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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBOH minutes 022703MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH February 27, 2003 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by V. Anne Miles 1 February 27, 2003 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 27, 2003 at the Government Human Services Center, Hillsborough, North Carolina. BOARD OF HEALTH MEMBERS PRESENT: Mel Hurston, Chair; Barry Adler; Jessica Lee; Martha Stucker; Lee Werley; Kate Wilder; Jonathan Klein BOARD OF HEALTH MEMBERS ABSENT: Alice White, Vice Chair, excused for work conflict; Moses Carey, Jr.; Alan Rimer, excused for work conflict; Sharon Van Horn STAFF PRESENT: Rosemary Summers, Health Director; Wayne Sherman, Personal Health Services Division Director; Donna King, Health Promotion and Education Services Division Director; Angela Cooke, Dental Health Services Division Director; Ron Holdway, Environmental Health Services Division Director; John Sauls, Animal Control Services Division Director; Anne Miles, Administrative Assistant GUESTS PRESENT: Dr. Matthew Vizithum, Optometrist I. Welcome and Introductions Mel Hurston called the meeting to order at 7:10 P.M. Dr. Adler introduced Dr. Vizithum who may be interested in replacing Dr. Adler when his term of service is complete. II. Approval of February 27, 2003 Agenda Rosemary Summers requested that Item V.A., United Village of Orange Report and Recommendations, be tabled until the March 27 meeting and that Item V.B., Review of Health Department Strategic Plan, be incorporated in Item V.D. Hot Topics List from Divisions. The motion to approve the Agenda of February 27, 2003 as amended was made by Jessica Lee, seconded by Martha Stucker, and carried without dissent. III. Public Comment for Items NOT on Printed Agenda None IV. Action Items on CONSENT Agenda A. Minutes approval of February 5, 2003 meeting. Motion to approve the minutes of February 5, 2003 was made by Martha Stucker, seconded by Jonathan Klein, and carried without dissent. V. Reports and Discussion with Possible Action A. Agenda Topics for Joint Board of Commissioners/Board of Health Meeting For the past three years the two Boards have met jointly to discuss items of mutual interest. Last year the Chair of the Commissioners asked for a more informal meeting MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH February 27, 2003 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by V. Anne Miles 2 February 27, 2003 to have more open discussion. This year there is a shorter more informal dinner meeting planned. The meeting will begin at 5:30 and adjourn around 7 pm so that the regular Board for Commissioners meeting can take place at 7:30. Board members discussed possible topics to focus on within the limited time allotted and designated board members to originate the discussion related to their field of expertise. Discussion points will be: • Communication flash points • Environmental Health and Expansion of WTMP related to Upper Neuse River Basin Proposal • Impact of Diminished Funding on Community Services B. Hot Topics List from Divisions and Review of Health Department Strategic Plan The department is currently in the third year of the strategic plan. The upcoming fiscal year will be the last year of the current plan. Review of progress toward meeting the plan will provide the basis for beginning the development of a new plan. The plan has been a successful tool in improving the department’s ability to provide mandated services such as communicable disease planning, immunization tracking, and environmental health response times. It also provided a picture of new programs that the department anticipated on the horizon, such as school nurses in every school; jail health; spay/neuter program for feral cats. Division Directors provided board members with an overview on emerging topics of concern to each division. 1. Central Administrative Services – Rosemary Summers reported for Leticia Burns A report on HIPPA regulations was distributed to Board members that summarized the county’s status with HIPPA compliance. Representatives from various departments in the county have met to develop HIPPA policies and procedures. There is an April 15 deadline for compliance. Of concern is how the compliance will be monitored in the future. The department has submitted a potential job description to the budget office for the county to consider a full time compliance officer for HIPPA for the whole county, not just the Health Department. The job of monitoring and keeping up with new regulations and assuring all the departments get them is beyond the scope of what current staff can do. 2. Personal Health Services – Wayne Sherman Family Home Visiting – The department faces the potential loss of funds in the Intensive Home Visiting Program. The program has been receiving $40,000 from state funds to support one and one-half positions but those funds appear to have been cut from the current budget. That is of great concern to the department. Family Home Visiting is an intense program to visit very high-risk families for child abuse and neglect and is one of the few prevention programs for child abuse and neglect. The program works with many teen moms and many of them have been very pleased to have someone there to support them. MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH February 27, 2003 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by V. Anne Miles 3 February 27, 2003 We have received letters from their family members expressing thanks for the critical needs addressed by the program. The issue here is that the funding is drying up for the whole program, which has been operating for four years. Without funding, either from grants or the County, the department will not be able to reconfigure staff to be able to cover the program. Small Pox Vaccination Plan – Stage 1 vaccinations will begin on March 14, 2003. Initially, about 15 health department staff and about 120 UNC Hospital staff are targeted to be vaccinated. These are the individuals in the hospital that might be treating smallpox cases and health department staff that would identify and follow up in a smallpox investigation in the community. Adolescent Health Task Force – This was formed to look at adolescent health issues in the community. An indicated decline in the number of adolescents accessing the health department clinic is of concern. The task force goal is to broaden that scope by inviting community members to the table to discuss what is currently being offered in the community for adolescent’s health needs, what is the history, where we are now, and where we might be going. The determination has been made by the task force that we need to move forward with planning for a school based health center in northern Orange County. Orange County Schools has expressed a great deal of interest in this and has formed a planning committee to move this process forward and research how community and parental support can be garnered, sustainability funding, and to find the proper location. Clinical Services – A large concern is the 40% no-show rate. Open access scheduling is being implemented July 1 to reduce this rate by reserving a portion of each day for walk-ins. Primary Care – The issue of primary care is being looked at. Health Department focus has been mainly on prevention care in the past. The populations we serve are child bearing age women and children. Instead of fragmenting services for this vulnerable populations and low income uninsured that we serve, the department is looking into providing a more comprehensive continuity of care service to them on a limited basis. Our aim is to serve the whole need of the individual and their family of the populations that we do serve. The department will move forward with this plan now with our prenatal patients. A Carolina Access I application has been submitted to become a provider within that program for our prenatal patients. Carolina Access programs II and III are looking at systems of care for counties and multiple counties. The department feels it is important to be involved at this time to ensure a place in the negotiations of how we can be a provider within that system of care. We will be asking for feedback from clients and talking to providers in community about how they feel about the health department being a primary care provider, and then doing a cost benefit analysis of this. We want to assure service provision to those populations in our community. MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH February 27, 2003 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by V. Anne Miles 4 February 27, 2003 3. Environmental Health – Ron Holdway WTMP – A reinspection program for certain higher-risk septic systems in the county is in place and operating now. Several years ago the department was looking at expanding that program to include every system in the county. Recently Triangle Council of Governments has sponsored an Upper Neuse River Basin workgroup that has made several recommendations similar to our proposal as part of a complete study of how the basin can be improved and protected. A draft prepared by TJCOG of the management -planning project for this was given to board members. Commissioner Barry Jacobs has expressed a desire that the department research this program again for Orange County. This will be a topic for discussion at the joint BOCC-BOH meeting. The environmental health staff has taken a look at the mobile home parks in the county, rated them on various criteria and assigned them a risk level. The staff would like to be able to develop a plan for ongoing monitoring of the high-risk systems and conduct some planning with the owners of those parks. This may be incorporated into next year’s work plan. 4. Health Promotion and Education – Donna King Smart Start Funding – A proposal was submitted at the same level as last year for CHAP. Last year the county assisted with some funds. This year division funds are supporting operational cost. Healthy Carolinians – Community assessment process has begun. Student aid with data analysis will help development of a final report. Community agencies have been invited to anticipate and the feedback from these agencies has been very positive. Nutrition – A fee for service has been instituted for the services of the department’s registered nutritionist. It is a sliding fee scale and will be Medicaid billable for children and pregnant women. Application as been made for Medicare provider number to enable the department to provide medical nutrition therapy. Referrals have been also been received from the private sector providers. Public Health Month – April is public health month and the calendar is filling up with community events that the department has been invited to attend. The national focus is on obesity and nutrition but the department is also making plans for distribution of information for families about disaster preparedness. This information would cover thunderstorms, power outages, etc. 5. Animal Control – John Sauls The need for a new animal shelter is approaching. An offer was recently received from the town of Chapel Hill to use a part of the parcel that they would be using for their public works service area. There are several other county owned parcels under consideration. MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH February 27, 2003 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by V. Anne Miles 5 February 27, 2003 The first positive rabies case this year has been identified in Orange County, a rabid skunk. At the request of the commissioners HSUS and DSC will be conducting an on -site in-depth study of the animal shelter and producing a report for the county by mid-summer. The Dispute Settlement Center is under contract to conduct focus groups and a public notice for comments is to be issued by HSUS as well. VI. Board Comments/Announcements None VII. Health Directors Report Rosemary Summers distributed copies of the Health Director’s Report to Board members to read before the March meeting. VIII. Adjournment Motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Martha Stucker, seconded by Kate Wilder, and carried without dissent. The next Board of Health meeting will be held on March 27, 2003 at the Government Services Center, Hillsborough, North Carolina at 7:00 PM. Respectfully submitted, Rosemary L. Summers, MPH, DrPH Health Director Secretary to the Board