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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBOH minutes 032300MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH March 23, 2000 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by 1 March 23, 2000 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 THURSDAY, March 23, 2000 at the Government Services Center in Hillsborough, North Carolina. BOARD OF HEALTH MEMBERS PRESENT: Mel Hurston, Lee Werley, Jonathan Klein, Martha Stucker, Ron Cammarata, Sandra Quinn and Barry Adler BOARD OF HEALTH MEMBERS ABSENT: Janet Southerland, Rick Marinshaw STAFF PRESENT: Rosemary Summers, Health Director; Ron Holdway, Environmental Health Division Director; Eileen Kugler, Personal Health Division Director; John Sauls, Animal Control Division Director; Eugene Sandler, Director of Dental Clinic, Angela Cooke, Dental Coordinator, Leigh McFalls, Nursing Supervisor, Kathy Glassock, Nursing Supervisor, Cornelia Ramsey, Health Educator, Joyce Lee, Administrative Officer and Elvira Mebane, Administrative Assistant. GUESTS PRESENT: Komel Matheny, Patti Scanlon, Alexandra Cossi, Christopher Brown, and Kristin Mill, graduate students at UNC; I. CALL TO ORDER AND INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS Acting Chair, Mel Hurston, called the meeting to order at 7:42 p.m.. Rosemary Summers introduced the staff and guests present. II. Action Items A. Adoption of March 23, 2000 Board of Health Agenda and approval of February 24, 2000 Board of Health minutes. The motion to approve the Agenda of March 23, 2000 as proposed was made by Martha Stucker and seconded by Ron Cammarata, and carried without dissent. The motion to accept the minutes as presented was made by Lee Werley and seconded by Martha Stucker, and carried without dissent. B. Presentation of FY2000 –2001 Budget Request Dr. Rosemary Summers presented the Budget as outlined. The main issues effecting the Budget are reorganization of the department; and declining Medicaid revenues. The addition of the overtime line item in the Environmental Health Division, and the addition of a new department, although it was funded by shift of personnel in the reorganization process, will also impact the budget. A new fee structure system, extension of Physician Services Contract from 5 FTD to 7 FTD, an increase in lab, pharmacy, and medical supplies, and a few capital requests for equipment replacement were also cited as changes. Grants we have right now are Smart Start, Community Health Awareness Project, Intensive Home Visiting, Pre-School Dental Screening Project, and Syphilis Elimination Project funds, a grant from CDC and the State Our total budget request for 2000-2001 is for $4,969,722.00, a 3.67% increase from last year. MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH March 23, 2000 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by 2 March 23, 2000 Two public hearings on the budget are scheduled and Board members are expected to attend one of the meetings. Discussion ensued regarding means of controlling expenses through training cutbacks and acquisition of revenue by registrations held at rabies clinics, and an increase in kennel fees. The point was made that as health care providers that has direct impact on how well we provide services and that much of the training is necessary to retain certifications. There are seven areas that increased 20 percent or more than our 12-month estimate. A large part of the increase is attributed to medical contracts, and the cost of the Customer Service Survey by an outside source. The motion to accept the budget as proposed was made by Lee Werley and seconded by Ron Holdway, and carried without dissent. A. Community Programs Committee 1. Public Health Month Proclamation Rosemary Summers presented this report since this committee has not had a chance to meet. The April 13th vaccination clinics listed on the Public Health Month Proclamation are rabies vaccination clinics, not immunization. Louise Echols was recognized for her hard work as coordinator of Public Health Month activities this year. The April 15th Health Expo is a Health Fair event that is sponsored and staffed by Health Department employees. The Board was encouraged to come see how we do what we do. The Health Expo will be held at Wal-Mart, which is considered a high traffic area yielding easy access by the public. The motion to accept the proclamation and endorse the planned activities for Public Health Month was made by Mel Hurston and seconded by Martha Stucker and carried without dissent. B. Presentation of FY2000-2001 Budget Request 1. Eligibility and Fee Policies Medicaid billing requires the existence of a fee schedule and a consultant has been hired to help develop this. Income levels will be determined on a gross income basis, based on State requirements for written documentation in Orange County to be eligible for services. It was decided that a collection policy would be established and maintained to ensure that our clients are kept aware of any outstanding charges that are due and also to ensure that they know that our expectations are that they remit payment. Payment would be due by the 10th of the month and two more consecutive months if necessary and then going forward at 3-month intervals, bills would be submitted until the 12-month time period has elapsed. Only by then will an account be pursued by our collections. We do not know what it is going to cost to bill or what the sliding fee scale is going to be. The fee scale should be available by the next meeting and will be reviewed by the County Finance Director or Revenue Director. The motion to approve the policy as presented was made by Sandra Quinn and seconded by Martha Stucker and carried without dissent. 2. Access to Health Services for Minors It is very clear that a board’s authority is limited and therefore cannot supercede a state law. MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH March 23, 2000 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by 3 March 23, 2000 This issue is considered volatile and has already prompted five counties to make a public statement. An article in the Burlington newspaper regarding this issue as well as the controversy as it seems to be developing motivated it being brought before the board. Alamance County has now passed the resolution to recommend that the State legislature repeal this piece of legislation, making a total of six counties that have passed this resolution. The outcome will affect not just minors, but Title X funding for the health programs. Federal regulations require that if the state passes a legislation mandating minors must have parental consent the state loses all Federal Title X money. That impacts not just services to minors, but also our family planning services to low income women. The impact goes far beyond services to minors. This is an issue we would like to bring to the Board of Commissioners and/or legislature. The possible consequences include the increase in incidences of various diseases, the costs of treating bad outcomes (premature babies for teens) would be something to be reckoned with then thirdly that we philosophically feel that teenagers have this right. C. Animal Control and Environmental Health Committee 1. Report on APS Shelter Contract Review Several procedural changes have been made including adoption guidelines for outdoor dogs and an appeals process written for people who are turned down for adoption. The contract has been reviewed and we are waiting for response from the ATS on the changes we wanted to make. The next meeting is April 7, 2000 and committee recommendations will be brought to the Board on procedures, funding applications, and the contract at the next meeting. It was pointed out that Solid Waste in Chapel Hill is co-located with the animal shelter, on property owned by the University under a lease that expires in the 2006. As the town of Chapel Hill gets out of solid waste management they are looking for a different location for their trucks for that operation in anticipation that the university is not going to renew the lease. If the university doesn’t renew the lease for the animal shelter we will need to find a new location for the animal shelter and perhaps a new building. Also, it was brought to the attention of the board members the current difficulty in obtaining euthanasia serum because of FDA shut down of many of the serum manufacturers. Board Member Comments Rubella: We have vaccinated 600 individuals over the course of the outbreak. There are no new cases and no new suspects, so we are limited and confined to the original 4 that we had. Other cases and contacts from surrounding counties have also been eliminated. The one case that had been reported in Alamance County was retested by the state lab and reported negative for rubella. The Health Department sent a letter to every school child in this county, 9600 in Chapel Hill and 6600 in Orange County systems. The private schools were contacted by phone. VI. Adjournment The motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Mel Hurston, seconded by Martha Stucker and unanimously passed. A Board of Health Work Session will be held on April 14, 2000, at 12 noon at the Government Services Center in Hillsborough N.C. MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH March 23, 2000 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by 4 March 23, 2000 The next Board of Health meeting will be held on April 27, 2000 at the Government Services Center in Hillsborough N.C.. Respectfully submitted, Rosemary L. Summers, MPH, DrPH Health Director Secretary to the Board