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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBOH minutes 022306MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH February 23, 2006 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by Anne Miles Cassell 1 February 23, 2006 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 February 23, 2006 at the Southern Human Services Center, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. BOARD OF HEALTH MEMBERS PRESENT: Jessica Lee, Chair; Matt Vizithum, Vice-Chair; Sharon Freeland; Chris Harlan; Alan Rimer; Alice White; Tim Carey; Jim Stefanadis; BOARD OF HEALTH MEMBERS ABSENT: Sharon Van Horn; DeWana Anderson, out of town meeting conflict; Moses Carey, Jr., meeting conflict STAFF PRESENT: Rosemary Summers, Health Director; Angela Cooke, Dental Health Services Division Director; Ron Holdway, Environmental Health Services Division Director; Donna King, Health Promotion and Education Division Director; Wayne Sherman, Personal Health Services Division Director; Anne Miles Cassell, Administrative Assistant; GUESTS PRESENT: None I. Jessica Lee called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M. II. Educational Presentation: Anatomy of an Outbreak Investigation Ron Holdway, Environmental Health Services Division Director The department EPI team that includes the Health Director, communicable disease nurse(s), health educators, environmental health specialists, epidemiology statistician and public information officer, investigates all outbreaks. The department is legally required to report all outbreaks to the state after the investigation is complete. The department is made aware of an outbreak through active and passive surveillance by medical providers, hospitals, and citizens that contact the health department. Coordination with the Regional EPI Surveillance Team alerts the department to outbreaks in neighboring counties that may affect Orange County. Outbreak investigations in the past 15 years have included Meningococcal cases, Norovirus (seven within the last two years), Bacillus cereus toxin, fish and shellfish toxins, Hep A prophylaxis campaign, Shigella, and SARS. Jessica Lee questioned the steps taken to avoid putting staff in danger in an outbreak that is potentially highly contagious. The investigating staff members have been fitted with N95 respirators as a precautionary measure in the event a highly contagious outbreak occurs. Also, a lot of the investigation is done over the phone and does not involve exposure. II. Approval of February 23, 2006 Agenda MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH February 23, 2006 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by Anne Miles Cassell 2 February 23, 2006 The motion to approve the Agenda of February 23, 2006 was made by Alan Rimer, seconded by Chris Harlan, and carried without dissent. III. Public Comment for Items NOT on Printed Agenda None IV. Reports and Discussion with Possible Action A. Minutes approval of January 26, 2006 meeting. Motion to approve the minutes of January 26, 2006 was made by Chris Harlan, seconded by Tim Carey, and carried without dissent. B. Community Health Assessment 2007 The Health Department is required by the State to do a Community Assessment every four years. Staff is beginning the process to develop the Community Health Assessment (CHA) due from the Department in December 2007. An integral component of that process is formulating the basic outline or “road map” for composing the document. The current 2003 Community Assessment is available on the Health Department website. This proposed Community Health Assessment will refresh the assessment completed in 2007 and offer community initiated strategies on solving problems identified in the 2003 assessment. It will also provide a special focus on environmental health issues in the community. Staff will engage other partners in the community and coordinate with the Commission on the Environment on this part of the assessment. The Board endorsed the outline of the proposal timeline. C. 2006-2007 Positions and Capital Requests Board members were provided a report giving them an early view of several major items that will be part of the department’s budget request for the next fiscal year. The department will be requesting 4 new positions and 1.25 position be transferred from grant funding to county funding. 1.25 positions are due to grant funding ending and 2 are staff workload related based on not being able to meet state mandates. Capital requests are primarily to replace current aging equipment and vehicles as well as the new capital associated with new positions. D. Discussion on Board Committee Structure Last year the Board decided on a committee structure that provided for meetings MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH February 23, 2006 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by Anne Miles Cassell 3 February 23, 2006 every other month with “task force” meetings scheduled for alternate months. The usual committees have not met consistently under this structure and the senior staff has expressed some concern about whether this is meeting the needs of the Board to receive information and provide input on Health Department programs. One of the areas of concern is the Environmental Health program. Discussion among board members brought out that committee meetings served to educate them and make them feel more comfortable with the issues. Board members expressed a desire to return to the committee structure. E. Water Protection Update A meeting of interested parties was held on February 17, 2006 to discuss and begin development of a long-range plan to protect water resources in Orange County. The meeting had representatives from the Commission for the Environment, the Board of Health, OWASA, the Town of Hillsborough, the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the County Manager. The goal of the meeting was to identify gaps in areas that are needed to protect water resources. Board members were provided informational handouts from the meeting. Alan Rimer discussed findings of the initial meeting. One important issue is the impact of failing septic systems on water quality protection and the lack of resources for many citizens to pay for the repair of the system. A plan is in the formative stages to address this issue and will be brought before the Board at a future meeting. The group will be meeting again in early March. F. Hot Topics from Divisions The Board was provided with a quick view of issues that each division in the health department is working to resolve. In some cases this is an ongoing project, in others a newly discovered problem that needs resolution. Donna King, Health Promotion and Education Division Director, reported that several worksite wellness programs have taken place this month in the business community and an article appeared in the press about the County employee wellness program. There was a 44% response rate to the initial screening. Also, Public Health Month is coming up in April. Wayne Sherman reported that the men’s health report is in the final stages and should be complete soon. The department has been invited by Orange County Schools to be part of a community team looking at adolescent health services in the school system. They have explored the concept of school-based health centers for several years. MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH February 23, 2006 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by Anne Miles Cassell 4 February 23, 2006 The staff has been working toward being adequately prepared for a pandemic flu outbreak. Ron Holdway stated that the water protection update presented earlier was the main focus areas for the environmental staff. Water samples are still being collected from the Mill Creek area. Approximately 75 samples are complete with about 30 pending waiting on water bottles from the state. As a spin-off from the asthma coalition, environmental health offers at no cost a basic assessment to individuals who think they have an indoor air quality problem. No lab testing is done, however, recommendations are made to alleviate environmental irritants and sources. Approximately 2 to 3 assessments are done per month. A return of infestations of bedbugs has become more common recently with transient populations. This is difficult to treat and eliminate. Educational efforts are being made to reach affected populations, especially in apartment complexes. Angela Cooke reported that the dental health division has accepted the resignation of Dr. Stephanie Rodriguez who is returning to Texas with her family. A position for a bi-lingual dental assistant is also open. Data will be gathered in the near future to evaluate the economics of one clinical dental site facility as opposed to two. G. Tracking Form Review The Tracking Form is a preview of upcoming actions or topics that need Board action or discussion. It is intended as a Board planning tool. Discussion of pending items resulted in the addition of two topics for discussion: 1) Homelessness Planning to April and 2) High 5 Initiative. V. Board Comments/Announcements None VI. Adjournment Motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Alan Rimer, seconded by Sharon Freeland, and carried without dissent. The next Board of Health meeting will be held on March 23, 2006 at the Government Services Center, Hillsborough, North Carolina at 7:00 pm. MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH February 23, 2006 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by Anne Miles Cassell 5 February 23, 2006 Respectfully submitted, Rosemary L. Summers, MPH, DrPH Health Director Secretary to the Board