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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBOH Minutes of 032520 MINUTES - Draft ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH March 25, 2020 ORANGE COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT MISSION STATEMENT: To enhance the quality Hof life, promote the health, and preserve the environment for all people in the Orange County community. THE ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH MET ON March 25, 2020 virtually via Go To Meeting. BOARD OF HEALTH MEMBERS PRESENT: Jessica Frega, Chair, Jennifer Deyo, Vice-Chair, Keith Bagby, Bruce Baldwin, Liska Lackey, Sam Lasris, Commissioner Earl McKee, Aparna Jonnal, Lee Pickett, Timothy Smith and Alison Stuebe. BOARD OF HEALTH MEMBERS ABSENT: None. STAFF PRESENT: Quintana Stewart, Health Director; Rebecca Crawford, Financial and Administrative Services Director; Victoria Hudson, Environmental Health Director; Kristin Prelipp, Communications Manager; Ashley Rawlinson, Healthy Carolinians Coordinator; Beverly Scurry, BOH Strategic Plan Manager; and La Toya Strange, Administrative Support I. GUESTS PRESENT: Mary Tiger, OWASA. I. Welcome New Employees Jessica Frega, Chair, called the meeting to order at 7:00pm. There were no new employees in attendance. II. Public Comment for Items NOT on Printed Agenda: None. III. Approval of the March 25, 2020 Agenda Motion was made by Alison Stuebe to approve the agenda, seconded by Bruce Baldwin and carried without dissent. IV. Action Items (Consent) A. Minutes of February 26, 2020 Meeting Motion was made by Aparna Jonnal to approve the minutes of February 2020, seconded by Bruce Baldwin and carried without dissent. V. Educational Sessions A. COVID-19 Update Quintana Stewart, Health Director, provided high level updates on COVID-19 in Orange County. Below are some highlights. S:\Managers Working Files\BOH\Agenda &Abstracts\2020 Agenda &Abstracts/ March Page 1 MINUTES - Draft ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH March 25, 2020 ➢ The current positive case count for Orange County is 13. There were 2 deaths in Cabarrus County. One is attributed to North Carolina and the other, the state of Virginia. The case count for the county is based on the person's home county of residence. ➢ On March 18t", the State announced there was community transmission in the state. They relaxed the need for contact tracing; however, the OCHD continues to do contact tracing as Orange County's case county isn't as high as other counties. ➢ The State's guidance on testing is that we can't test everyone. Due to the shortage of personal protection equipment (PPE), those with mild symptoms (e.g. cough and a mild fever) will not be tested. The treatment course would remain the same for those individuals whether they're tested or not. Difficulty breathing and shortness of breath are considered severe symptoms. ➢ The OCHD still has the ability to test but we are referring patients to the Respiratory Diagnostic Center (RDC) at UNC as the results come back quicker than the labs being sent to the State Lab. LabCorp results have a reported 24 hour turnaround time. ➢ Emergency Management Services (EMS) has found some vendors to fill PPE orders and is working regionally with surrounding counties to make one large order. ➢ Today, screenings started at the Health Department and Department of Social Services sites as these places have the most traffic. EMS is also actively screening daily. People will have their temperature taken and will be given a bracelet once screening has been completed. ➢ OCHD is now conducting telehealth appointments. ➢ Some challenges of the current COVID-19 response include: o Multiple media requests and citizens that want to know specific demographic information (specifically the infected person's address). o Threats to be sued because that very specific information isn't being disclosed to the public. o We've consulted our County Attorney's office. We have to adhere to HIPPA laws and handle COVID-19 cases in the same manner we handle all our other communicable diseases as covered under the Communicable Disease law. ➢ What's working well: o Dinah Jefferies, Director of EMS, along with Kirby Saunders and Sarah Pickhardt of EMS, have been a great team to work with and excellent partners to co-lead. o Kristin Prelipp, OCHD Communications Manager and Public Information Office (PIO), established a Joint Information Center (JIC) which is structured with multiple OCHD and county staff. There's a backup for each position which handles several tasks to include the Call Center, Emergency Preparedness, Equity, the COVID email address/texting service, Graphics, Social Media, Rumor Control (Facts vs Myths), Refugees and a Business Liaison. o Victoria Hudson and the Environmental Health staff posted informative flyers about social distancing and other messaging at grocery stores in attempt to reach those without internet service. o The OCHD Communicable Disease (CD) Team has been extremely productive and is doing a great job with contact tracing. o OCHD has been practicing social distancing with the majority of staff(about 60%)working from home. The BOH members had questions that were addressed by Ms. Stewart. S:\Managers Working Files\BOH\Agenda &Abstracts\2020 Agenda &Abstracts/ March Page 2 MINUTES - Draft ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH March 25, 2020 VI. Action Items (Non Consent) A. Environmental Health Rules Approval At the last Board of Health meeting, Victoria Hudson, Environmental Health Director, thoroughly reviewed the proposed rules. Since her presentation, the Orange County Attorney's Office has conducted a legal sufficiency review of the Rules which included 133 points. All points have been cleared. There was one change in the rules; the section on variances was removed. Motion to approve and adopt the revised Orange County Groundwater Rules was made by Bruce Baldwin, seconded by Alison Stuebe, and carried without dissent. B. Fluoride Recommendation Approval The Board of Health received the full fluoride report as part of the agenda packet. The Board of Health voted on the recommendation below. There was one grammatical error in the 3rd paragraph (which can be found on page 8 in the full report). The word "lead" was changed to "led". Board of Health Recommendation The Orange County Board of Health supports the continued fluoridation of Orange Water and Sewer Authority's water supply at the current levels as deemed effective for prevention of tooth decay and for promotion of good oral health. The Board of Health Ad Hoc Fluoride Committee conducted a process of: ➢ Obtaining public feedback on community water fluoridation ➢ Reviewing public feedback given at an OWASA public meeting ➢ Reviewing the latest recommendations from national health organizations including, but not limited to, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NC DHHS), and American Dental Association (ADA) ➢ Reviewing medical, dental, and toxicological expert responses to public opposition of community water fluoridation The committee also considered the lack of naturally occurring fluoride in OWASA's reservoirs. This detailed process and the recognition by the CDC that community water fluoridation is one of the greatest public health achievements of the 201" century, led to the support of OWASA continuing community water fluoridation. Motion to approve the Board of Health Recommendation on OWASA fluoridation of water, including the corrected grammatical error, was made by Liska Lackey, seconded by Sam Lasris, and carried without dissent. Jessica Frega, Chair, thanked Beverly Scurry for all of her hard work. Mary Tiger, OWASA, also thanked Ms. Scurry and the Board of Health. C. BOH Appointments Liska Lackey will be vacating her seat as the Nursing representative because her 3rd term ends in June 2020. Jessica Frega, Chair, mentioned that a small ad hoc committee was formed to S:\Managers Working Files\BOH\Agenda &Abstracts\2020 Agenda &Abstracts/ March Page 3 MINUTES - Draft ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH March 25, 2020 look at applications and conduct interviews to fill the Nursing position. They recommended Dr. Shielda Rogers, a passionate nurse and academic who's firmly grounded in nursing with experience in working with the public and social determinants of health for the Nursing position. Liska Lackey added that Dr. Rogers would be a wonderful addition and would add to the diversity of the Board of Health. Ms. Frega thanked Lee Pickett for encouraging Dr. Rogers to apply. The Board of Health also voted to recommend Lee Pickett to her 1st full term and Jessica Frega to her 2nd full term. Commissioner Earl McKee abstained from all voting and recused himself as he has to vote on the final appointments with the BOCC. Ms. Frega explained that tonight's vote was to recommend the appointments to the BOCC as they have the final decision and make appointments to the Board of Health. Those that were up for reappointment recused themselves from voting on their respective reappointments. Motion to recommend Dr. Shielda Rogers to the BOCC was made by Liska Lackey, seconded by Alison Stuebe, and carried without dissent. Motion to reappoint Lee Pickett was made by Alison Stuebe, seconded by Sam Lasris, and carried without dissent. Motion to reappoint Jessica Frega was made by Aparna Jonnal, seconded by Alison Stuebe, and carried without dissent. After the voting commenced, Commissioner McKee stated that, as the BOCC representative, he will proceed with this at the BOCC level. VII. Reports and Discussion with Possible Action A. Health Director Report Highlights of Quintana Stewart's Health Director Report are below. ➢ Census 2020 was highlighted. She encouraged the Board to urge everyone they come in contact with to complete the Census. ➢ The Opioid Task Force has been temporarily suspended due to COVID-19 response efforts. ➢ There are no upcoming events as most have been postponed due to social distancing. Those that are taking place are doing so virtually. ➢ The mobile dental unit is ready for a final walk through. Due to travel restrictions, there's uncertainty of when that will occur. ➢ OCHD staff has shifted many parts operations into a virtual setting; thus, we are still able to provide services to the community. The BOH members had questions that were addressed by Ms. Stewart. B. Media Items Kristin Prelipp, Communications Manager, briefly mentioned that all of the articles were COVID- 19 related. S:\Managers Working Files\BOH\Agenda &Abstracts\2020 Agenda &Abstracts/ March Page 4 MINUTES - Draft ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH March 25, 2020 Media items were in the packet which focused on Orange County's events and our involvement in various efforts. Vill. Board Comments. Aparna Jonnal spoke about encouragement for healthcare workers, etc. Jessica Frega and the Board reiterated that; although they are available for any assistance needed by Ms. Stewart, they do not want to create any unnecessary burden on her. Bruce Baldwin thanked Ms. Frega for doing a great job with tonight's meeting and thanked Beverly Scurry for doing a fantastic job with the fluoride committee. Mr. Baldwin also informed the Board that China and South Korea's numbers are declining. Jennifer Deyo thanked the fluoride experts for their work as the biggest challenge was actually recruiting the experts. IV. Adjournment Aparna Jonnal moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:28pm and Alison Stuebe seconded. The next Board of Health Meeting will be held April 22, 2020 at 7:00pm with location TBD. Respectfully submitted, Quintana Stewart, MPA Orange County Health Director Secretary to the Board S:\Managers Working Files\BOH\Agenda &Abstracts\2020 Agenda &Abstracts/ March Page 5