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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBOH minutes 102815MINUTES-Final ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH October 28, 2015 S:\Managers Working Files\BOH\Agenda & Abstracts\2015 Agenda & Abstracts/ October Page 1 ORANGE COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT MISSION STATEMENT: To enhance the quality of life, promote the health, and preserve the environment for all people in the Orange County community. THE ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH MET ON October 28, 2015, at the Orange County Health Department, 300 West Tryon Street, Hillsborough, NC. BOARD OF HEALTH MEMBERS PRESENT: Susan Elmore, Chair; Liska Lackey, Vice Chair; Commissioner Mia Burroughs, Barbara Chavious, Dan Dewitya, Nick Galvez, Sam Lasris, Reena Mehta and Timothy Smith. BOARD OF HEALTH MEMBERS ABSENT: Paul Chelminski and Jessica Frega. STAFF PRESENT: Dr. Colleen Bridger, Health Director; Coby Austin, Senior Public Health Educator; Christy Bridges, Physician Assistant; Judy Butler, Community Health Services Supervisor, Alan Clapp, Environmental Health Director; Rebecca Crawford, Finance and Administrative Services Division Director; Regina D’Auria, Social Worker II; Dr. Michael Day, Dentist; Ashanti Farrington, Temporary Program Assistant; Kelly Franklin, Dental Assistant; Robin Gasparini, Nursing Supervisor; Dr. Stephanie George, Dentist; Rebekah Hermann, Whitted Clinic Manager; Andrew (AJ) May, Public Health Nurse; Pam McCall, Public Health Nursing Director; Jean McDonald, Family Nurse Practitioner; Dr. Julie Monaco, Physician; Stacy Shelp, Communications Manager; Meredith Stewart, Public Health Program Manager; and La Toya Strange, Administrative Assistant II. GUESTS PRESENT: Sarah Boland (UNC-CH student); Tammy Grubb (Chapel Hill News) I. Welcome Susan Elmore, Chair, introduced new BOH member, Timothy Smith. He gave a brief description of his background and expressed his appreciation for being appointed to serve on the Board. Dr. Bridger introduced new staff members: Regina D’Auria, Social Worker II; Ashanti Farrington, Temporary Program Assistant; Kelly Franklin, Dental Assistant; Robin Gasparini, Nursing Supervisor; Dr. Stephanie George, Dentist; and Andrew (AJ) May, Public Health Nurse. II. Public Comment for Items NOT on Printed Agenda: None III. Approval of the October 28, 2015 Agenda Motion was made by Sam Lasris to approve the agenda, seconded by Dan Dewitya and carried without dissent. IV. Action Items (Consent) A. Minutes Approval of September 23, 2015 Meeting MINUTES-Final ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH October 28, 2015 S:\Managers Working Files\BOH\Agenda & Abstracts\2015 Agenda & Abstracts/ October Page 2 Motion to approve Consent Agenda without corrections to the September 23, 2015 minutes was made by Dan Dewitya, seconded by Reena Mehta and carried without dissent. V. Educational Sessions A. School Immunization Rates Judy Butler, Community Health Services Supervisor, presented on the North Carolina immunization laws regarding exemptions and the immunization rates among Orange County, Chapel Hill-Carrboro and private schools. • In Orange County schools, 99.2% of students are fully vaccinated. • In Chapel Hill-Carrboro city schools, 98.7% of students are fully vaccinated. • In private schools, 93.2% of students are fully vaccinated. • In charter schools, 95.8% of students are fully vaccinated. Ms. Butler defined fully vaccinated as having all immunizations against vaccine-preventable diseases. She stated that while most parents support the immunization law, it’s still a parent’s choice as to whether they have their child vaccinated. Ms. Butler indicated that while a parent can request an exemption whether it is a medical or religious, they are not able to pick and choose which vaccinations they would like for their child to receive. Once a child has received one vaccine, they are expected to get all of them. There is one exception – the Hepatitis B vaccine because it is a blood-based product to which Jehovah Witnesses’ have a religious exemption. She continued by noting that a school with a rate of 99% vaccinated students may not have to exclude the non-immunized students from school if an outbreak of an illness occurs, whereas a school with few vaccinated students would. The BOH members had several questions that were addressed by Judy Butler. B. Smoke-Free Public Places Annual Report Coby Austin, Senior Public Health Educator, began by stating that the Smoke-Free Public Places (SFPP) Rule is one of the most comprehensive smoking bans in the nation. She stated that the Smoking Response Teams (SRT) continue to focus on education and empowerment. The SRTs have focused attention on reaching out to and supporting businesses in downtown Chapel Hill which is also where the highest number of violation complaints occur. The SRTs regularly communicate via social and traditional media as well as by reaching out to people directly. They’ve surveyed nearly 3,000 people since 2013 including 2182 residents. So far in 2015, 56% of residents are aware of the SFPP Rule versus 46% of them being aware during the first year of inception of the rule in 2013. Ms. Austin also gave an update on the activities of her and her team since the last update to the BOH in November 2014. • They continue to promote the SFPP rule through cessation efforts. Freshstart support classes are held at the OCHD and within the community. The OCHD now dispenses free Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) through its medical providers. Another MINUTES-Final ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH October 28, 2015 S:\Managers Working Files\BOH\Agenda & Abstracts\2015 Agenda & Abstracts/ October Page 3 cessation program, QuitlineNC, provides 8 weeks of free NRT to our clients through OCHD providers. With the launching of the OC Partners for Tobacco Cessation, focus has been given to the behavioral health clients in the community. • They continue to focus on high non-compliance areas. More permanent signage has been posted and several downtown Chapel Hill retailers have placed also placed signage in their storefront windows. • Enforcement through monitoring and responding to complaints is a continuous effort. The OCHD continues to send quarterly reports to key partners on reported violations and outreach efforts. • They continue to promote smoke-free multi-unit housing. Technical assistance was provided to Chapel Hill Public Housing as it considered adopting a smoke-free policy by conducting resident surveys at all 336 units, presenting results to their leadership, and providing Freshstart classes onsite. It is anticipated that HUD will soon require that all public housing be smoke-free. • Lastly, they were pleased to be featured on a panel of success stories at the NC Public Health Association Educational Conference in September and at a statewide tobacco policy training in August. The BOH members had several questions that were addressed by Ms. Austin. C. Fee & Eligibility Policy Review Ms. Crawford began with an overview of the recommended changes to the Fee and Eligibility Policy that occurred as a result of the Family Planning monitoring visit conducted by the NC Division of Public Health in October. The most essential changes include: • Purpose (Section I.E.): As recommended by the Family Planning auditors, the following statement was added to the Purpose section to explicitly state that: There will be no charge for Title X Services provided for individuals with income less than 100% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL.) • Income Eligibility (Section III.C.): The Environmental Health section was revised to clarify that WTMP and mobile home park fees are billed on a different schedule than other Environmental Health fees. • Fee Collection (Section VI.K.): As recommended by the Family Planning auditors, the Health Department’s detailed cost analysis process for fee changes will be included in the policy rather than merely identifying that the Health Department conducts a cost analysis. • Fee Collection (Section VII.E.): As recommended by the Family Planning auditors, clients will now be given a statement at each visit showing the cost of services provided along with any outstanding balances rather than only being informed of those items. • Fee Collection (Section VII.G.): The client Payment Plan section was modified to clarify that a client must make a payment in any amount in order to activate a payment plan. MINUTES-Final ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH October 28, 2015 S:\Managers Working Files\BOH\Agenda & Abstracts\2015 Agenda & Abstracts/ October Page 4 • Fee Collection (Section VII.I.2.): The Billing Cycle section for Environmental Health was modified to include a ruling from the County Attorney that debt that becomes part of an estate will become dissolved. The BOH members had questions that were addressed by Ms. Crawford and Dr. Bridger. VI. Action Items (Non-Consent) A. Men’s Health Rebekah Hermann, Whitted Clinic Manager, presented an assessment on men’s health needs. This assessment was completed in response to the Board of County Commissioners request for the OCHD to assess the healthcare needs of men in Orange County. Through information obtained from the 2015 Community Health Assessment and with information obtained regarding uninsured men living in Orange County, it was determined that there is a need for affordable healthcare for men living in Northern Orange County. Currently, the OCHD only provides primary care services to women and children enrolled in preventive health programs. There were 3 options presented by staff as to how the need should be addressed. Those options included 1) referring men to existing safety net providers, 2) offering primary care services to men at OCHD clinics and 3) outsourcing to an existing primary care clinic. The pros and cons were weighed and a recommendation was presented to the BOH members. Motion to 1) partner with UNC Physicians Network 2) conduct a 6 month pilot program 3) refer to Hillsborough-sited UNC clinic to serve men in Northern Orange County and 4) cap uninsured encounters at 200 for pilot period to help control cost and analyze usage was made by Reena Mehta, seconded by Nick Galvez and carried without dissent. Dr. Bridger will present this recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners. B. Board of Health Policy Revisions Meredith Stewart, Public Health Program Manager, presented the BOH Policies and Procedures that were reviewed at the meeting in August. Ms. Stewart briefly summarized the edits that were previously made as a result of their review at the August meeting. Motion to approve the Board of Health Policies and Procedures without corrections to was made by Mia Burroughs, seconded by Sam Lasris and carried without dissent. VII. Reports and Discussion with Possible Action A. Elections (Chair and Vice-Chair) Susan Elmore, Chair, stated that the positions of Chair and Vice-Chair are open. She also prefaced that by stating that it is customary for the current Vice-Chair to occupy the Chair position because of the experience gained as Vice-Chair. Ms. Elmore informed the BOH MINUTES-Final ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH October 28, 2015 S:\Managers Working Files\BOH\Agenda & Abstracts\2015 Agenda & Abstracts/ October Page 5 members that interested persons should send her an email within the next week. BOH members will vote to select the Chair and Vice-Chair at the November meeting. B. Health Director Annual Review Susan Elmore, Chair, reviewed this year’s process for the annual review referring to the BOH Policies and Procedures for guidance. The annual review will occur during a closed session at the November 2015 meeting. Ms. Elmore will survey direct reports and share the results with the Board. Dr. Bridger will prepare her WPPR and submit it to the Board. The BOH members had several questions and comments that were addressed by Ms. Elmore and Dr. Bridger. C. Health Director’s Report Dr. Bridger gave a brief update on her activities in October as well as gave highlights from Mr. Rick Brajer’s, Secretary of the Department of Health & Human Services, visit. She also briefly spoke on the Cost Settlement Program, the 50% cut in funds and its affect on the health department. The BOH members had questions and comments that were addressed by Dr. Bridger. D. Media Items Media items were in the packet which focused on Orange County’s events and our involvement in various efforts. VIII. Board Comments Susan Elmore, Chair, mentioned that the Community Listening Sessions went well and had great attendance. Liska Lackey, Vice-Chair, added that the Annual Healthy Carolinians meeting will be held December 11th at 8:30am. At the meeting, they’ll be looking at the top 5 focus topics. Ms. Lackey stated that she will forward the information to the BOH members. She also mentioned that Ashley Mercer, Healthy Carolinians Coordinator, was very appreciative for all of their participation in the Community Listening Sessions. Ms. Elmore reminded all about the email she sent to them regarding the OUTBoard committee’s solicitation for a committee member and suggested that there be representation from the BOH on the OUTBoard committee. VIIII. Adjournment A motion was made by Mia Burroughs to adjourn the meeting at 8:30 p.m., was seconded by Reena Mehta and carried without dissent. The next Board of Health Meeting will be held November 18, 2015 at the Orange County Health Department, 300 West Tryon Street, Hillsborough, NC at 7:00 p.m. MINUTES-Final ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH October 28, 2015 S:\Managers Working Files\BOH\Agenda & Abstracts\2015 Agenda & Abstracts/ October Page 6 Respectfully submitted, Colleen Bridger, MPH, PhD Orange County Health Director Secretary to the Board