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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBOH minutes 011708MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH January 17, 2008 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by Anne Miles Cassell 1 January 17, 2008 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 January 17, 2008 at the Southern Human Services Center, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. BOARD OF HEALTH MEMBERS PRESENT: Chris Harlan, Chair; Anissa Vines, Vice-Chair; Jim Stefanadis; Tim Carey; Ernie Dobson; DeWana Anderson; Sharon Freeland; Jessica Lee; Matt Vizithum BOARD OF HEALTH MEMBERS ABSENT: Moses Carey, Jr.; Sharon Van Horn STAFF PRESENT: Rosemary Summers, Health Director; Wayne Sherman, Personal Health Services Division Director; Tom Konsler, Environmental Health Services Division Director; Donna King, Health Promotion and Education Services Division Director; Angela Cooke, Dental Health Services Division Director; Letitia Burns, Business Officer; Cessaly Cheatham, FNP, Personal Health Services Division GUESTS PRESENT: Pam Jones, Purchasing Director; Alice Gordon, Commissioner; Welcome and Introductions Chris Harlan called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM and Rosemary Summers introduced new staff member Cessaly Cheatham, FNP. I. Approval of January 17, 2008 Agenda At the request of the Health Director the educational item will be delayed until the February meeting and replaced with “Consideration of Alternatives for Facilities for Health and Social Services” as Item II. At it’s meeting last night the Board of County Commissioners requested written comments from DSS & OCHD regarding their space needs so they may be considered at the Commissioner’s January 29 work session. A revised Agenda and supporting documentation was provided to Board members and briefly explained by Rosemary Summers. The motion to approve the Agenda of January 17, 2008 as amended was made by Tim Carey, seconded by Anissa Vines, and carried without dissent. II. Consideration of Alternatives for Facilities for Health and Social Services Chris Harlan introduced Commissioner Alice Gordon, and Pam Jones, Purchasing Director. The Board was provided with a summary report of square footage space needs compared to two options presented to the BOCC on January 16, the agenda item presented at the Commissioners meeting, a color map of the Southern Human Services Campus, and a Facility Needs Analysis Report from the Board of Health to the County Commissioners prepared in January of 2007, and a PowerPoint presentation of the Link Center Remodeling Plan. Rosemary Summers directed attention to the BOCC Agenda handout. There has been a proposal to purchase or lease the old Wal-Mart property in Hillsborough with the thought that DSS and Health could relocate there in phases. There was also an option for new construction of 50,000 sq. ft. on the Southern Human Services Campus. The Power Point presentation is a concept presentation with the details on the BOCC Agenda and covers MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH January 17, 2008 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by Anne Miles Cassell 2 January 17, 2008 all options that have been proposed. Dr. Carey asked what would happen to the Health Department at SHSC in the Mayo Street purchase scenario. Neither scenario addresses adequate space for the health department at Southern. Pam Jones replied that the 2005 space study has a provision for expansion of Southern for future needs. She agreed that was not explicit in the options detailed. Ernie Dodson asked for clarification of the lease/purchase option. Pam Jones replied that the lease would be for the period 2008 – 2012 when the purchase option would be executed. Ernie Dodson stated that he felt the opportunity to acquire the Mayo Street property would be the best choice for the county because it would provide more immediate space needs and also would provide the space for future expansion of county services. He also pointed out the length of time needed for new construction in Chapel Hill. Alice Gordon explained various options for new construction versus expanding existing structures at SHSC and the lease/purchase option that Commissioners are considering. Jessica Lee commented that one of the things the Health Department has suffered from is trying to make a building that was not intended to be a health facility into a health care facility. Dr. Summers commented that the Mayo Street (Wal-Mart) property is much newer and the retrofit would not be as difficult. The advantage of the Mayo Street property is access for residents and availability of parking. The best option is always new construction that can be built to specifications however it is unlikely that will take place due to lack of building site availability in the northern part of the county. The Summary of Square Footage Needs for the Health Department was broken out into northern and southern end of the county facilities. Anticipated growth needs were included in the statistics. Commissioner Gordon asked the Board for any recommendations to bridge the short-term needs on the way to a good long-term solution. Chris Harlan asked if the health department would lose it’s presence in the southern part of the county if the county chooses the Mayo Street property to retrofit instead of building new construction. Commissioner Gordon stated that the department would still have a presence in Chapel Hill and would not lose its presence in that area entirely. Ms. Harlan stated that she felt the Board had been clear about needing to maintain services in both locations. Dr. Carey brought up the issue of dental services needed in both ends of the county. Jessica Lee stated that no matter which plan is selected the dental services would be moved from Carr Mill Mall and that would be good. Dr. Summers recommended the Board to consider that the dental projections were conservative and based on current populations being served. If services were expanded to the elderly there would be additional needs. She pointed out that this is a growing population in the county. There was general agreement among Board members the Whitted Building presents many unknowns regarding suitable clinical upfit. They also wished to be sure that there would be adequate space at Southern Human Services Center for all of the personal health and dental health services. The Board asked the staff to work with the Chair and Vice-Chair to summarize the discussions from this meeting and prepare a letter to the Commissioners. III. Public Comment for Items NOT on Printed Agenda MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH January 17, 2008 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by Anne Miles Cassell 3 January 17, 2008 None IV. Action Items on CONSENT Agenda A. Minutes approval of December 20, 2007 meeting B. 2008 Early Head Start Contract Renewal The Early Head Start contract represents a collaborative relationship to provide family service coordination services to families eligible for and enrolled in Orange County Head Start and Orange County Health Department’s Child Service Coordination Program. The collaboration for one social worker position presents parents with one unified program case coordinator who provides regular contacts to the family n order to identify and follow-up on child and family needs. The Family Service Coordinator supports the development of family self-sufficiency and promotes skill development in the areas of problem solving, decision making and accessing needed health and human services. The contracts have been in existence since 1999 and are renewed annually. Changes in the contract from 2007 include identification of new personnel in key positions and a 3% increase in payment to OCHD, $58,500 per year (#4875 per month) for the services of a Social Worker II. The contract is in effect from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008. C. Quarterly Financial Report Letitia Burns, OCHD Business Officer, presented the mid-year financial report and the revenues for the department. The December Medicaid revenues are still posed in the Advances account and have not been distributed to programs. They were not included in the report. Motion to approve the minutes of December 20, 2007 and items on the Consent Agenda was made by Ernie Dodson, seconded by Jessica Lee, and carried without dissent. V. Reports and Discussion with Possible Action A. 2008-2009 Fee Schedule Approval Wayne Sherman reported that per the approved Fee and Eligibility Policy, fees will be adjusted annually by either the general rate of inflation calculated based on the current Consumer Price Index (CPI) or the percent increase in any new Medicaid/Medicare service rate adjustments, whichever is greater. The department has not been notified of any Medicaid rate adjustments as of the meeting date, therefore the current CPI was assessed. As of November 2007, the CPI was 4.3%; therefore, a 4% increase was applied to both Dental and PHSD fee schedules for 08-09. Dr. Summers said that the department is still operating on the original cost study done in 2000. Cost studies are done approximately every five years. A full cost study request will again be included again in the budget submitted for approval. Ernie Dodson asked if it was the lack of funding for a cost study was resulting in the charging of lower rates. Wayne Sherman said there were some comparisons done to similar agencies to arrive at current fees. Several new fees were identified for Personal Health and were noted at the bottom of the fee MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH January 17, 2008 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by Anne Miles Cassell 4 January 17, 2008 schedule. There are no anticipated changes in environmental health fees this year. The Health Director has requested that the Budget Office take a sampling of dental and medical clinic fees and compare them with other counties and private providers to get a sense of where we stand with our current fees. Based on that study fee adjustments may be warranted and valuable to revenue generation. The mini cost assessment by the Budget office is currently underway for selected services in both medical and dental clinical services. Motion to forward the fees as a part of the overall budget process to the Board of Commissioners for approval was made by Tim Carey, seconded by Jessica Lee, and carried without dissent. B. 2008 Board of Health Committee Assignments According to Board of Health adopted procedures, the Board must review standing committees and Board assignments to those committees annually. Since Chris Harlan is the Chair of the Board of Health, the Board was asked to consider a replacement appointment to the Orange County Human Services Advisory Commission. Chris Harlan reported that the Commission was revamping how it would be composed; being category-based rather than agency representation based, therefore it may not be required that the Board of Health be represented. The Committees for 2008 are: Executive Committee Chris Harlan, Chair Awards, Nominating & Bylaws Anissa Vines, Vice-Chair Jim Stefanadis Sharon Freeland Environmental Health, Preparedness, Ernie Dodson & Quality Assurance Jessica Lee Sharon Van Horn DeWana Anderson (as needed) Personal Health, Dental Health & Jim Stefanadis Health Promotion Programs Tim Carey Sharon Freeland Anissa Vines Jessica Lee (as needed) Motion to approve the committee assignments as it stands pending any change with the representation policies of the Human Services Advisory Committee was made by Anissa Vines, seconded by Tim Carey, and carried without dissent. C. 2008 Board of Health Education Agenda The Board has developed a topical list in the past that has formed the basis for inviting outside speakers, and resources to help the Board accomplish its work. Usually 20 – 30 minutes is allotted every other month for this purpose. Possible topics include: a. Best Practices in providing family home visiting services b. Application of GIS technology in environmental health services c. School based health services d. New technologies/research in environmental health e. Best practice projects to reduce obesity and overweight MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH January 17, 2008 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by Anne Miles Cassell 5 January 17, 2008 f. Workforce development updates and trends Jessica Lee requested that immigrant, mainly refugee, processes be added to the topic list for a better understanding of the time limitations for healthcare. D. Informational Items a. Flu Update Wayne Sherman reported that several cases of AH3 influenza have been reported in the county. We are not seeing a large increase at this time. The department provided 60 doses of vaccine to the jail. There is still community interest in influenza vaccinations. b. Clean Water Trust Fund Grant Status Report Tom Konsler reported that staff decided to delay the grant application to the 2009 cycle due to current workload. Staff will begin grant work during summer of 2008 and anticipate submission to the Board of Health for approval no later than June 2008 and submission to Commissioners in August or early September. Sharon Freeland asked how the community drought meetings that the department held with various community groups had gone. He stated that there has been good collaboration with other departments and good participation and attendance at all of the meetings. The main interest of residents seems to focus on wells. It provided landscaping and conservation plans for dealing with the drought and education of the aquifer system of the area. c. Pay & Class Study Information County Commissioners authorized a new pay and class study for all county employees. The first phase, completion of employee questionnaires, has been completed. Supervisors, division directors and the health director reviewed all questionnaires before submission to the Personnel before January 7 deadline. The consultant will review the questionnaires and return a draft job description/specifications for review to department heads. After review and comment, consultants will generate a suggested classification level. The entire process is expected to be complete prior to the approval of the 2008-2009 budget. d. BOCC Retreat Information The Board of Commissioners is holding their annual retreat in a different format this year. The retreat is scheduled for January 26 and will involve discussion with department heads in formulating a framework for a strategic plan that will identify goals and priorities. The preliminary submission by the health department was given to Board members for any additions or changes. e. Smoking in Government Buildings Update The Board of Health sent a letter in 2005 to the Board of Commissioners requesting consideration of an ordinance revision to prohibit tobacco use in county buildings. The Assistant County Attorney has prepared a draft ordinance and employee policy that is MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH January 17, 2008 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by Anne Miles Cassell 6 January 17, 2008 planned for consideration by county management staff and the Board of Commissioners in February. The Health Director will also be seeking agenda time in each municipality, asking them to adopt a resolution allowing the ordinance to be enforced and encouraging them to consider a similar ordinance for their own buildings. Sharon Freeland asked if the schools are considered county property. Dr. Summers said that all school campuses are tobacco free. f. Clinical and Community Programs Committee Minutes The Board was given the minutes of the last Clinical and Community Programs Committee for information and possible questions. Jim Stefanadis reported that a large part of the meeting was focused on the TB cases, the costs to the county in health care and prevention. The communicable disease staff has worked closely with the jail. E. Tracking Form Review Board members use the tracking form to assess upcoming agenda items. All changes and additions are marked for easy tracking. Rosemary Summers stated that there would be several days during accreditation procedures that would require board member participation of several hours. An email will be sent when the schedule is determined. There were no new items to be added to the tracking form. VI. Board Comments/Announcements A. None VII. Adjournment Motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Jessica Lee, seconded by Anissa Vines, and carried without dissent. The next Board of Health meeting will be held on February 28, 2008 at the Hillsborough Town Barn, 101 East Orange Street, Hillsborough, North Carolina at 7:00 PM. Respectfully submitted, Rosemary L. Summers, MPH, DrPH Health Director Secretary to the Board