HomeMy WebLinkAboutApproved Minutes of January 25, 2023 MINUTES
ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH
January 25, 2023
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 January 25, 2023 at the Orange
County Health Department, 300 West Tryon Street, Hillsborough, INC.
BOARD OF HEALTH MEMBERS PRESENT: Keith Bagby— Chair, Commissioner Jean
Hamilton, Bruce Baldwin, Rachel Royce, Alison Stuebe, Lee Pickett, Shielda Rodgers and Tony
Whitaker.
BOARD OF HEALTH MEMBERS ABSENT: Brian Crandell and Aparna Jonnal —Vice-Chair.
STAFF PRESENT: Quintana Stewart, Health Director; Dana Crews, Community Health
Services Director; Victoria Hudson, Environmental Health Director; Carla Julian, Compliance
Manager; and Marcy Williams, Public Health Education Manager.
GUESTS/VISITORS PRESENT: None.
I. Welcome New Employees
Quintana Stewart, Health Director, introduced the new employees in attendance, Ana Arambula
Perez - Property Development Technician in Environmental Health and Alexa Terezakis — Part-
time PHN I in Medical Clinic. Tonya Stancil- RIPS Team Coordinator came in later and
introduced herself to the Board prior to the meeting ending.
II. Public Comment for Items NOT on Printed Agenda: None.
III. Approval of the January 25, 2023 Agenda
Motion was made by Dr. Alison Stuebe to approve the agenda, seconded by Dr. Bruce Baldwin
and carried without dissent.
IV. Action Items (Consent)
A. Minutes of November 16, 2022
Motion to approve the minutes of the November 16, 2022 BOH meeting with two noted revisions
was made by Dr. Bruce Baldwin, seconded by Dr. Alison Stuebe and carried without dissent.
The two revisions included:
• Correct Attendance record for Dr. Lee Pickett, as she was absent, and
• Correct Commissioner Hamilton's comment under Board Comments to read as
"Commissioner Jean Hamilton thanked the Board for her two years as the BOCC
representative. She stated that she would be present at the January BOH meeting.
BOCC will appoint a new Commissioner in February and make committee/board
assignments at that time. Commissioner Hamilton also mentioned that Renee Price
would serve as BOCC Chair until December 31, 2022."
V. Educational Session
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A. Accreditation Update
Quintana Stewart, Health Director, shared an update with the group on the recent January 12t"
Re-Accreditation site visit. The visit was partially remote, meaning the site visit coordinator and
lead site visitor were on site while remaining site visitors participated via Zoom. During the
Entrance Conference, OCHD was given time to describe the local health department. To
accomplish this, OCHD shared a Pecha Kucha video with the site visitors to display the
personality of the health department and staff. The video link is: https://Voutu.be/i5JvT44xgGo .
As a result of the site visitors' review of documentation and on site observations, OCHD has
been recommended for Re-Accreditation with Honors. Of the 147 activities reviewed, Orange
County only had one activity `Not Met.'
The `Not Met' Activity was 26.2 - The local health department shall develop and implement a
plan consistent with the health department's non-discrimination policy to recruit and retain a
management team and staff that reflects the population of the service area.
The Site Visit Team found no evidence of data or reference to data that would define the
demographic breakdown of the population served and how the agency staffing would reflect this
within the policies submitted for review. The purpose of this activity is to ensure that the health
department is working toward building and keeping a diverse staff reflective of the community,
where possible.
The Site Visit Team also noted a few Best Practices during the visit. There were three activities
identified:
• Activity 11.2: The local health department shall involve community members in
assessing, setting priorities and establishing desired outcomes for addressing
community health issues and needs.
o The Site Visit Team identified the Gateway Collaborative as a best practice. The
public health and social services departments jointly rent an apartment at the
Gateway Village housing community to serve as a community resource center. In
addition to these departments, the school system, law enforcement and housing
are members of the collaborative. The collaborative works with the residents to
identify priority issues and garner resources for these priority areas.
• Activity 14.2: The local health department shall provide information and
recommendations to support the local board of health and the board(s) of county
commissioners in setting public health priorities and planning public health programs.
o The Site Visit Team identified the Board of Health's supportive relationship with
the health director and the department, as evidenced through detailed Board of
Health meeting minutes, as a best practice.
• Activity 21.3: The local health department shall develop and implement strategies to
increase use of public health programs and services.
o The Site Visit Team identified the Family Success Alliance as a best practice.
The program employs navigators to work with families of children from "cradle to
college/career". Families are identified within targeted areas of the county.
The Health Director and Agency Accreditation Coordinator have been invited to attend the NC
Local Health Department Accreditation Board meeting on May 19, 2023 in Raleigh, NC.
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Chair Bagby expressed congratulations and a personal thanks to the entire department. He
stated the entire department works really hard. He also shared that the interview with the site
visitors was very pleasant. He didn't have to bite his tongue or think about what to say.
Dr. Bruce Baldwin agreed with Chair Bagby. The interview flowed very smoothly. The questions
were easy to answer and he felt more than prepared to answer them. Great job to the entire
team.
VI. Reports and Discussion with Possible Action
A. T21 Resolution
Chair Bagby asked Dr. Bruce Baldwin to speak about the changes made to the original draft
resolution. Dr. Baldwin acknowledged the Substance Abuse Subcommittee (Dr. Rachel Royce,
Dr. Brian Crandell, and Quintana Stewart) and thanked them for taking time to meet before the
holidays to work on revisions to the original draft resolution. Dr. Baldwin shared that, as he
reviewed the original sources cited in the resolution, he found numerous points of inaccuracy.
His quest to correct this took much longer than originally anticipated.
Some of the highlighted revisions included:
• Title change to read "Protecting Our Youth" instead of"Protecting Our Kids"
• Bolded statements of great impact
• Omitted subjective language about retailer permitting system
After additional discussion, Dr. Royce shared thoughts about tweaking the end of the resolution
to include bullet points to highlight the overall ask of the resolution. The group also requested
changes to the last "Whereas" statement to make for an easier read about the Federal Synar
Law. Director Stewart committed to send a clean version with noted revisions out to the group
tomorrow afternoon for a final review. Upon approval, she will get Chair Bagby to sign and send
to NC DHHS Tobacco Prevention & Control Branch.
Dr. Shielda Rodgers shared that she recently reviewed an article about tobacco being a large
economic factor in NC.
Dr. Bruce Baldwin shared an older periodical that he came across in his home and highlighted
the ad and surgeon general message about cigarettes on the back.
There was a motion by Dr. Bruce Baldwin to approve the draft T21 Resolution with noted
revisions seconded by Dr. Lee Pickett and carried without dissent.
B. BOCC Annual Work Plan
Director Stewart led a discussion about the draft Board of Health BOCC Annual Work Plan due
to the BOCC on Friday, January 27, 2023. The Work Plan outlines accomplishments and future
activities for the BOH. It also highlights activities that align with the goals and objectives of the
BOCC.
Some of the discussion points included:
• Commissioner Hamilton pointed out the need to update Carrboro Board of Alderman as
the name changed years ago. She also asked for clarification about the statement
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saying "The Board receives summaries on the activities ......at meetings twice a year, or
as needed." Director Stewart agreed this was no longer an accurate statement and
offered language that aligns with the reality of information shared via the monthly Health
Director Report.
• Commissioner Hamilton also shared this would be a good place to discuss any
workforce issues the health department is experiencing.
• Chair Bagby noted the need to add Orange Partnership to the list of boards with whom
BOH collaborates.
• Dr. Rachel Royce requested adding additional concerns or emerging issues to the
document. She asked the group if they thought it was appropriate to include mental
health crisis for youth, housing crisis, substance abuse issues and disparities, etc.
• Commissioner Hamilton expressed it may be best to keep issues focused on those the
Health Department and BOH take lead on addressing.
• Director Stewart recommended a statement on emerging issues used in the 2021 Work
Plan that broadly addressed impact of finances, mental health and students' education
because of the COVID pandemic.
• Dr. Alison Stuebe expressed concern about maternal health postpartum coverage
expansion to 1 year after delivery and the fear that many are not aware of this change.
Director Stewart agreed to make noted revisions and send out to the Board Thursday afternoon
for final review prior to submission.
Dr. Shielda Rodgers requested that the email come with a deadline for feedback to ensure
timely submission to BOCC.
A motion was made by Dr. Lee Pickett to approve the Work Plan with noted edits and additions,
seconded by Dr. Shielda Rodgers and carried without dissent.
C. Board Retreat
Director Stewart facilitated a discussion with Board members to decide on a date, location and
proposed agenda for the upcoming BOH Retreat. Based on the Doodle poll sent out to Board
members before the holidays, most responded that February 25th or March 11th were the best
times to meet. Stewart reminded the group of the delayed Commissioner appointment to BOH
due to the February appointment of the new BOCC member. With that in mind, she asked if the
Board would prefer the March 11 th date or a later date to hopefully accommodate the BOH
Commissioner Representative. There was consensus that it would be fine to plan for a March
11 th retreat.
Stewart shared the following items as possible agenda topics:
• Team Building Activity
• Update Confidentiality/Conflict of Interest Forms
• Meeting Schedule (time &frequency) - this has been mentioned previously as
something of interest considering State Statute only requires quarterly meetings.
• Environment Health Update
• Strategic Planning/Subcommittee Work— Chair Bagby commented that he would like to
have specific goals that the Board is working on and he would like for them to align with
health department work
• Calendar for Educational Sessions — Chair Bagby would like to hear Board members
speak on their area of expertise.
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• Policy Review/Updates
Tony Whitaker asked if we could create space at the meetings for Board Comments on things
not related to subcommittees.
Director Stewart suggested we explore moving Board Comments to the top of the Agenda
similar to how BOCC allows each Board Member time at the beginning of each meeting to make
comments, not related to agenda items.
Dr. Alison Stuebe asked if the subcommittees could be a Task Force rather than a
subcommittee. Director Stewart explained the subcommittee structure is what the Board has
outlined in the Operating Procedures. If the Board is interested in changing this, the group can
plan to discuss during the retreat and make needed revisions to the Operating Procedures.
Director Stewart asked if an off-site location was a requirement for the retreat, as she is a little
concerned about availability with such short notice. Commissioner Hamilton suggested the
Bonnie B. Davis Center. She shared that the BOCC recently had a meeting there and the facility
was really nice.
D. Media Items
Marcy Williams, Public Health Education Manager, briefly mentioned four articles. There was
an article regarding about the closure of the COVID Vaccine Clinic at the Bonnie B. Davis
Center in Hillsborough. The second article was about UNC Continuation of Lead Testing on
Campus for buildings that have reported contamination. The third article highlighted County
Health Rankings, with Orange County ranked #1 Average Life Expectancy (82.1 years). The
fourth article highlighted OCHD Medical Director, Dr. Erica Pettigrew, as a 2022 Dogwood
Award Recipient from NC Attorney General Josh Stein.
Media items were in the packet, which focused on Orange County's events and our
involvement in various efforts.
E. Health Director Report
Director Stewart highlighted the following items from her report:
• NCALHD 2023 Legislative Priorities include:
1. Recurring Local Public Health Funding:
o Seek $25M in recurring state appropriation to LHDs. Funds to be prioritized for
communicable disease response, but with flexibility for foundational public health
services at the discretion of local health departments.
2. Community Health Grant Funding (NCALHD Led)
o Explore reforms to the Community Health Grant fund allocation process to ensure
equitable distribution of funding to LHDs as a key primary and maternal care safety
net provider.
3. OHSR Staffing Resources
o Request resources for OSHR to hire additional staff to support local government
hiring.
4. Registered Environmental Health Specialist Requirement Reform (NCALHD Led)
o Reintroduce language from previous legislative session to ease pipeline issues for
REHS staff among LHDs.
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5. Closing the Coverage Gap (NCALHD Supportive)
o Support efforts to close the health insurance coverage gap and bolster LHDs as
safety net providers in North Carolina by expanding Medicaid Eligibility.
6. Tobacco 21 (NCALHD Supportive)
o Message from Tara May, Deputy Clerk to Orange County Board of
Commissioners:
■ "Beginning in 2023, the Clerk's office will resume the practice of collecting
quarterly attendance reports for boards and commissions to which the
Board of County Commissioners makes appointments. These records help
us ensure members are actively participating during their appointments."
Per the recently updated Advisory Board Policy, members may be
considered for removal for neglect of duty, nonparticipation that becomes
problematic to the advisory board's functioning and purpose. Neglect of
duty and nonparticipation are defined as follows:
a. Missing three (3) consecutive meetings; or
b. Missing twenty-five percent (25%) of meetings within any twelve
(12) month period."
There were no questions or comments asked by the BOH members.
VII. Board Comments
Commissioner Jean Hamilton expressed her appreciation for the work of the Board. She stated
she has enjoyed her time on the Board.
Chair Bagby thanked Commissioner Hamilton for her service on the Board and expressed
appreciation for her valuable input and feedback. His observation is that her heart is into it and
she truly wants to help the people she serves. Chair Bagby also shared that he would like for
Division Directors to give an overview of their respective Divisions at an upcoming meeting. He
also shared that a video for the community about our services is worth exploring. He thought the
Accreditation video was very informative about health department services. Lastly, he asked for
a copy of the Opioid Advisory Committee roster.
Vill. Adjournment
A motion was made by Dr. Alison Stuebe to adjourn the meeting at 8:40p.m. was
seconded by Dr. Bruce Baldwin and carried without dissent.
The next Board of Health Meeting will be held February 22, 2023 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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