalt Sincerely, Ron Strauss y, Lacey Tinnen p { Nick Waters J � I Cumilla White Gloria Williams Moses Carey Institutional Partners. Chair,Healthy Carolinians Task Force Orange County Health Department UNC Hospitals UNC School of Public Health Center for Public Health Practice,Campus Box 7400, Rosenau Hall, 4 ' MEMORANDUM To: John Link, County Manager Elaine Holmes, Personnel Director From: Daniel Reimer, Health Director Re Re: Request to Establish a Temporary, Half-time Position of Project Coordinator to Staff the Healthy Carolinians Task Force Date: January 27, 1997 On October 2,1995, the Board of County Commissioners approved a contract between the health department and the UNC School of Public Health to conduct a community health assessment for the Healthy Carolinians Task Force. The School and UNC Hospitals, as Institutional partners in the Task Force, also contributed to the cost of the assessment which was completed in September of 1996. A summary of the report is attached for your reference. The Task Force reviewed the study and has prioritized the top health issues as reflected in the attached letter from the Chairman of the Task Force, Moses Carey. This concludes the assessment phase of the process. The next step for the Task Force is to establish a health improvement plan to address the problems identified. Because of the hospital involvement, Duke Endowment funds may be available to fund the implementation stage. In addition, the Secretary of DEHNR has requested funds in the Governor' budget to provide a coordinator for each health department that has a Healthy Carolinians Task Force. In the interim, each partner has agreed to contribute three thousand dollars to fund a temporary project coordinator from February through June of 1997. The Health department share is available in the Project Grant for the Community Based Public Health Initiative (116420010). The intention is for this position to end upon completion of the health improvement plan. For this planning phase of the work of the Task Force, we would like to place the coordinator position with the Health Department. I am requesting the position as a Public Health Educator I whose major responsibility will be to facilitate and manage community planning activities undertaken by the Task Force. The coordinator will work with representatives from the leadership group. Duties will include the following: 1. Plan and organize the meetings of the Steering Committee and Task Force. Attend meetings and recod the results. 2. Maintain positive relations with all members of the Task Force and facilitate their active participation in community health improvement planning activities. 3. Prepare and disseminate written reports to the Steering Committee and Task Force. 5 4. Coordinate final production of Community Health Assessment Report and the Health Improvement Plan. 5. Prepare reports and proposals for review by the Steering Committee and Task Force. 6. Plan and coordinate media coverage for the project. Outcomes: The major outcome to be accomplished by this position is the development of a written health improvement plan with strategies action steps and a timetable. The plan will incorporate input from the partnership of individuals, organizations, institutions, and government agencies to improve the health status of Orange County citizens through addressing the most critical issues from the areas of concern which have been prioritized by the Task Force: 1. child abuselpoor parenting skills 2. substance abuse/illegal drug sales 3. health insurance coverage/poverty rates among minorities 4. availability and use of preventive services including prenatal care 5. sexual assault 6. AIDS awareness/education The most critical of these are to be determined fiather in the process. Qualifications: Candidates should have training in public health and excellent skills in organization, written and oral communication, interpersonal relations, computer(word processing and making graphs);Masters Degree in public health education preferred. Duration of Appointment: from January 27 -June 30, 1997 Cost: Temporary Health Educator I Salary+FICA $6114 (20 hours/week for 19 weeks @ $13/hour) Operating Expenses 2,886 Total Cost $9,000 Revenue: Each Partner will contribute$3,000 (Orange County Health Department, UNC School of Public Health, UNC Hospitals) L:am12000%edtemp Ldoc 6 ORANGE COUNTY COMMUNITY HEALTH ASSESSMENT Preliminary Report to the Orange County Healthy Carolinians Task Force September 1996 Project supported by the Orange County Health Department, UNC Hospitals and the UNC-CH School of Public Health o(� UNC •l CI.p.I Hill Community Health Assessment is an opportunity to gather information on a host of issues impacting the health and well being of county residents. The aim is to extract key messages from abundant sources of information and compile them in a single document that can be used as the basis for objective decision making. Specifically, the Healthy Carolinians Task Force will use the findings from the Community Health Assessment to identify priority problems warranting action through future community health improvement initiatives. The findings should also be helpful in the policy making and planning activities of health and human service organizations serving Orange County. Overview-of The Community Health Assessment is based on a broad concept of"health.". The Community Health Assessment team began by looking at basic "biomedical" health measures, such as the leading causes of death , the number of persons hospitalized for specific diseases, or the proportion of babies born with a healthy birth weight. Mental health was included as important measure of an individual's well being. Oral (dental) health was also recognized as an significant public health issue; data on oral health currently being compiled will be included in subsequent presentations and drafts of this report. The assessment team explored the factors that help to explain health status indicators by gathering information on the "health behaviors" of Orange County residents. It posed questions like, "What percentage of children are fully immunized by age 27" "What proportion of residents smoke?" "What proportion of Orange County women give birth with the advantage of adequate prenatal care?" The assessment team turned to the community to expand the definition of health. Citizens throughout the county were asked to name the issues that impact health and well being in their communities. County residents spoke out about problems that might be considered "social ills," such as 8 snapshot at a time. Several mechanisms are used to aid the reader in drawing conclusions about health issues that may warrant attention. In many cases, statistics are presented for multiple years to allow the reader to see whether a particular situation has improved or deteriorated over time. Secondly, statistics for Orange County are frequently presented alongside averages for North Carolina as a whole. This format permits the reader to identify areas in which Orange County is exceeding or falling short of state averages. Third, many graphs and tables include the Healthy Carolinians 2000 or Healthy People 2000 objective for that particular health issue. These are health objectives established at the state or national level, respectively, that serve as targets for population-based health improvement initiatives. The following is an example of a Healthy Carolinians objective: "Reduce the percentage of regular smokers in grades 11 and 12 to 9%. This report includes Healthy Carolinians 2000 (whenever available) or Healthy People 2000 objectives so that the reader can see how close we are to state or national objectives. ,Suggested approach for interpreting report In its current form, this document may only be viewed as a preliminary Community Health Assessment report. Three important steps must be taken to finalize the report. 1. Orange County residents must assist in completing information gathering. While the authors of this report have made every effort to present information fairly and completely, additional community input will help to create an even more accurate portrait of the county's health status and health promotion resources. This preliminary report will be circulated among the members of the Orange County Healthy Carolinians Task Force. Key findings will be presented at a public meeting in early September. Results will also be shared with the community through newspaper articles and other media features. In each case, community members will be encouraged to offer feedback in response g The Physical, Social, and Economic Context Fast Facts • The most recent population estimate of Orange County is just under 106,000. • As of the 1990 census, the population is 81% White, 16 % African American, and 2.5% Asian. An estimated 1.4% of the population identified themselves as being of Hispanic origin. • Based on North Carolina population projections, Orange County is expected to grow 25% between 1983 and 2000. • As of June 1995, the unemployment rate for the Orange County was estimated at 2.2%, compared to 4.7% for North Carolina. • An estimated 22% of Orange County African Americans are living in poverty, compared to 12% of Whites. • There are 13 public housing complexes in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, home to approximately 900 low income Orange County residents. Orange County Health Assessment 7 10 Chronic Illness Fast Facts • In Orange County, 5 of the 10 leading causes of death are chronic diseases; cancer, heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, and diabetes. • Orange County's total cancer incidence rate surpasses the state. Meanwhile, the Orange County cancer death rates is lower than the North Carolina average. • Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related death in Orange County. In fact, lung cancer alone is second only to heart disease as the leading cause of death. • Orange County has met the Healthy People 2000 target of no more than 20.6 breast cancer deaths per 100,000 women. • Orange County Nonwhite males die from prostate cancer approximately 2.5 times more frequently than White males. • Heart disease is the leading cause of mortality among Nonwhite females and Whites males in Orange County. Orange County Hearth Assessment 45 � 11 Substance Abuse Fast Facts • Orange County residents recognize drug and alcohol use as a leading problem impacting the well being of the community. • Drug and alcohol treatment was the third leading cause for hospitalization of Orange County residents between 1989 and 1994, surpassed only by maternity care and mental health services. • In 1994 there were 580 arrests for driving while intoxicated and 314 arrests for drug-related crimes. Orange County Health Assessment 73 t 12 Accidents and Injuries Fast Facts • Unintentional injuries, including those caused by motor vehicle accidents, are the leading cause of death for Orange County residents ages 20 to 39. • Between 1985 and 1994, 250 Orange County deaths were classified by the medical examiner as "accidental." The majority of these occurred in car accidents. • The 1991-93 motor vehicle death rate for Orange County residents ages 15 to 24 was 16.0 per 100,000. This is half the North Carolina average of 33.6. • The most recently calculated injury death rate (1991-1993) was 53.1 per 100,000 persons, compared to 66.0 for North Carolina. The Healthy Carolinians 2000 Objective is to reduce the rate to no more than 61.4. Orange County Health Assessment 91 13 Children and Youth Fast Facts • An estimated 30% of pre-school aged African American children live in poverty, compared to 9% of White children. • In 1994, there were 828 reported cases of child abuse and neglect and 336 substantiated cases. • The Orange County Rape Crisis Center responded to the needs of 54 children in 1993 and 45 children in 1994. • In the Orange County school systems, the nurse to student ratio is approximately 1 to 1900. • The Healthy People 2000 Objective with respect to childhood asthma is to reduce hospitalizations for asthma among children age birth to 14 to no more than 225 per 100,000 people. Orange County's 1992 hospitalization rate for childhood asthma was 97.5 per 100,000. These figures indicate that Orange County has fully achieved the Healthy People 2000 objective. Orange County Health Assessment 105 t 14 Lifestyles to Promote Health Fast Facts • 1 of every 4 respondents in a recent Orange County survey was a smoker. Males and Whites were most likely to be a current or former smoker. * 42% of Orange County residents report that they exercise at least three times per week, compared to 30% for North Carolina. Whites were more prone to exercise than Blacks; men and women had comparable.habits. • An estimated 70% of Orange County residents are trying to shed pounds or maintain their current weight. About three quarters rely on dietary measures; 61% use exercise to control their weight. • 70% of Orange County survey respondents report having had a routine check-up in the past year, a rate very close to the North Carolina average. A slightly higher proportion of rural residents than Chapel Hill residents had had a check-up in the past 12 months. • Women in Chapel Hill were more likely to have had a mammogram in the past year than their rural counterparts. Nearly 36% of Black female survey respondents over 40 years old had never had a mammogram, compared to 20% of their White counterparts. Orange County Health Assessment 1 1 g