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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBOH Minutes of 092320 MINUTES - Draft ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH September 23, 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 September 23, 2020 virtually via Go To Meeting. BOARD OF HEALTH MEMBERS PRESENT: Jessica Frega — Chair, Sam Lasris —Vice-Chair, Keith Bagby, Bruce Baldwin, Aparna Jonnal, Lee Pickett, Shielda Rodgers, Timothy Smith and Alison Stuebe. BOARD OF HEALTH MEMBERS ABSENT: Commissioner Earl McKee. STAFF PRESENT: Quintana Stewart, Health Director; Rebecca Crawford, Financial and Administrative Services Director; Victoria Hudson, Environmental Health Director; Donna King, Health Promotion & Education Services Director; Kristin Prelipp, Communications Manager; Beverly Scurry, BOH Strategic Plan Manager; and La Toya Strange, Administrative Support I. GUESTS PRESENT: Janice Tyler, Department of Aging Director. Jessica Frega, Chair, called the meeting to order. There were no new employees in attendance. I. Public Comment for Items NOT on Printed Agenda: None. II. Approval of the September 23, 2020 Agenda Motion was made by Lee Pickett to approve the agenda, seconded by Bruce Baldwin and carried without dissent. III. Action Items (Consent) A. Minutes of August 26, 2020 Meeting Motion was made by Timothy Smith to approve the minutes of August 2020, seconded by Alison Stuebe and carried without dissent. IV. Educational Sessions A. Department of Aging Update Janice Tyler, Department of Aging Director, provided an in-depth presentation on the aging population in Orange County, services of the Department on Aging (DOA), and the department's Master Aging Plan (MAP). Below are some of the highlights of her presentation. • Ages 60+ are generally considered older adults. The DOA serves a population of 55- 105 year olds. • The local model of an age-friendly community is based off of the AARP Livable Communities model that supports the efforts of neighborhoods, towns, cities and rural S:\Managers Working Files\BOH\Agenda &Abstracts\2020 Agenda &Abstracts/ September Page 1 MINUTES - Draft ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH September 23, 2020 areas to be great places for people of all ages. The DOA believes that communities should provide safe, walkable streets; age-friendly housing and transportation options; access to needed services; and opportunities for residents of all ages to participate in community life. • By 2030, one in five Americans will be over 65. In 2035, there will be more people over 65 in the U.S. than under age 18. This is the first time in America that this change will be experienced which is a turning point for the catalyst for revisiting some common practices particularly with land development that have, over time, generated more problems than promise, mostly for older adults. In the last 70 years, most land development has focused on meeting the needs for families with children with little access to transportation. • Social and economic consequences have also emerged including longer commutes, increased social isolation, greater dependency on cars are some of the costs that are even more of a burden to older adults. • Some statistics regarding seniors in Orange County: 0 5.4% of people age 65+ live below 100% of the poverty level. 15.4% of people age 65+ live between 100% and 199% of the poverty level. 100% — 199% of poverty levels for one person = annual incomes between $11,770 and $23,539. o People over 65+ are the most cost-burdened age group for housing. 28% of homeowners and 56% of renters are paying more than 30% of their income on housing. o By 2038, persons age 60+ will represent 26% of OC's population; while children ages 0-17 years will only represent 16% of the county's population. • There are 2 senior centers —the Seymour Center, opened in 2007, and the Passmore Center, opened in 2009. Due to outgrowing these facilities, a small expansion was done to the Passmore Center. Currently, there is a major expansion undergoing the Seymour Center. • The Master Aging Plan (MAP) process is the DOA's key to its success to planning for a growing older adult population. o Every 5 years since 2000, the DOA has completed a community wide planning process and created a MAP for the community. The purpose of the plan is to outline anticipated needs for the OC's aging population, and to facilitate cooperation amongst stakeholders to meet these growing demands. Using the MAP, the DOA was able to pass a county bond to build the two nationally accredited senior centers, help expand transportation services to older adults, and strengthen community partnerships to expand housing options for older adults. • Age Friendly Communities o OC was the first in NC to join the network. An age-friendly community impacts more than just older adults and is inclusive, accessible, and supportive of all residents, regardless of age, ability, or any other characteristic. o Eight domains comprise a community's age-friendliness. They are outdoor spaces and buildings, transportation, housing, social participation, respect and social inclusion, civic participation and employment, communication and information, and community support and health services. o In 2016, a county wide assessment was launched that was the basis of the 2017- 2022 MAP which can be found on the DOA website along with quarterly updates. The assessment included surveys, focus groups, community meetings and key informant interviews. • The DOA is divided into 3 divisions. S:\Managers Working Files\BOH\Agenda &Abstracts\2020 Agenda &Abstracts/ September Page 2 MINUTES - Draft ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH September 23, 2020 o Senior Center Operations ➢ Seymour Center serves 450+ persons daily. ➢ Passmore Center serves 250+ persons daily. o Aging Transitions ➢ It's the social work section of the DOA. On-staff social workers, occupational therapists, support groups, in-home services, and depression screenings are some of the many services offered. o Volunteer Connect 55+ ➢ It's the volunteer division of the DOA that has senior center and community based programs including the Project EngAGE senior leadership program that trains OC seniors to become resource leaders and make their communities an ideal place to age. ➢ There are 400+ volunteers. • COVID-19 Arrived... o The DOA became a "senior center without walls", never closing. o With the assistance of local law enforcement, curbside meals are distributed on- site at the senior centers on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. For those dependent on public transportation, local officers and volunteers deliver meals to them. Participants receive 6 meals a week. Almost 1000 meals a week are served. o Monthly commodity food distributions still occur with over 300 persons benefiting from this service. A grocery delivery service has been created, but has been underutilized. o End of Life Senior Resource Team saw a need to develop a form that older adults could use to develop an Emergency and Serious Illness Plan should they be diagnosed with COVID. o Durable Medical Equipment (DME) loan equipment program has continued with DME equipment being delivered porch side. o With limited public transportation and fear of contracting COVID on public transit buses, the DOA Volunteer Driver program kept going to assist older adults with getting to medical appointments and getting groceries. o In response to concerns about social isolation, deconditioning of older adults and access to technology, the following has been done. ➢ With the assistance of our three MSW interns, the DOA is attempting to contact all regular participants that they have not had contact with during COVID. All staff reviewed the departmental database, which has approximately 4,000 persons and has collectively identified individuals that they have not heard from. They will be reaching out to these folks to identify any unmet needs. ➢ At the beginning of COVID, the DOA worked with their IT department to get internet access and computers into all of their low income senior housing complexes. This was not only to help with social isolation, but also for access to telehealth services. The BOH members had questions and comments that were addressed by Ms. Tyler. V. Action Items (Non-Consent) A. Policy Approval S:\Managers Working Files\BOH\Agenda &Abstracts\2020 Agenda &Abstracts/ September Page 3 MINUTES - Draft ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH September 23, 2020 The Fee and Eligibility Policy was updated to reflect a change in the Billing Cycle for the Health Department (page 7). The Board voted to approve the Board of Health Policy including the change made within the Fee and Eligibility Policy as a result of discussion at last month's Board meeting. *Motion was made by Timothy Smith to approve the Board of Health policy, seconded by Shielda Rodgers and carried without dissent. VI. Reports and Discussion with Possible Action Action Items A. Present Chair/Vice-Chair Slate It is customary for the current Vice-Chair to occupy the Chair position due to the experience gained as Vice-Chair. Jessica Frega, Chair, solicited volunteers to join her and Sam Lasris to serve on a committee to discuss the Vice-Chair position. Timothy Smith volunteered. Ms. Frega directed the Board to send her an email if they'd like to participate on the committee. Vice-Chair options will be presented at the October meeting and voted at the meeting in November. B. Health Director Report In addition to her report, Ms. Stewart spoke briefly on the general items below. • Ms. Stewart agreed to serve on the Carolina PROSPER Board which is a program affiliated with the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. It will offer technical assistance to facilitate the safe re-opening of businesses during the pandemic while promoting worker health. There will be two 2-hour long meetings this fall with the first meeting occuring next Friday. C. COVID-19 Update Quintana Stewart, Health Director, gave an update on the COVID-19 status in Orange County as well as took questions from the Board. Some highlights are below. • DHHS launched a new app called SlowCOVIDNC. It's an exposure app. SlowCOVID can be accessed on Google and Apple platforms. It needs to be downloaded on your cellphone. It will alert users that have the app if they have been in close contact (6ft or less for more than 15 minutes) with an individual, who has also downloaded the app, later tests positive for COVID-19. The app is completely anonymous and does not collect, store or share personal information or location data. SlowCOVIDNC is voluntary to download and use and designed to enhance the state's existing contact tracing efforts. • We continue to work on our vaccination plans. We haven't been given much info. We are awaiting a final list of priority groups with infrastructure healthcare and first responders getting first priority. • We're gearing up to do our flu vaccinations. Today, Ms. Stewart had a meeting with the County and Deputy County Managers and made a request to offer flu vaccinations at no cost as we want to remove all barriers. They agreed and we'll be offering free flu vaccinations to the community. They'll be offered at COVID testing events. We're S:\Managers Working Files\BOH\Agenda &Abstracts\2020 Agenda &Abstracts/ September Page 4 MINUTES - Draft ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH September 23, 2020 looking for other ways to go out into the community and offer free flu shots. We'll be advertising this information soon. This is an eligible expense for using some of the CARES money. • As of today, o There are 2,603 confirmed cases and 55 deaths in Orange County. o We are actively monitoring 123 cases in Orange County. o We continue to see an increase in cases in the 18-24 year old age group. o There are 7 outbreaks with 4 occurring in nursing homes, 1 in residential facility and 2 in correctional facilities. In order for them to come off of outbreak status, they must go 28 consecutive days with no new cases. • There's been a slight decrease in COVID-like illness ED visits over the past 2 weeks. • Percent positive tests has decreased to 3.2% with the state decreasing to 5.4%. The ideal percentage is 5% or less. • Approximately 47,228 people, roughly 32% of OC population, have been tested in Orange County out of which 1,023 were tested at mass county events held in collaboration with StarMed. • A testing event was held last week in northern OC. Although only 61 people were tested, we learned some valuable information. We have to build some more trust with the African-American community. We also need to provide more education around the actual test as it was rumored that the test hurt. Once church members were tested, they left and spread the word that it was quite the opposite. More people started to show up towards the end of the testing event. The next testing event will be held at St. Thomas More Catholic Church on this Saturday from 12-4pm. • The Communications Team released a Spanish video to highlight National Hispanic Month targeted at our Hispanic communities with tips on how to celebrate safely with their families. They're also working on Halloween guidance to push out to the community that will focus on risk reduction activities such as noncontact trick-o-treating. • The CDC reversed their stance on not testing asymptomatic contacts of positive cases. We have always encouraged testing of asymptomatic contacts. The CDC also addressed their statement regarding airborne transmission. They stated it was uploaded to their website prematurely before the formal review of this information was concluded. • Govenor Cooper stated that if COVID numbers continue to stabilize and trend down, he's looking to progress in the stages. Part of that progression will be allowing 7% capacity in large outdoor arenas and stadiums. That means that Kenan Stadium will be able to accommodate 3500 spectators for some of the football games. We'll work with UNC on their plan for Kenan Stadium. • Meetings continue with UNC. UNC is working on their spring reopening plans and have added an advisory committee. They are receiving input from their faculty, local business and community groups. They're looking to better define who is able to come back on campus and determine which programs are difficult to do online such as performing arts and music. They're also looking to keep the residence halls at a student capacity of 1 per room, 2 per suite. UNC is also working on plans regarding COVID testing including mandatory testing before coming back on campus and random surveillance testing while they're back on campus. • The OCHD also continues to work with both K-12 school districts in Orange County as they work on their re-opening plans. We support K-5 students return to class for face-to- face instruction with the rationale that as they're not seeing a high number of cases with the K-5 population across the state. Half of the school districts in the state have opened S:\Managers Working Files\BOH\Agenda &Abstracts\2020 Agenda &Abstracts/ September Page 5 MINUTES - Draft ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH September 23, 2020 with face-to-face instruction with strict adherence to mask wearing, distancing and hand hygiene. D. Media Items Kristin Prelipp, Communications Manager, mentioned that all of the articles were COVI D-1 9- related including articles on local officials speaking about how we're (Ms. Stewart and Dinah Jeffries from EMS) leading OC in a crisis and the re-opening of UNC. Ms. Prelipp stated that she did not compile all of the articles as there were too many to gather. She suggested Googling "OCHD NC" and you will see an abundance of media items. Ms. Prelipp stated that the National Hispanic Month video was Ana Salas' idea. Ms. Salas, in collaboration with the Latinx Equity Committee, a committee in which Ms. Prelipp and Ms. Salas meet with weekly, assisted with the creation of this video. Ms. Salas wrote a script. People from all over the community took the script, had fun personalizing it and sent it to Ms. Prelipp, who put it into its current form for viewing. The purpose was to have the community talk to the community with the intent of reminding them of risk reduction practices. Ms. Prelipp mentioned that she'd love to do an English version. Ms. Stewart added that she wanted to thank Aparna Jonnal for her participation on the Long Term Recovery Committee. Media items were in the packet which focused on Orange County's events and our involvement in various efforts. VI. Board Comments. Ms. Frega spoke on why there wasn't a pharmacist representative present at the Board meeting. Ms. Stewart stated that the response received from Thom Freeman, BOCC Clerk, is that the BOCC spoke about Dr. Crandell's recommendation at the September meeting; however, they've moved the discussion regarding board appointments into the work session, which meets next month. We are awaiting confirmation as to whether Dr. Crandell will be appointed. Ms. Frega stated that it would be great if the Board had a representative working with the Family Success Alliance as Liska Lackey was the last representative. She'll also send an email reminder to the Board. Keith Bagby stated that he was interested. Ms. Frega will get in touch with Mr. Bagby to connect him with the appropriate person(s). *Alison Stuebe did not vote as she had to excuse herself. VII. Adjournment Keith Bagby moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:26pm and Aparna Jonnal seconded. The next Board of Health Meeting will be held October 28, 2020 at 7:00pm via Go To Meeting. Respectfully submitted, S:\Managers Working Files\BOH\Agenda &Abstracts\2020 Agenda &Abstracts/ September Page 6 MINUTES - Draft ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH September 23, 2020 Quintana Stewart, MPA Orange County Health Director Secretary to the Board S:\Managers Working Files\BOH\Agenda &Abstracts\2020 Agenda &Abstracts/ September Page 7