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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBOH minutes 092205MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH September 22, 2005 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by Anne Miles Cassell 1 September 22, 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 September 22, 2005 at the Government Services Center, Hillsborough, North Carolina. BOARD OF HEALTH MEMBERS PRESENT: Alan Rimer, Chair; Jessica Lee, Vice-Chair; Moses Carey, Jr.; Sharon Freeland; Alice White; Tim Carey; Jim Stefanadis; Sharon Van Horn; Chris Harlan; BOARD OF HEALTH MEMBERS ABSENT: Matt Vizithum STAFF PRESENT: Rosemary Summers, Health Director; Angela Cooke, Dental Health Services Division Director; Wayne Sherman, Personal Health Services Division Director; Carla Julian, PH Preparedness Coordinator; Anne Miles Cassell, Administrative Assistant; GUESTS PRESENT: None I. Welcome and Introductions Alan Rimer called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M. II. Approval of September 22, 2005 Agenda The motion to approve the Agenda of September 22, 2005 was made by Chris Harlan, seconded by Sharon Freeland, and carried without dissent. III. Public Comment for Items NOT on Printed Agenda None IV. Action Items on CONSENT Agenda A. Minutes approval of August 25, 2005 meeting B. Acceptance of Healthy Carolinians funds The NC Legislature appropriated a small amount of one-time funds for the support of Healthy Carolinians. Because of the limited amount of funds, they are only available to certified Healthy Carolinians partnerships. The Health Department will be the recipient of $5,000. It is our intent to use these funds for operational costs of Healthy Carolinians. Possible uses may be to pay printing costs for a brochure, reprinting of the recreational map, or to send Council members to the annual Healthy Carolinians conference being held in Durham this year. C. 2006 Meeting Schedule MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH September 22, 2005 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by Anne Miles Cassell 2 September 22, 2006 The Orange County Board of Health meets on the fourth Thursday of every month with the exception of November and December meetings that are scheduled on the third Thursday due to the holidays. Meetings alternate between Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill and Government Services Center in Hillsborough to enable broad citizen access and participation. Motion to approve the minutes of August 25, 2005 and items on the Consent Agenda was made by Alice White, seconded by Chris Harlan, and carried without dissent. V. Reports and Discussion with Possible Action A. Strategic Plan Review The Health Department has been working on a strategic plan to cover the period FY 2006 – 2011. The staff received no additional comments or feedback from the Board after the August meeting. The Board reviewed the revised draft and offered comments on the plan. Alan Rimer suggested that a meeting be set up between Board officers, the Health Director, the County Manager, and the BOCC Chair to present the Strategic Plan and obtain feedback prior to presenting the plan to the Commissioners. Revisions could be considered based on this meeting. Rosemary Summers reported on the revisions made as suggested by Board feedback at the August meeting. It was noted that Orange County is last in the per capita dollars coming from state and federal money. The difference is made up through fees and other funding sources as well as county contribution. Several changes in wording were made. Alan Rimer commended staff for their hard work in preparing the plan. Motion was made by Tim Carey, seconded by Sharon Freeland endorsing the draft of the Strategic Plan in concept and commending the staff for the hard work in preparing the Strategic Plan and was carried without dissent. B. Possible Agenda Topics for Joint Meeting A letter was sent to the Chair of the County Commissioners requesting a joint meeting. The main item to be presented would be the Department’s Strategic Plan for 2006-2011. Alan Rimer requested that this topic be postponed until the October agenda and the Board agreed by consensus. C. Public Health Preparedness Plan Update MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH September 22, 2005 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by Anne Miles Cassell 3 September 22, 2006 A Public Health Preparedness Coordinator was first hired on a contract basis in the winter of 2003. Since then, great progress has been made in completing various components of preparedness plans. Several successful drills have been held as well. Carla Julian, Preparedness Coordinator, presented the Board with an update and answered many questions. Incident Command is a structured management tool to be used in emergencies and non-emergencies and has been put into use by staff responding to several events. It is a way of managing people and resources in order to meet objectives during emergencies. There is a directive to use the ICS across the country. The Incident Commander is chosen at the time of the incident and is dependent on the situation. The Health Department has practiced this protocol during several of the smaller outbreaks over the past year. More training in this structure is planned. Several plans exist within the overall preparedness plan, for example, mass vaccination, mass prophylaxis during an outbreak, infectious and non-infectious disease are all separate plans. The Department has also been working with the hospitals as community partners to identify locations, set-up, and staffing for mass care for patients during a possible pandemic. The Department has talked with the schools about the possibility of using the gymnasiums as a receiving site for the Strategic National Stockpile. We would be receiving agent for re-distribution for the entire county, including the hospitals. The forms developed by the regional coordinators in this region for mass medication distribution are going to be adopted statewide. Rosemary Summers acknowledged the work of the regional planners for developing this form. Alan Rimer suggested the addition of email information to the form. D. Informational Items a. Budget Rosemary Summers reported the Department faces a 25% hard line reduction in travel and training, duplicating, office supplies, departmental supplies, and the uniform line items. A hard line cut means that money may not be transferred to these items from other budget line items. Many of the Department staff have license and certification requirements and will be affected by the cuts in travel and training. The reductions in duplicating budget will be particularly hard on the department because much of the work functions on the duplicating budget. This will ultimately affect the services the department is able to provide. The Board asked to be kept apprised of these items, especially as services are affected. b. Vet Recruitment Jessica Lee reported that out of over 80 letters that were mailed to area veterinarians, there has been only one inquiry into the vacant board position. There have been no applications submitted. Both Dr. Lee and Dr. Summers have been unable to get in MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH September 22, 2005 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by Anne Miles Cassell 4 September 22, 2006 contact with the interested person. c. Mill Creek Road Study Progress is being made into acquisition of telephone numbers for residents of the study area. Staff is in the process of assembling informational packets to be distributed when water samples are collected. A cancer specific survey has been developed for telephone surveys that will be done in October. Applications for water sampling have been mailed to all the community members in this area and are starting to come in. Preliminary results are expected by the end of November. d. La Feria del Salud The Latino dental health fair is scheduled for September 24, 2005 in northern Orange County. This is a result of a community diagnosis that the community group in this area said they needed. The dental clinic will be open and will see patients as needed. Alan Rimer commented on the cultural norm for the Latino population to buy bottled water instead of trusting the safety of the water system for drinking and cooking purposes. Bottled water is not fluorinated and therefore may lead to more dental caries in this population. OWASA is trying to reach this population with a Spanish language brochure to educate people regarding the safety and benefits of the public water systems. e. Commission on Environment Report Alan Rimer reported as liaison to the Commission on the Environment. An exchange of information is progressing to eliminate any duplication of efforts. f. Flu Immunization Plans Wayne Sherman reported that the Department would hold several flu clinics at both Southern Human Services Center and the Hillsborough locations for high-risk individuals, as well as area Senior Centers. He also reported that plans were in place to hold two flu “blitzes” on two Saturdays in November for those high-risk individuals that may have missed one of the clinics and for any other public members that want a flu shot. High Risk and pre-natal will be offered at both clinic sites. Information on the clinic locations and times are posted on the Orange County website. Shots are free to Medicaid and Medicare Part B and $15 to all others. g. Hurricane Katrina Community Planning Rosemary Summers reported that several staff members are on stand-by for service in the area stricken by Hurricane Katrina. One environmental health specialist, Wendy Thigpen, from the Department has already departed to serve two weeks in Louisiana. Arrangements have been made for evacuees needing healthcare to be treated at the health department. Many evacuees are going to the practitioners their local family members are using. MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH September 22, 2005 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by Anne Miles Cassell 5 September 22, 2006 Sharon Freeland reported that refugees that have arrived in Orange County selected this area because other family members are living in the area. Her office, OCIM, has functioned as one of the liaisons for needed local services for these victims of Hurricane Katrina. OCIM has been providing emergency food and resources for evacuees referred by Department of Social Services, American Red Cross and the school systems. h. Rosemary Summers discussed upcoming events sponsored by Healthy Carolinians and other community groups. “Nothing to Hide”, a national exhibit, is a program to help raise community awareness of mental illness. It is “touring” around the county in various locations. The quarterly newsletter for Healthy Carolinians was distributed to Board Members. E. Tracking Form Review Board members reviewed the Pending Matters and Recurring Agenda Items and no changes were made. VI. Closed Session (ref NCGS143-318.11 (a)(6) to consider the qualifications, competence, performance, fitness, conditions of appointment, of an individual public officer or employee. Motion to move to closed session to consider the qualifications, competence, performance, fitness, conditions of appointment, of an individual public officer or employee was made by Sharon Freeland, seconded by Jessica Lee and carried without dissent. Motion to move to open session was made by Jessica Lee, seconded by Sharon Freeland and carried without dissent. VI. Adjournment Motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Alice White, seconded by Tim Carey, and carried without dissent. The next Board of Health meeting will be held on October 27, 2005 at the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina at 7:00 PM. Respectfully submitted, Rosemary L. Summers, MPH, DrPH Health Director Secretary to the Board