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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBOH minutes 042403MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH April 24, 2003 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by V. Anne Miles 1 April 24, 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 April 24, 2003 at the Government Human Services Center, Hillsborough, North Carolina. BOARD OF HEALTH MEMBERS PRESENT: Mel Hurston, Chair; Alice White, Vice Chair; Barry Adler; Jonathan Klein; Jessica Lee; Alan Rimer; Martha Stucker; Sharon Van Horn; Lee Werley BOARD OF HEALTH MEMBERS ABSENT: Moses Carey, Kate Wilder STAFF PRESENT: Rosemary Summers, Health Director; Wayne Sherman, Personal Health Services Division Director; Donna King, Health Promotion and Education Services Division Director; Ron Holdway, Environmental Health Services Division Director; John Sauls, Animal Control Services Division Director; Anne Miles, Administrative Assistant GUESTS PRESENT: None I. Welcome and Introductions Mel Hurston called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M. II. Approval of April 24, 2003 Agenda The motion to approve the Agenda of April 24, 2003 was made by Martha Stucker, seconded by Jonathan Klein, and carried without dissent. III. Public Comment for Items NOT on Printed Agenda None IV. Action Items on CONSENT Agenda A. Minutes approval of March 27, 2003 meeting. B. UNC Family Practice Contract Renewal for Medical Director Services OCHD has had a contract with UNC Family Practice for Medical Director services for a number of years. The contract is proposed to be renewed on the same basis as last year: 20 hours of clinical time and 8 hours of administrative time (communicable disease issues, policies and procedures, jail health, school health, etc.). Dr. Mike Fisher has served as Medical Director for the current year with Dr. Valerie King serving as back up. The cost to OCHD for Medical Director services increases by 5% for the coming fiscal year. Last year there was no increase in the contract amount. The total cost of the contract for the fiscal year is $121,272. It is recommended t hat the contract with the UNC Department of Family Medicine for fiscal year 2003-2004 for Medical Director and physician services for the Orange County Health Department be forwarded to the Commissioners for approval. C. Jail Health Agreement Renewal with Orange County Sheriff’s Office MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH April 24, 2003 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by V. Anne Miles 2 April 24, 2003 For the past year the Health Department provided jail health services for the inmate population of the Orange County Jail. This past year has been a process of learning and growth between the two parties. Marsh Affinity, Inc. the insurance carrier for the group insurance that the county participates in made a site visit to the jail to assess the program. The attached agreement incorporates some of the recommendations made as a result of that site visit. The Board of County Commissioners continues to provide funds to the Sheriff’s office to provide health services for the jail. We are still recruiting for a part-time weekend nurse for medication coverage. The Sheriff, contract and budget offices of the county are currently reviewing the draft agreement as well. It is recommended that the Health Director be given authorization to sign the agreement. D. Contract Renewal with Early Head Start for Social Worker II Since 1999 the Health Department has contracted with Chapel Hill Training and Outreach and provided a Social Worker II to that agency to provide services to Early Head Start children in Chapel Hill. The contract provides for payment for a Social Worker employed by the Health Department to provide child service coordination services to children enrolled in Early Head Start (0-3 year olds). This has been one way to coordinate services across agency lines to families that qualify for services. There are only minor changes in this contract. This draft is currently under review by Chapel Hill Training and Outreach and the County Attorney and is expected to be finalized in the next week. The contract time period does not correspond to the county fiscal year, because the funds to Chapel Hill Training and Outreach are federal funds. The grant year will be changing to a calendar year as of January 2005; hence the time period of the contract is through December 2004. It is recommended that the contract be forwarded to the Board of County Commissioners for approval and signature. Motion to approve the action items on the consent agenda was made by Martha Stucker, seconded by Jonathan Klein, and carried without dissent. V. Reports and Discussion with Possible Action A. Update on Legislative Matters 1. SB672: Public Health Infrastructure – The NCALHD is not in support of this bill as it would end up privatizing the majority of public health functions and would weaken the public health infrastructure if there were an emergency. 2. SB907: Certification of Wastewater Site Evaluators – This bill would provide for the certification of private wastewater site evaluators through a two-day certification training and make mandatory the acquisition of certification from this source prior to issuance of a permit by the local health departments. This process raises the question of legal responsibility should the system then fail. MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH April 24, 2003 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by V. Anne Miles 3 April 24, 2003 3. SB927: Certification of On-Site Wastewater Contractors – This bill is an act to license contractors that install septic systems. 4. HB560/SB463: Funds for Interpreter Services/Local Health Department – This bill is an act to appropriate funds for interpreter services in local health departments. Motion was made to show Board of Health opposition to SB672 and SB907 and support of SB927 and HB530/SB463 by Jonathan Klein, seconded by Alice White and carried without dissent. B. Health Director’s Report Dental Position: The position for a dentist has been approved and recruitment is under way. Awards: Two staff members have won awards. Tom Konsler won the Environmental Health Supervisor of the Year award from the Association of Environmental Health Supervisors. Karen Seifert was awarded the Outstanding Young Dietician for the state. Her nomination came through the Orange-Durham Dietician Association. State of the Environment Report: This is a report the Orange County Commission for the Environment through the Environment and Resource Conservation Department produced. The recommendations made in this report are in the areas covered by the Health Department. Rosemary Summers suggested the Board of Health committees look into these recommendations and consider if and how the Board would propose working these into the new long-range plan. Emergency Management Policy Analysis: As a result of continued concern over terrorism, the County received a grant to study the I-40/I-85 corridor for evacuation in the event of an emergency. The report was presented to the Commissioners at their last meeting. Communicable Disease Update: We are still dealing with SARS and receive several calls per week of possible cases. The Department is working with the state on tracking these probable or suspected cases. The Health Director has the power to quarantine. Orange County has had one case, the first in the state, and six that have been investigated and ruled out. Strep: There is a strep throat outbreak at an area preschool. More than 50% of the children in the classroom tested positive for strep over a recurring period of time. In consulting with the state they wanted the department to prophylaxis the entire classroom at the same time. There was objection to this from several parents; therefore, parents were given the option of prophylactic antibiotics or obtaining a negative throat culture before the child could be readmitted to the classroom. Emergency Planning: We are looking at participating in two field exercises that the state is planning, one in July and one in August. The July exercise is to diagnose and test the surveillance system for a bioterrorism outbreak of a disease agent. It will be run as a “live exercise” with an EPI center of Guilford County. The August exercise is going to test the ability to acquire and distribute the strategic national stockpile (the national pharmaceutical stockpile). This will involve the access, security, storage, MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH April 24, 2003 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by V. Anne Miles 4 April 24, 2003 transporting, receiving and distribution of pharmaceutical supplies in order to do a mock mass on-site prophylaxis. Highway 70 Junkyard: Hazardous conditions have been brought to the attention of County Commissioners and several newspapers. The county has had an ongoing enforcement action the owner of the property for years and has been unable to obtain an adequate court judgment to comply. The county has now requested the Health Department look into the public health issues and hazards involved which would give the department the ability to abate the nuisance and fix it. Environmental Health division has put together a plan to test wells from the surrounding areas and possible groundwater pollution in the area. The issue of possible breeding grounds for mosquitoes will also be looked into due to the issue of West Nile Virus. HSUS Site Visit: The team from Human Society of the United States is currently doing the site visit at the APS Animal Shelter as contracted by the County Commissioners. The team member that spent the day with the department’s animal control officers mentioned that it was very unusual in their assessment for Animal Control officers to leave a customer service survey at every call they made. VI. Board Comments/Announcements A. Jessica Lee announced the settlement of a lawsuit regarding denial of dental treatment under Medicaid and that the state was in violation of federal statutes. This suit has been filed in sixteen states and in all instances a settlement was reached. This should make dental care available to more people. The new reimbursement rate for private dentists will be at 70 percent of the pediatric specialty rate. VII. Adjournment Motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Martha Stucker, seconded by Lee Werley, and carried without dissent. The next Board of Health meeting will be held on May 22 at the Government Services Center in Hillsborough, North Carolina at 7:00 PM. Respectfully submitted, Rosemary L. Summers, MPH, DrPH Health Director Secretary to the Board