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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBOH minutes 062801MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH June 28, 2001 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by V. Anne Miles 1 June 28, 2001 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 June 28, 2001 at the Government Services Center in Hillsborough, North Carolina. BOARD OF HEALTH MEMBERS PRESENT: Jonathan Klein, Chair; Barry Adler; Mel Hurston; Barry Jacobs; Alan Rimer; Martha Stucker; Lee Werley; and Kate Wilder. BOARD OF HEALTH MEMBERS ABSENT: Janet Southerland, Vice Chair; Sharon Van Horn, and Alice White. STAFF PRESENT: Rosemary Summers, Health Director; Leticia Burns, Central Administrative Services Division Director; Ron Holdway, Environmental Health Division Director; John Sauls, Animal Control Division Director; Wayne Sherman, Personal Health Division Director; Donna King, Health Promotion and Education Services Division Director; Ellen Young, Healthy Carolinians of Orange County Coordinator; Adrianne Simonson, Environmental Health Intern; Teresa Mims, Clinic Nurse; Dianne Perry, Clinic Nurse; Julian Freeman, Animal Control Officer; Harvey Melton, Animal Control Officer GUESTS PRESENT: Mr. Robert Hornik, Attorney; Mr. And Mrs. Wayne Paschall, L & W Enterprises; Mr. Brent Clayton, Ms. Kylah Greer, Ms. Greer, (Kylah’s mother); Mr. And Mrs. Arthur Quartararo, Mr. Fred Perry I. CALL TO ORDER AND INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS Jonathan Klein called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m. Rosemary Summers introduced the new staff members present. II. ACTION ITEMS A. Approval of June 28, 2001 Agenda Jonathan Klein requested the Agenda be amended to include an appeal of a Potentially Dangerous Dog designation under Item II.D. Martha Stucker requested the Agenda be amended to add discussion of the role of volunteers in the Health Department under Item V. if time permits. If the meeting extends beyond 9:30 P.M., it is requested to be added to the July agenda. Motion to approve the Agenda of June 28, 2001 as amended was made by Mel Hurston, seconded by Martha Stucker, and carried without dissent. B. Minutes Approval of May 17, 2001 Meeting Motion to accept the minutes was made by Lee Werley, seconded by Mel Hurston, and carried without dissent. C. L & W Enterprises, Inc. Hearing Action At the regular May meeting, the Board of Health considered the hearing transcript from the L & W Enterprises appeal on the order to vacate fourteen mobile home spaces from the L & W Mobile Home Park. The decision on the order to vacate spaces was delayed until the regularly scheduled June Board of Health meeting. Rosemary Summers reported that the conditions specified at the May meeting appear to have been satisfied. This includes: MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH June 28, 2001 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by V. Anne Miles 2 June 28, 2001 • The extension of sewer by the City of Durham to the L & W Mobile Home Park is to be owned by the City of Durham. This condition was met according to the letter from the City of Durham to John Link, Orange County Manager, dated June 15, 2001. • A provision that limits Durham’s annexation of the Park to a future date (unspecified). At the future date that Durham wishes to annex the property, another request for annexation will be filed with Orange County. This condition was met according to the letter from the City of Durham to John Link, Orange County Manager, dated June 15, 2001. • A financial instrument/vehicle be provided to the Orange County Board of Commissioners and the Board of Health that provides assurance that funds are available for the construction of the force main and lift station AND for a regular schedule of pump and haul sufficient to prevent surfacing and ponding sewage for the entire interim period prior to the force main and lift station being in full service. This condition was met as indicated in a letter from Bank of America to Orange County Health Department dated June 28, 2001. • Seek approval by the Orange County Commissioners by docketing the proposed ownership of the system by the City of Durham as specified above no later than the Commissioners meeting scheduled for June 19, 2001. This was heard and a resolution was passed at the June 19 meeting of the Board of County Commissioners. Motion was made by Jonathan Klein, seconded by Martha Stucker and carried without dissent to approve the construction of the pump station, the pump and haul schedule, the intent of having sewer system owned by Durham city, with the provision that City of Durham will annex that in the future, and if that is met and the system is put in place in a six month period time, then there would be no further grounds for enforcing vacating of the properties. D. Appeal of Potentially Dangerous Dog A transcript of the hearing to appeal the Potentially Dangerous Dog order is attached. (The transcript is the verbatim discussion at this meeting on June 28, 2001.) Motion to uphold the Dangerous Dog Order was made by Martha Stucker, seconded by Kate Wilder, and carried, with Barry Jacobs opposing. Barry Jacobs felt that the dogs do have to be restrained on their property as written in the Orange County leash laws, however a solution to the problem could have been reached without declaring the dogs dangerous. He also felt that the Board needs to be proactive in resolving these conflicts, and as such should recommend the parties involved seek professional mediation services. Motion to have staff member contact Mr. Clayton and Mrs. Quarterero and suggest that they engage the a professional mediator to negotiate a settlement that may improve their relationships was made by Mel Hurston, seconded by Barry Jacobs, and carried without dissent. III. PUBLIC COMMENT Mr. Tyrone Price requested an extension of a July 5 deadline given to them by the Environmental Health Division to repair or replace the current septic system serving their property. The original septic system is not large enough to serve the new modular home on their property. Mr. Price explained that the older home has been completely gutted of plumbing and electrical services and is only used for storage at the present time. The repairs of the septic system have not been MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH June 28, 2001 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by V. Anne Miles 3 June 28, 2001 completed as expected due to financial hardship, a result of extended illness. He requested the Board grant an extension until he is able to arrange financing for the necessary repairs to come into compliance. Motion to grant a 60-day extension to come into compliance was made by Mel Hurston, seconded by Kate Wilder, and carried without dissent. IV. REPORTS AND DISCUSSION WITH POSSIBLE ACTION A. Orange County Health Report Cards Ellen Young distributed an updated version of the Adult and Youth Health Report Cards to Board members and reviewed the recent changes. Several changes were suggested by Martha Stucker and Barry Jacobs prior to publication. The report cards will be on the Orange County Healthy Carolinians web site with links to related services and health information. Board members complimented the staff on a job well done. It was felt the information contained in the brochures was presented in a clear and concise manner. B. Program Report: Child Health Awareness; Project Fotonovela The Child Health Awareness Project is funded through Smart Start funds. The Project is designed to reach out to “hard to reach” families and provide information and referral to these families for a variety of areas including health, child developmental childcare, and other services. The Project Coordinator, Susan Clifford, presented a brief overview of the project and some highlights of accomplishments to date. The Fotonovela, which was distributed to Board members, was one of the major outcomes of the project for this current year. Alan Rimer questioned the possibility of extending the same idea to the Hispanic male population to involve them in health and work safety issues. The large number of workers in Orange County that are untrained in safety issues, is a health concern. C. Animal Control and Environmental Health Committee (ACEHC) 1. Water Resources Committee Recommendations The Water Resources Committee recently issued a final report of its work over the last decade. Included in that report were several recommendations that could have implications for or relate to public health issues, especially Environmental Health programs. The Board has the opportunity to forward comments regarding this report and its recommendations to the Water Resources Committee and to the Board of County Commissioners. Alan Rimer presented the findings and recommendations to the Board. One of the things the committee was looking for was a way to take the current database we have and extend it. The suggestion was made that as people put wells into the system that we ask them if they are willing to participate on a voluntary basis to let the sampling of those wells go on over time and to measure the water level in the well. Water level is an indicator of the resource base. If the water lever varies over time, you can plug this into a GIS program and create a hydro potential across the county if there is enough data available. This is very useful in terms of sustainable planning. MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH June 28, 2001 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by V. Anne Miles 4 June 28, 2001 Ron Holdway reported that approximately 125 radon test kits have been given out by the Environmental Health Division, but many have not been turned in to the lab for analysis. Motion to forward the recommendations of the ACEHC Committee to the Board of Commissioners and the Commission for the Environment was made by Kate Wilder, seconded by Martha Stucker, and carried without dissent. Barry Jacobs requested an update on the survey of users of the animal shelter. Dr. Summers explained that this went out for bids twice and the bids came back at double what we had allocated for the project. Because of that process, we are looking again at what and how we want to collect that data. The unused money that had been allocated for this project is being requested to be carried forward to next year and directed at focus groups that will assist in planning for the new shelter. The original research was to be quantitative, now we are back to doing more of a qualitative research project. D. PHEADS Committee 1. Fee and Eligibility Policy Changes To protect the interest of all patients that are now required to pay for services, it is recommended that the Department should use some form of income verification to determine the level of appropriate payment for services. In addition, there have not been written policies for Dental Services in this regard, although t hey have functioned with similar guidelines for eligibility determination, their payment requirements have been different. These changes also include services offered by Health Promotion and Health Education as well; therefore, all divisions are covered by this single policy document except Animal Control and Environmental Health. Each division that will outline the division’s steps to implement these policies will also develop a procedures manual. Motion to approve the revisions as presented was made by Mel Hurston, seconded by Barry Jacobs, and carried without dissent. 2. Pharmacy Contract Renewal Last year was the first year the department contracted with an individual pharmacist to provide pharmacy services for the department. The department has performed a thorough evaluation of the services provided and the needs of the department for the upcoming year and has discussed the needs with the current pharmacist. The amount of the contract for FY 2001-2002 is $10,032 per year or approximately $30 per hour for on-site pharmacy services. Pharmacy services for the health department’s clinics are $6,510, or 217 hours. Approximately $3,500 of the total contract is attributable to pharmacy coverage for jail health services. This amount will be recovered through an internal charge back with the Sheriff’s Department. These services assure that the Health Department and the jail is in full compliance with state laws governing pharmacy management and oversight. Motion to approve the contract as presented was made by Mel Hurston, seconded by Barry Jacobs, and carried without dissent. MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH June 28, 2001 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by V. Anne Miles 5 June 28, 2001 3. Dental Director Contract Renewal This is an annual review of the agreement with the Department of Dental Ecology of the UNC School of Dentistry for the services of a Dental Director for the Health Department. The School of Dentistry has provided this service since the inception of the Dental Program 20 years ago. The Dental Director provides clinical oversight and consultation to Health Department staff and to the variety of dental attendings, residents, and students, that provide actual clinical services to the program. The Dental Director develops dental policies and consults with the Health Director as requested. In the coming year the department will be exploring the consolidation of the Dental Director roll with the part-time faculty that the department also utilizes through the School of Dentistry as attending dentists. The agreement is for $10,000 annually and has not increased. Motion to approve the renewal of the Dental Director contract was made by Mel Hurston, seconded by Barry Jacobs, and carried without dissent. 4. Audit Results from Maternal & Child Health Audit The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services conducts program audits on a 2, 4, or 6 year cycle depending on the outcome of the previous audit. The last time the maternal and child health programs at Orange County Health Department were audited was in 1996. A team of eight regional and state staff conducted the audit June 12 through the 14, 2001. The auditor performing the financial audit was ill and will be finishing her portion in July. Therefore, the department only received a preliminary score of 96%. The final report should be forwarded by the end of August. The Board congratulated the staff on the results and recommended notification of the Board of County Commissioners when the final score is received. 5. Final Fee Changes The state has sent several additional fee changes since the Board adopted the proposed budget in February. These fees were included in the Commissioners packet for the final approved budget. Since these changes have come in the last thirty days, there was not an opportunity to obtain Board of Health approval prior to Commissioner approval, however, General Statutes require Board of Health action as well. Motion to approve the fee increases as presented was made by Mel Hurston, seconded by Barry Jacobs, and carried without dissent. E. Budget Update The Board of County Commissioners approved the 2001-2002 Budget to include the positions requested by the Health Department that were approved by the County Manager. The Environmental Health Specialist for food and lodging will not start until January 1, 2002; however, the well and wastewater position can be filled immediately. The half-time nutritionist position is approved. The money is reserved for the medical interpreter, but the Board of County Commissioners would like a plan for addressing interpreter services on a countywide basis before filling that position. All of the partial increases were MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH June 28, 2001 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by V. Anne Miles 6 June 28, 2001 approved; the dental coordinator, the dental office assistant, the immunization tracking nurse, and the intensive home visiting half-time office assistant. The intensive home visiting positions were approved as permanent posit ions from time limited positions. That money is still at risk in the state legislature. The pay plan was approved for a 2.5% COLA increase for employees and a 2.5% in-step merit increase at a proficient level. The County contribution to the 401k plan went from $15 to $20 per pay period. The manager cut the operating budget in all departments to be able to preserve the 2.5% COLA increase. Final figures will be available by the second week of July. F. Ad Hoc Committee for Marketing Plan Development We have needed to take an overall look at marketing the Health Department for a number of years. It is not just how to get people in the doors, it is an educational component of the many things that we do. Donna King will chair this committee and include one staff member from each division within the department, and one board member, and one county Public Information Office staff member. The committee will look at all aspects of our communication with residents and organizations. Healthy Carolinians has some ideas for some things that they would like to see promoted. We need to be a part of that overall message as well. Martha Stucker questioned the issues of customer satisfaction in terms of marketing. This is an area that will be looked at either at a later time or by a subcommittee. Mel Hurston volunteered to fill the board position on the Ad Hoc Committee for Marketing Plan Development. V. BOARD COMMENTS 1. Role of Volunteers Time did not permit discussion of this topic. VII. ADJOURNMENT Motion to adjourn was made by Lee Werley, seconded by Mel Hurston, and carried without dissent. Jonathan Klein adjourned the meeting at 10:30 P.M. The next Board of Health meeting will be held on July 26, 2001 at the Southern Human Services Center in Chapel Hill at 7:30 PM. Respectfully submitted, Rosemary L. Summers, MPH, DrPH Health Director Secretary to the Board