HomeMy WebLinkAboutFinal Minutes of June 22, 2022 MINUTES
ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH
June 22, 2022
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 22, 2022 at the Orange County
Health Department, 300 West Tryon Street, Hillsborough, NC.
BOARD OF HEALTH MEMBERS PRESENT: Bruce Baldwin — Chair, Keith Bagby—Vice-
Chair, Jessica Frega (via phone/Zoom), Commissioner Jean Hamilton, Aparna Jonnal, Sam
Lasris, Shielda Rodgers (via phone/Zoom), Lee Pickett, Alison Stuebe, and Tony Whitaker.
BOARD OF HEALTH MEMBERS ABSENT: Brian Crandell.
STAFF PRESENT: Quintana Stewart, Health Director; Dana Crews, Community Services
Director (via phone/Zoom); Michael DeFranco, Public Health Services Manager; Micah
Guindon, Financial and Administrative Services Director (via phone/Zoom); Victoria Hudson,
Environmental Health Director (via phone/Zoom); Carla Julian, Compliance Manager (via
phone/Zoom); Alvina Long, Public Health Nursing Director; Kristen Prelipp, Communications
Manager; Thomas Privott, Environmental Health Supervisor (via phone/Zoom), and La Toya
Strange, Administrative Support I.
GUESTS PRESENT: None.
I. Welcome New Employees: Ms. Stewart introduced Mary Villagante.
II. Public Comment for Items NOT on Printed Agenda: None.
III. Approval of the June 22, 2022 Agenda
Motion was made by Dr. Alison Stuebe to approve the agenda, seconded by
Commissioner Jean Hamilton and carried without dissent. Dr. Aparna Jonnal was not
included in the voting as she arrived during the first presentation.
IV. Action Items (Consent)
A. Minutes of May 25, 2022 Meeting
Motion was made by Dr. Lee Pickett to approve the minutes of May 2022 with an edit,
seconded by Dr. Alison Stuebe and carried without dissent. Dr. Aparna Jonnal was not
included in the voting as she arrived during the first presentation.
V. Educational Sessions
A. UNC Department of Epidemiology Update
Dr. Karin Yeatts, Concentration Lead for Applied Epidemiology and Associate Professor of
Epidemiology at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, presented an overview of the
Department of Epidemiology (UNC EP). Below are brief highlights.
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• UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health is the #1 public school of public health in
the US. UNC EP has over 65 faculty, receives $20 million in research funding per year,
and has over 150 PhD students and over 60 applied epidemiology MPH students. There
has been numerous published research from its faculty.
• UNC EP has the following departmental program and primary research areas: cancer,
cardiovascular disease, pharmacoepidemiology, environmental epidemiology, injury
epidemiology, infectious disease and social epidemiology.
• Some of UNC EP's programs' highlights:
o Doctoral Program — Doctoral students are key to accomplishing the research projects
within the department. Prominence of department in field as evidenced by SER best
student paper awards (tied with Harvard). Opportunities include building stronger
connections with the State Health Department for doctoral level researchers and
increase footprint in Data Science applications.
o Applied Epidemiology Concentration, MPH — Group mentoring model builds strong
within-cohort connectivity and prominence of department in field of epidemiology.
Opportunities include practicum opportunities for MPH students leveraging state
partnerships and an online concentration that started in September 2021.
o Certificate in Field Epidemiology—This program is cosponsored by the Department
of Epidemiology and the Public Health Leadership Program and is designed for
working practitioners while emphasizing practical and applied skills.
o Two programs were highlighted.
➢ UNC Infectious Disease Epidemiology Program
■ Areas of expertise include HIV/AIDS, SARS-CoV-2, malaria, STIs, Zika,
Cholera and nosocomial infections.
■ Global areas of concentration include South Africa, Malawi, Uganda,
Nicaragua, Ethiopia and DRC.
■ Has close ties with Infectious Disease Medicine and Institute for Global
Health and Infectious Diseases.
■ Research to address pandemic preparedness, strategies to circumvent
issues with genetic diversity, and therapeutic discovery and development.
■ Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Ecology Lab (IDEEL) primarily
focuses on malaria with its work's studies ranging from cellular biology to
genomics to translational and spatial epidemiology. Chagas, Zika and
tick-borne illness are other diseases that the IDEEL studies.
➢ Cancer Epidemiology Program (CEP)
■ The CEP's goal is to develop new knowledge relevant to cancer etiology,
diagnosis, prognosis, and prevention using interdisciplinary and
epidemiologic approaches.
■ Research program includes a diverse amount of cancers including breast,
prostate, childhood, bladder and esophageal.
■ Etiology, survivorship, comparative effectiveness and access to health
care are topics in which research is conducted especially amongst the
African-Americans populations.
• Selected Collaborative Groups at UNC
o Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center
o Carolina Population Center
o Center for Environmental Health and Susceptibility
o UNC Center for Gastrointestinal Biology and Disease
o Carolina Center for Genome Sciences
The BOH had questions and comments that were addressed by Dr. Yeatts.
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B. Annual Communicable Disease Report
Michael DeFranco, Personal Health Services Manager, gave an overview of the communicable
disease (CD) data for the year 2021, which began with the purpose of the CD program within
the health department. The CD program consists of five nurses. Reportable diseases are
flagged by the state and sent to local health departments where they are investigated. While
the individual's care is the primary concern, there are also follow-ups with them, medical
facilities, etc. He also noted that the presentation of this report meets Accreditation Benchmark
2.5. Below are some of brief presentation highlights.
Vaccine Preventable Diseases —
• These have declined because of mask wearing.
Vectorborne Illnesses—
• June 2022 is prime time tick season, which is a prevalent time for tick-borne illnesses in
OC. The lone star tick has been migrating as more are being seen in OC. If more
resources were available, tick hotspots could be mapped and messaging sent alerting
those in that area.
Waterborne Illnesses —
• There was an increase of legionellosis; although, cryptosporidium numbers have
declined.
Sexually Transmitted Illnesses (STI) —
• Chlamydia and gonorrhea continue to be the highest cases of STIs in OC.
COVID-19—
• There were almost 3 million lab-reported cases in NC. At-home tests are not included in
those numbers. Many people have had one or more variants and weren't aware.
• Since March 2020, there has been 31,000 cases and 136 deaths in OC. Demographics
of confirmed cases, broken down by race, age, gender, etc., can be found on the
NCDHHS Covid-19 Dashboard.
• The COVID-19 vaccination response:
o On December 23, 2020, the first administration of vaccine by the OCHD mobile
team was completed at Apogee group home.
o The first Points of Dispensing (PODs) occurred at Cedar Ridge High School.
Afterwards, more PODs were held at various locations such as the UNC RR lot,
churches and community centers in which larger quantities of vaccines could be
distributed.
o OCHD staff continues to operate a COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the SHSC on
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Mako Labs operates a drive-thru parking
lot model vaccine clinic in Hillsborough.
o Pediatric (ages 6 months+) Moderna and Pfizer vaccinations will be available
starting Friday. The Janssen vaccination is only available for those ages 18+.
0 84% of eligible population has been fully vaccinated. There is still some
hesitancy amongst the 5-11 year olds; many are not returning to get boosters.
o Moving forward:
➢ OCHD would like to make COVID-19 vaccinations part of the OCHD's clinic
vaccinations. A process eliminate double documentation needs to be
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established. The NC Immunization Registry (NCIR), is the official source
used to record all immunizations administered in North Carolina except
COVID-19 vaccinations. Currently, the state uses the COVID-19 Vaccine
Management System (CVMS), to document COVID-19 vaccinations
completed in NC.
➢ There continues to be monitoring and communication amongst OC
community partners, such as Emergency Services, OCHD Task Force, both
school districts, to discuss trends and disseminate state and CDC guidance.
Regular calls with state partners regarding the status of current state
conditions, variants of interest, and outbreak and cluster events also occur.
➢ Wastewater surveillance can provide an early warning of COVID-19's spread
in communities. This information can be found on the NCDHHS Covid-19
Dashboard.
The BOH had questions and comments that were addressed by Mr. DeFranco.
C. Child Fatality Task Force Report
Quintana Stewart, OC Health Director, provided a summary of the 2021 Child Fatality
Prevention Team (CFPT) Annual Report. Ms. Stewart began by briefly explaining the CFPT's
origin, purpose and goals, which includes reviewing medical records, discussing outcomes,
identifying deficiencies and carrying out recommendations to prevent further child deaths. The
CFPT members' composition is defined by statute and includes members of law enforcement,
school, mental health, EMS and providers. Ms. Stewart also mentioned that the CFPT report is
an Accreditation requirement and is mandated by state statute.
In 2021, the CFPT met three times and reviewed seven child deaths. The majority of cases
reviewed had a cause of death listed as birth defects or perinatal conditions. There was only
one system issue identified. Law enforcement was not called after a pediatric death at UNC
Health. There was confusion about whether the case fell under the Chapel Hill or Durham Police
Department. The team's recommendation was that local hospitals should notify law
enforcement of all pediatric deaths under the jurisdiction of the medical examiner.
CFPT Activities and Accomplishments:
• The team has continued to meet during COVID; transitioning to virtual meetings.
• The team completed several trainings during the 2021 calendar year to include:
o "Back to Sleep Safe" Webinar
o Melatonin - Marketing Magic Webinar
o "Tik TOX - Overview and Interpretations of positive tox findings in child deaths"
o "Impaired Sleep: An Inadequately Explored cause of Child Death"
• Dana Crews, Community Health Services Division Director, was appointed as the new
CFPT Review Coordinator.
The BOH members had questions that were addressed by Ms. Stewart.
VI. Reports and Discussion with Possible Action
A. Board of Health Plaque Presentations
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Bruce Baldwin, Chair, presented plaques of appreciation to departing Board members, Jessica
Frega and Dr. Sam Lasris. Various Board members and Quintana Stewart spoke kind words of
gratitude. Ms. Frega and Dr. Lasris replied by expressing their thanks and appreciation. Ms.
Frega's plaque will be mailed to her.
B. Media Items
Kristin Prelipp, Communications Manager, briefly mentioned three of the articles that Ms.
Prelipp had included amongst her media items. There were two Chapelboro.com articles. One
on Hillsborough Elementary returning to wearing masks due to rising COVID-19 cases. The
other was about the third case of rabies in OC. The last article mentioned was from NC Health
News reporting the Annual County Health Rankings. OC ranked #2 in Health Outcomes and #1
in Health Factors for NC.
Media items were in the packet which focused on Orange County's events and our
involvement in various efforts.
C. Health Director Report
Quintana Stewart, Health Director, chose to highlight the following items from her report.
• The OC Opioid Task Force hopes to hire a facilitator for Strategic Planning work.
Request for proposals are expected to go out in July. The local government union (LGU)
will provide guidance on whether this is considered federal or state funding. County
Finance Director, Gary Donaldson, is waiting to receive this guidance from the LGU.
The opioid settlement funding hasn't arrived yet.
• Recruitment and hiring continues at OCHD. As of May 27, 2022, there are 17 vacancies
(15% vacancy rate) spread out across the department.
• BOCC approved the budget last night. Highlights include:
➢ 3% wage increase for permanent employees in active status on June 30, 2022,
effective July 1, 2022.
➢ Continuation of Merit Pay Program on employees' base salaries, payable in January
2023, at tiers of$500 for proficient performance; $750 for superior performance or
$1,000 for exceptional performance.
➢ No increase for health and dental premiums for county staff.
• Ms. Stewart emailed information on an upcoming free training provided by the UNC
School of Government to the BOH members. The one-hour training will take place on
August 11th from 2-3pm. It can be completed individually or as a group. Registration is
required. Board members can register themselves or have La Toya Strange do so.
The BOH members had questions and comments that were addressed by Ms. Stewart.
VII. Board Comments
Keith Bagby asked if OC is working on a longevity pay program that could combat the vacancy
rates. Brief discussion was held after confirming that OC has a longevity pay program. Dr.
Bruce Baldwin briefly spoke about the ongoing process for filling the soon-to-be-vacant Dental
Representative and At-Large Board vacancies. After receiving the dentist database from Dr.
Baldwin, La Toya Strange sent emails to every dentist in OC for recruitment. Commissioner
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Jean Hamilton mentioned that the BOCC's Retreat will be occurring on tomorrow, which is also
the last meeting for the fiscal year.
Vill. Adjournment
Dr. Aparna Jonnal moved to adjourn the meeting at 9:01pm and Lee Pickett seconded.
The next Board of Health Meeting will be held August 24, 2022 at 7:00pm at the Orange
County Health Department, 300 West Tryon Street, Hillsborough, NC at 7:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Quintana Stewart, MPA
Orange County Health Director
Secretary to the Board
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