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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBOH minutes 012705MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH January 27, 2005 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by Anne Miles Cassell 1 January 27, 2005 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 27, 2005 at the Government Services Center, Hillsborough, North Carolina. BOARD OF HEALTH MEMBERS PRESENT: Alan Rimer, Chair; Jessica Lee, Vice-Chair; Tim Carey; Sharon Freeland; Chris Harlan; Matt Vizithum; Sharon Van Horn BOARD OF HEALTH MEMBERS ABSENT: Moses Carey; Kate Wilder due to illness; Alice White, out of town 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; Candice Watkins, Volunteer Coordinator; Matt Streng, Senior Public Health Educator; Tracy Hamilton, Personal Health Division Intern GUESTS PRESENT: Craig Benedict, Planning Department Director; Paul Johnson, Allison West, Courtney Holloway, students and TRU members I. Welcome and Introductions Jessica Lee, Vice Chair, called the meeting to order at 7:10 P.M. due to delayed arrival of the Board chair. II. Approval of January 27, 2005 Agenda Item VI.A., Board Vacancies was withdrawn from the Agenda, and was replaced by “Comprehensive Land Use Comments.” The motion to approve the revised Agenda of January 27, 2005 was made by Matt Vizithum, seconded by Chris Harlan, and carried without dissent. III. Board Discussion - Draft State of the Environment Report 2005 The Board of Health will be meeting with the Commission for the Environment on February 24, 2005 at 5:30 pm at SHSC to discuss various items of joint interest. The Commission has indicated that it would like to discuss: • The role of open space and mental health • Importance of designing healthy communities • Air Quality strategies and Greenhouse Gas Emissions study • Proposed Water Resources Initiative MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH January 27, 2005 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by Anne Miles Cassell 2 January 27, 2005 Board members discussed the workings draft of the State of the Environment 2004 report and pointed out that there were only weak linkages between the environment and health throughout the report. The asthma indicator should be hospital ED rates rather than discharge rates. The 0-14 should not be used because of small numbers. IV. Public Comment for Items NOT on Printed Agenda Students from TRU spoke briefly to the Board about the Tobacco Awareness program in the schools and thanked the Board for its past support by passing the “Resolution in Support of an Increase in North Carolina’s Tax on Cigarettes” in 2003. They reported that more than 1,200 people die every day in the US from tobacco related causes. Board members thanked the students for their hard work on this important health issue and discussed their findings and program results with them. V. Action Items on CONSENT Agenda A. Minutes approval of December 16, 2004 meeting. B. Dental Medicaid Fee Increases C. Child Care Health Consultant Grant Acceptance Motion to approve all items on the Consent Agenda was made by Tim Carey, seconded by Jessica Lee, and carried without dissent. VI. Reports and Discussion with Possible Action A. Comprehensive Land Use Comments Craig Benedict, Planning Director, updated the Board on issues of sustainability, population, environment (air, water, and habitat), sprawl effects, and economy that are currently under study. The Board stressed a need to also include a focus on health issues within these topics of study and expressed concern that these issues were not in much evidence in the information provided. There was a lively discussion around land development and related health issues such as inclusion of sidewalks, bike lanes, walking trails, and affordable housing. B. BOH Committee Structure and Appointments The Board must review existing committee structure annually and make decisions regarding the number and types of standing committees. Due to the fact that Animal Control Services will be transitioning to another department on March 1, 2005, Board members agreed to table the topic until the February meeting. Alan Rimer, Jessica Lee, and Rosemary Summers will meet to discuss restructuring options and present the findings in February. C. Flu Vaccine Update; Meningococcal meningitis report MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH January 27, 2005 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by Anne Miles Cassell 3 January 27, 2005 With a national shortage of flu vaccine and variable availability of the vaccine, we have worked with community medical providers to assure an equitable distribution of vaccine. Wayne Sherman provided an update on efforts to date and plans for the final distribution of vaccine to the community. The department received a total of 8,160 doses of FluZone vaccine, 5,640 doses were re-distributed to community providers and the health department gave the remaining 2,520 doses. In addition, 300 doses of FluMist were received and about 225 were given. UNC has once again experienced a case of meningococcal meningitis in a student. As previously done, OCHD partnered with UNC to undertake a swift investigation of contacts and prophylaxis of exposed individuals. Wayne Sherman reported on our efforts, the outcome, and proposed changes for future responses. D. Orange County Public Health Reserve Corps Update The Health Department formed the Orange County Public Health Reserve Corps (PHRC) to establish a base of trained medical and non-medical volunteers who would provide surge capacity during local public health emergencies and assist with ongoing public health programs offered by the Health Department and its partner agencies. Candice Watkins, Volunteer Coordinator, presented highlights of program accomplishments of the first fiscal year and discussed program activities planned for the current funding year. E. Commissioner Retreat Report Rosemary Summers attended the Commissioner’s Retreat on January 22. The Board discussed the requested information to be submitted at its December meeting. Since the Board of Health will be meeting with the Commissioners later in the year, it was determined that a separate presentation was not needed by the Board of Health at this time. F. Smart Start Grant Application Renewals The Orange County Partnership for Young Children (Smart Start) has placed continuing grant projects on either one year or multi-year grant cycles. The Dental Preschool Screening Project and the Families in Focus Program have been placed on a three-year cycle. If accepted by the Partnership Board, reapplication for funding would not be needed for three years pending allocation of Smart Start funds by the state each of those three years. The Enhanced Child Service Coordination Program has been indicated to be on a one-year cycle. The Partnership Board placed it on a one-year renewal because of the changes in the transition from Developmental Evaluation to the new Child Development Service Agencies that have been created on a regional basis. The Partnership staff has indicated that pending an evaluation of this transition, this program will continue to receive a high priority for continued funding. The new title of this project will be Help 4 Kids to better represent the focus of the entire project to parents. MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH January 27, 2005 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by Anne Miles Cassell 4 January 27, 2005 The grant applications are due to the Orange county Partnership on January 28, 2005. Grant decisions will not be made until late April and then are contingent upon allocation of sufficient funds by the General Assembly. G. Tracking Form Review The Board reviewed the upcoming work/agenda items for the Board and added the topic of “Spa/Tanning Bed Regulations” to topics of concern to be covered at a future meeting. VII. Board Comments/Announcements Ron Holdway and Alan Rimer have plans to meet to interview a student regarding research on the issue of disposal of pharmaceuticals and the effects of pharmaceutical disposal on water supplies with the goal of developing a policy. VIII. Adjournment Motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Sharon Freeland, seconded by Chris Harlan, and carried without dissent. The next Board of Health meeting will be held on February 24, 2005 at the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina at 7:00 PM preceded by a joint meeting with the Commission on the Environment at 5:30 PM. Respectfully submitted, Rosemary L. Summers, MPH, DrPH Health Director Secretary to the Board