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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBOH minutes 102600MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH October 26, 2000 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by V. Anne Miles 1 October 26, 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, October 26, 2000 at the Government Services Building in Hillsborough, North Carolina. BOARD OF HEALTH MEMBERS PRESENT: Jonathan Klein, Janet Southerland, Barry Jacobs, Lee Werley, Barry Adler, Martha Stucker, Mel Hurston, Kate Wilder, Sharon Van Horn, Alice White, Alan Rimer BOARD OF HEALTH MEMBERS ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Rosemary Summers, Health Director; Ron Holdway, Environmental Health Division Director; Leticia Burns Administrative Officer, Anne Miles, Administrative Assistant GUESTS PRESENT: Carol Crawford, Clerk of Court I. Welcome and Introductions Jonathan Klein called the meeting to order at 7:40 p.m. and introduced the staff, guest, and in-coming Board members. II. Action Items A. New Board of Health members, Dr. Sharon Van Horn, Dr. Kate Wilder, and Dr. Alice White were sworn in by Myra Crawford, standing in for the Clerk of Superior Court. B. Adoption of Agenda and Approval of Minutes Motion to approve the Agenda of October 26, 2000 was made by Alan Rimer, seconded by Martha Stucker and carried without dissent. Motion to approve the Minutes of September 28, 2000 was made by Mel Hurston, seconded by Lee Werley and carried without dissent. III. Public Comment for Items NOT on printed Agenda There were no public comments. IV. Reports/Actions/Discussion from Committees A. Animal Control & Environmental Health Committee 1. Recommendation of Re-appointment of Animal Cruelty Investigator Since September 1994 the Board of Commissioners has annually appointed or re- appointed one or more employees of the Animal Protection Society to act as County- Appointed Animal Cruelty Investigator(s) under Chapter 19A. Chapter 19A is a law which provides a civil remedy for cruelty to animals. In its delegated role of overseeing the animal control program, the Board of Health has reviewed these requests for appointment for the past three years, and then forwarded them to the Commissioners for approval. MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH October 26, 2000 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by V. Anne Miles 2 October 26, 2000 Motion was made by Alan Rimer, seconded by Barry Jacobs and carried without dissent to recommend that the Board of Commissioners re-appoint Mr. Dean Edwards as the County-Appointed Cruelty Investigator for 2000-2001 B. Nominating/By-Laws Committee 1. Presentation of Slate of Officers for Calendar Year 2001 Janet Southerland presented the Nominating Committee report. The Committee recommends a delay of presentation of slate of officers until after the Board of County Commissioners has acted on a request to consider a third term for three Board of Health members. These Board members received an appointment letter stating that they were eligible for three terms. 2. Review of Proposed By-Laws Revisions The last revision of the by-laws was in 1984. Since that time, legislative changes have occurred that make revisions in some sections of the by-laws necessary in order to comply with General Statutes. Other revisions are proposed based on the customary practices that the Board has adopted over time. The proposed revisions reorganize and reclassify the By-Laws into 1) Charge, 2) Duties, and 3) Rules and Procedures. An additional change was suggested that a Conflict of Interest statement be signed by new Board members. The current by-laws state that revisions must be presented at the meeting prior to the meeting where they are adopted, therefore these revisions cannot be adopted until the November meeting of the Board. C. Executive Committee 1. Receipt of Medicaid Cost Settlement Funds Beginning in 1994, North Carolina chose to “set aside” a portion of annual Medicaid earnings from local health departments as a potential cushion against overspending those funds. Since that time, the state has not used all of the withheld funds. Last year, Orange County received cost settlement funds for fiscal year 1997 – 98. The allocation received in the last two years by the Health Department has been placed in a capital project ordinance for use in eligible programs. Funds that are unexpended at the end of the fiscal year are carried forward for use in subsequent years. The funds are required to be budgeted and expended to further the objectives of the program that generated the receipts. Funds may be expended for a variety of public health needs and activities or they may be held in reserve for future needs of the department. The funds are not to replace current budget allocations for these program areas. Over the past two years funds from this account have been used to purchase imaging MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH October 26, 2000 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by V. Anne Miles 3 October 26, 2000 equipment for health department records, fund temporary personnel to image records, purchase equipment not on the regular capital improvement schedule with the county, and has enabled special software purchases to meet specific department needs. The balance of the fund rounded to the nearest hundred is $246,400. The reimbursement amount for 1998-99 is $74,835.94 and is anticipated to be used for the renovation of the Whitted Building clinical area, including the purchase of moveable medical records shelving. In addition, a continuation of the temporary position funding for records imaging will come from these funds. The Department may only receive one more year of such funding since the state has not yet determined how it will handle cost settlement after the unbundling that occurred beginning July 1 of this year. Motion to accept the funds and forward to the Board of Commissioners a recommendation to place the funds into the existing capital account designated for these funds was made by Martha Stucker, seconded by Janet Southerland and carried without dissent. 2. Discussion of Board Committee Structure and Assignments. Last November immediately following election of new officers, the Board adopted a new committee structure to organize the work of the Board. There have been several Board and staff vacancies that have caused some committees to lie completely dormant and others that need to "start over" because all of the members have been replaced. The Board was in agreement with the revised committee structure and appointments. 3. Follow-up from Board Retreat: Objectives and Strategies At the September Board meeting the Board considered the resources anticipated to be needed along with priorities that were established by the staff. State mandated services are the services being considered first in order to meet the department's basic obligations. Rosemary Summers explained the essential services and core functions of the Health Department. Jonathan Klein addressed the issue of a need for an interpreter on the Health Department staff due to a large influx of Hispanic population. He recommended increasing bilingual abilities of the staff through education and filling any job vacancies with qualified bilingual applicants. V. Board Comments Jonathan Klein pointed out that Orange County is one of only two counties in North Carolina that does not have a law against use of alcoholic beverages while hunting. It was recommended that an ordinance be drafted for presentation to the Board of County Commissioners to cover this issue. The staff will look into this and report to the Board in November. Jonathan Klein addressed the obesity and nutrition issue and spoke in support of issuing a formal statement of position from the Board of Health regarding proliferation of soda and snack MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH October 26, 2000 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by V. Anne Miles 4 October 26, 2000 machines in the public schools similar to the ADA statement in an effort to promote a healthy lifestyle. The Board was in agreement that a policy statement as well as a strategy for getting the schools and other organizations to adopt this policy was a good idea. This will be placed on the Dental and Personal Health Committee agenda. Rosemary Summers reported on the October 25 meeting with Orange County school officials, Commissioners, and the County Manager regarding the school nurse program and whether the nurse previously assigned to the school might be replaced. The Health Department nurse was transferred back to the Health Department to cover staffing shortages last spring when communicable disease issues were critical. A joint task force is to be formed to further address and make recommendations on school health nursing standards for the county. Current staffing provides a .4 FTE Health Department nurse to the Orange County schools, and will remain in effect this school year. Rosemary Summers reported that the Health Department had received a call from a representative of UNC Hospital who wishes to explore the possible development of school- based health centers in both ends of the County. The centers would make healthcare accessible to students from the Orange County and Chapel Hill/Carrboro school systems. Barry Jacobs requested that the tax notices sent out by the Animal Control Division be reworded to be more "customer friendly" and recommended that the committee review the form. VI. Adjournment The motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Mel Hurston, seconded by Barry Jacobs and carried without dissent. The Board of Health meeting adjourned at 9:55 p.m. The next Board of Health meeting will be held on November 16, 2000 at The Southern Human Services Center, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Respectfully submitted, Rosemary L. Summers, MPH, DrPH Health Director Secretary to the Board