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HomeMy WebLinkAboutApproved Minutes of March 27, 2024 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH March 27, 2024 ORANGE COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT MISSION STATEMENT: To promote and protect health, enhance quality of life, and preserve the environment for everyone in Orange County. THE ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH MET ON March 27, 2024, at the Orange County Health Department, 300 West Tryon Street, Hillsborough, NC. BOARD OF HEALTH MEMBERS PRESENT: Aparna Jonnal — Chair, Alison Stuebe—Vice Chair, Keith Bagby, Bruce Baldwin, Commissioner Amy Fowler, Davia Nickelson, Lee Pickett, and Tony Whitaker. BOARD OF HEALTH MEMBERS ABSENT: Brian Crandell, Shielda Rodgers, and Rachel Royce. STAFF PRESENT: Quintana Stewart, Health Director; Dana Crews, Community Health Services Director; Victoria Hudson, Environmental Health Director; Carla Julian, Public Health Nursing Director; Frederick Perschau, Finance and Administrative Services Director; Thomas Privott, Environmental Health Supervisor; Marcy Williams, Health Promotion and Education Services Manager; McKayla Creed, Healthy Carolinians Coordinator; Bianca Rodriguez, Public Health Nurse I; and Jean Phillips-Weiner, BOH Strategic Plan Manager. GUESTS/VISITORS PRESENT: Samantha Luu, Heather Pack, and Elizabeth LoFrese. I. Welcome New Employees Quintana Stewart, Health Director, introduced the new employee in attendance: Bianca Rodriguez— Public Health Nurse I. II. Public Comment for Items NOT on Printed Agenda: None. III. Board Comments Dr. Davia Nickelson Dr. Nickelson shared that there are new radiation shielding recommendations for dental x- rays from the American Dental Association (ADA), which are less stringent than past requirements and involve less shielding. She added that these have not yet been instated in NC but that they may be in the future. In response to Dr. Baldwin's question about why the recommendations have been loosened, Dr. Nickelson explained that the radiation exposure amount from dental x-rays is very low, with a single x-ray containing less radiation than what the average person is exposed to in a day. She also said that new technology allows the radiation to be targeted much more precisely, reducing the need for stringent shielding outside of the immediate area of the x-ray. Dr. Jonnal agreed that the use of x-rays has been liberalized in medicine because radiation has become more targeted, mentioning that pregnancy tests are no longer mandatory before every x-ray. Dr. Bruce Baldwin S:\Managers Working Files\BOH\Agendas &Abstracts\2024 Agenda and Abstracts/ March Page 1 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH March 27, 2024 Dr. Baldwin apologized for missing the previous meeting and explained that he was helping care for his wife who had broken her leg. He added that he read the meeting's minutes in detail and thanked the board members for recommending him to the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) for reappointment and that he hopes to be allowed to serve on the Board of Health (BOH) for another three years. Keith Bagby Mr. Bagby reminded board members of the upcoming Orange Partnership event, Take Down Tobacco Day, which will be held at A.L. Stanback Middle School from 1-3pm on April 12, 2024. He shared that there would be three major activities: an educational presentation about tobacco, games, and a kickball tournament, for which Mr. Bagby will be refereeing. He added that 120 middle schoolers have signed up to play kickball and that Orange Partnership will be inviting the Orange County BOCC and Hillsborough Board of Commissioners, and that the Mayor of Hillsborough is planning to throw the opening pitch. Jean Phillips-Weiner, BOH Strategic Plan Manager, chimed in to let board members know that details of this event, as well as other upcoming community events, are listed on the back of the meeting agenda. In response to Dr. Baldwin's question, Mr. Bagby explained that visitors are required to sign in when they arrive at the school but not to pre-register for the event, and that the school has rearranged the normal schedule to allow students and guests to participate. Commissioner Amy Fowler Commissioner Fowler provided an update on the movement to amend the Orange County Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) to restrict the opening of new tobacco and vape shops near schools and parks in unincorporated areas of the county. She said that it is moving along in the planning department and is expected to move forward in about three months. She added that she has been in touch with the mayors of Carrboro, Chapel Hill, and Hillsborough, and that they all plan to follow suit once the county UDO has been amended. IV. Priority Committee Updates As none of the priority committees have had the opportunity to meet since their formation at the Board Retreat, there were no updates on committee activities. Instead, Ms. Stewart provided a one-page document to board members summarizing the new committees and an overview of a potential tool to help committee members center equity/justice in their work. Ms. Stewart emphasized that this tool was a rough draft sourced from the One Orange framework and from a tool from the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation at the Office of Human Services and that she expects it will evolve over time. Dr. Stuebe commented that she is reading the book Equal Care: Health Equity, Social Democracy, and the Egalitarian State by Seth A. Berkowitz, which discusses how the common view of the goal of health equity is to eradicate disparities, but that this goal does not consider the possibility of the dominant group getting worse and reaching the same lower levels of well- being as the oppressed groups —an outcome which is not truly equitable. She presented the alternate construct of health justice, with everyone getting the best possible health outcomes. S:\Managers Working Files\BOH\Agendas &Abstracts\2024 Agenda and Abstracts/ March Page 2 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH March 27, 2024 Ms. Stewart said that this reminded her that the focus for the board is meant to be health equity/justice, rather than health equity alone. The new priority committees are as follows: Behavioral Health — Bruce Baldwin, Brian Crandell, Amy Fowler, Davia Nickelson Access to Care — Lee Pickett, Shielda Rodgers, Rachel Royce Connections to Community Support— Keith Bagby, Aparna Jonnal, Alison Stuebe, Tony Whitaker Dr. Jonnal thanked Ms. Stewart for the draft of the tool and expressed that she believes it will be enormously helpful as committee work moves forward. Ms. Phillips-Weiner reminded board members to please complete the polls to help schedule the upcoming committee meetings if they have not already done so. V. Approval of the March 27, 2024 Agenda Motion to approve the agenda of the March 27, 2024 BOH meeting was made by Dr. Alison Stuebe, seconded by Dr. Lee Pickett, and carried without dissent. VI. Approval of Minutes Motion to approve the minutes of the February 28, 2024 BOH meeting was made by Commissioner Amy Fowler, seconded by Dr. Alison Stuebe, and carried without dissent. Motion to approve the minutes of the March 2, 2024 Board Retreat was made by Dr. Davia Nickelson, seconded by Commissioner Amy Fowler, and carried without dissent. VII. Educational Sessions A. Campus Community Coalition Update Samantha Luu, Director of the Campus Community Coalition (CCC), provided an update on the CCC's strategic planning process and activities over the past year. Some highlights of her presentation are below: • Ms. Luu gave an overview of her presentation and explained that it would encompass the coalition's strategic planning process, a dive into four relevant policies, and a quick look at some non-policy related activities. She then reminded the board of the goals and vision of the coalition: to serve as a catalyst to change the environment and reduce the harms of high-risk drinking, both to the individual and the community. • Due to an increase in reported polysubstance use (i.e., alcohol being used concurrently with another substance), the coalition is expanding its focus. Ms. Luu clarified that most commonly, polysubstance use consists of alcohol with cannabis. • Ms. Luu provided an overview of the CCC's strategic planning process using a garden metaphor, including initiatives that are flowering, still seedlings, and those moved to S:\Managers Working Files\BOH\Agendas &Abstracts\2024 Agenda and Abstracts/ March Page 3 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH March 27, 2024 compost. She explained that the coalition has employed more than two dozen strategies in the past four years, many of which aim to reduce the availability of alcohol on or around UNC's campus. An example of one such strategy is a "last drink" initiative, in which Chapel Hill police officers ask individuals pulled over for a DUI where they got their last drink, which then provides an opportunity for retailer education around responsible alcohol service. Ms. Luu added that this initiative has been so successful that it is being adopted in Carrboro as well. • Speaking more towards alcohol on campus, Ms. Luu shared that alcohol availability on- campus is steady in all areas other than athletics, where vendors have been increasing. She also mentioned that, though alcohol marketing is banned on campus, there have been some "grey area" incidents, such as gardens sponsored by alcohol companies. • During strategic planning, coalition members were asked to name some initiatives that they were excited about. Responses included substance-free spaces, treatment and recovery support, updating the campus alcohol policy, and working closely with retailers around responsible beverage service. Some challenges identified included working on the campus alcohol policy and engagement of school-aged children and their families. • Ms. Luu shared that one of the specific challenges around the UNC campus alcohol policy, which covers any UNC business or property, is that drugs and alcohol are under two separate policies, with separate remedial processes. The CCC aims to combine alcohol and other substances under a single policy and streamline the adjudication process, creating more consistent opportunities for intervention and treatment. However, this change would need to go through several big decision-makers to pass, including the Board of Trustees. • Some other policies Ms. Luu highlighted included a proposed provision to instate happy hour availability in NC, which did not pass, and NCAA Name, Image, and Likeness laws which create opportunities for alcohol branding, e.g., "ECU Boneyard Vodka." • Ms. Luu discussed the Social Host Ordinance, which is meant to prevent underage access to alcohol and mitigate associated complaints with comprehensively disruptive house parties. She added that CCC submitted a petition related to this policy to the town council earlier this year, putting the CCC in a holding pattern around this topic. Students in particular have expressed opposition to the policy, though it would be a municipal policy and affect everyone in the Town of Chapel Hill, not just students. Ms. Luu also said that there have been concerns about inequitable enforcement of this policy, though there are also some concerns about historically Black neighborhoods being disproportionately impacted by disruptions caused by party rentals. Dr. Jonnal asked about past "farm parties", for which college students rented barns in rural areas and threw large parties. Dr. Jonnal wondered if there were concerns about new regulations leading to parties relocating from a regulated area to another, less regulated one. In response, Ms. Luu explained that these parties appear to be ongoing but, as Dr. Jonnal observed, many of them have since moved into Person County, limiting jurisdiction. She went on to explain that, because many of these parties were hosted by fraternity or sorority organizations at Duke University, they are not covered under the jurisdiction of the university, making enforcement tricky. She added that students should have the opportunity to socialize, as this is important for psychological health and social development, but that CCC wants to encourage people to socialize responsibly and safely. Some examples of interventions to promote responsible socialization include party registration, safe host training, and encouraging hosting parties at licensed venues. • In response to Dr. Stuebe's question about the party situation in newly constructed apartment housing near campus, Ms. Luu explained that every Monday morning, the Chapel Hill police notifies the CCC of any noise complaints accrued over the weekend S:\Managers Working Files\BOH\Agendas &Abstracts\2024 Agenda and Abstracts/ March Page 4 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH March 27, 2024 and Ms. Luu and some representatives from the university go to these homes and provide motivational interviewing and education to the party hosts to reduce the likelihood of another incident. She added that they also provide education to property managers and owners about code enforcement, party registration, noise mitigation, and safe host training. • Ms. Luu briefly touched on social districts (i.e., designated open container drinking zones) and explained that there currently are no official considerations for social districts in Chapel Hill, Southern Village, or Carrboro, though there have been some murmurs on the topic in downtown Hillsborough. Ms. Luu said that Durham, Raleigh, and Cary currently have social districts, and that social districts present a problem for public health because they can normalize social drinking, increase accessibility of alcohol, and raise the likelihood of underage drinking due to increased accessibility and increased barriers to enforcement. She added that social districts may also present equity issues, as historically marginalized communities are more likely to live near areas that become zoned as social districts. • The Good Samaritan Law failed to be updated last year in the legislature, though the CCC is hoping to see it come back in the future, as Good Samaritan Laws help protect individuals who may be wary of law enforcement and thus less likely to seek help for either alcohol or drug overdose. • Dr. Jonnal asked if Ms. Luu ever feels existentially crushed by the difficulties of working at the local level against the lobbying of big alcohol companies, to which Ms. Luu replied that yes, she sometimes does, in part because the funding for public health comes nowhere near what the lobbyists have access to. However, she added that she works with a lot of passionate people who are great at what they do, which is re-energizing, and that she and her team lean hard into the existing data and evidence to support their work. Ms. Luu shared that she hopes to complete a Capstone project with MPH students next year focused on qualitative data around alcohol use to expand the breadth of the data available to support alcohol control. • In response to Mr. Whitaker's question about the CCC's relationship with local businesses, Ms. Luu explained that the CCC is housed under the fiscal sponsorship of the Downtown Chapel Hill Partnership, which gives them an interesting relationship with local businesses. She added that, whenever possible, she prefers to find "carrots" to motivate change (rather than "sticks") and seeks to collaborate with and educate business owners, emphasizing that responsible alcohol service makes better economic sense than irresponsible service. She went on to say that the CCC incentivizes responsible beverage service training for servers and bartenders, both in English and Spanish, and subsidizes ID scanners for local businesses to help remove barriers to responsible alcohol service. • Dr. Stuebe asked if Ms. Luu could comment on trends in binge drinking and sexual assault on campus related to the pandemic; Ms. Luu explained that during the pandemic, binge-drinking trended down when students were sent home and right back up when they returned to campus and that overall drinking levels increased among women in their 30s during the pandemic. Otherwise, local data is unfortunately limited on this topic, so she is unable to comment meaningfully at this time, though her hunch is that both have returned to pre-pandemic levels based on national data. • Mr. Bagby noted that many ABC stores hired teachers and bartenders early in the pandemic due to the increased demand for alcohol and decrease in ability to perform in- person jobs. He said that many of these bartenders are continuing to work at ABC stores even now. Ms. Luu agreed and said that many people were drinking to cope, especially young people, which is worrying. However, she observed that from a retail perspective S:\Managers Working Files\BOH\Agendas &Abstracts\2024 Agenda and Abstracts/ March Page 5 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH March 27, 2024 there has been an increase in the demand for non-alcoholic beverages and shared that North Carolina's first alcohol-free bottle shop, Boro Beverage Co., has opened on Franklin Street. • Dr. Jonnal commented that treatment is often considered more lucrative than prevention and that she feels this is manifesting in the nation's approach to mental health care. Ms. Luu said that alcohol and mental health are bidirectional, meaning that they exacerbate each other, and it is difficult to tease out that relationship. She added that institutions are starting to recognize this relationship and moving towards a more holistic approach to treat overall well-being rather than just preventing and treating substance use. She added that the CCC aims to decrease the barriers to screening and intervention, though treatment is not her particular area of expertise. She said that culture change and building up social skills are the two approaches she believes will be most effective to address this issue, but that neither are quick fixes. • In response to Commissioner Fowler's question about funding sources for the CCC, Ms. Luu replied that they receive equal parts funding from the ABC Board, Orange County Health Department, UNC Student Affairs, and the Town of Chapel Hill. She added that they have received a small Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) grant as well. B. 2023 Community Health Assessment Results and Data McKayla Creed, Healthy Carolinians of Orange County Coordinator, provided an overview of the data and results of the 2023 Community Health Assessment (CHA). Some highlights of her presentation are below: • Ms. Creed began her presentation by reviewing the Social Determinants of Health (SDOH), which are the conditions of the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks. These include things like healthcare access, neighborhood environment, social context, financial stability, and education. She also shared that all figures and data in her presentation came directly from the CHA document. • Ms. Creed provided an overview of the CHA survey timeline and a preview into the upcoming Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIPs) process. She also thanked the board members for their support during the community listening sessions. • To assess well-being in Orange County, data is compared against peer and neighboring counties. Ms. Creed explained that peer counties are counties with similar demographics such as population, income or education levels, or age or race distributions, while neighboring counties are ones that are geographically close. • Ms. Creed underscored again that affordable housing and mental health were consistently voiced as concerns by those who completed the survey or participated in listening sessions. • While reviewing disparities around life expectancy for different genders and different racial groups in Orange vs comparison counties, Mr. Bagby asked what factors explained the discrepancies between counties. Ms. Creed replied that she did not know the exact factors and that it could possibly be explained by things such as a higher number of medical facilities in Orange County or Orange County having a larger number of retirees who have moved into the county compared with other counties, skewing the results. • Ms. Creed shared that mental health is an area of particular priority as suicide is the ninth leading cause of death in Orange County but does not rank in the top ten for the S:\Managers Working Files\BOH\Agendas &Abstracts\2024 Agenda and Abstracts/ March Page 6 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH March 27, 2024 state. She added that Emergency Department (ED) visits related to mental health decreased over the course of the pandemic, even though self-reported mental health challenges increased during the same period. Ms. Creed highlighted this as an apparent access issue. • Despite Orange County commonly being considered an affluent county, Ms. Creed shared that it has the highest percentage of adults living in poverty (-15% countywide) of any county in the state. Mr. Bagby wondered if the population concentrations in various areas of the county might be distorting the figures, and Ms. Creed agreed that it was possible that the large student population relative to permanent residents in the county could be skewing the data. While looking at a map of the county comparing levels of poverty in each census tract, Victoria Hudson, Environmental Health Director, said that the most densely impoverished area appeared to be central Carrboro, which is a high-density housing area with a high number of residents who are refugees. • Orange County has an overall Gini coefficient of 0.5, which means that the county falls right in the middle between perfectly equal income distribution (0.0) and perfectly unequal income distribution (1.0). This score is higher than the Gini coefficients for the state of NC or the comparison counties. Ms. Creed went on to say that a fifth of Orange County residents are spending more than half their monthly income on their housing, leaving less money for things like healthcare, healthy food, education, and exercise opportunities. • Dr. Jonnal commented that income inequality is a behemoth issue and commended Ms. Creed for considering how access to money and health outcomes intertwine. She added that this is often a missing link in conversations about health and, though there's likely not a quick fix, it's important to acknowledge how this affects health. Dr. Stuebe added that there are many fraught policies in Orange County related to zoning and affordable housing (e.g., construction of single family vs. multi-family housing units) which the BOH can learn about and comment on; she added that affordable housing also needs to be safe and humane. Ms. Creed replied that Orange County is blessed with a large immigrant and refugee population but that unfortunately many of these people arrive to the county without the knowledge and ability to access resources such as money, jobs, or housing. She added that Chapel Hill is full of housing units but many of these units, especially new construction, are expensive and targeted primarily towards students. Dr. Stuebe chimed in that this is a complicated issue, but new housing built for students can free up existing housing for permanent residents. She added that Matthew Desmond's book Poverty, By America, weighs in on affordable housing and discusses how mortgages are subsidized by taxes in a way that rental housing is not, leading to inequitable outcomes. Dr. Stuebe suggested that all board members might benefit from reading this book. • Ms. Creed provided an overview of how the CHA team narrowed in on the priority areas identified by the CHA. She explained that the original CHA survey produced fifteen potential priority areas, which obviously could not all realistically be prioritized. These fifteen priority areas were then voted on by community members (during the listening sessions and at community events) and by the CHA leadership team. Both votes produced the same top four areas of concern, which were then funneled into the three identified priority areas: Behavioral Health, Access to Care, and Connections to Community Support. • In response to Mr. Bagby's question about how the participants for the CHA focus groups consisting of formerly incarcerated individuals and individuals with a history of substance use were recruited, Ms. Creed explained that the health department worked within existing partnerships to invite community members with specific lived experiences to participate. She added that those who did participate were excited to do so, though S:\Managers Working Files\BOH\Agendas &Abstracts\2024 Agenda and Abstracts/ March Page 7 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH March 27, 2024 she could not share the specific partnerships for privacy reasons. She said that these focus groups were intended to center perspectives that are often left out of conversations about community health and well-being. • Ms. Creed mentioned that Medicaid expansion has not reached as many people as initially hoped for and told a story about a series of clinics the health department recently hosted to ensure that school-aged children were meeting school requirements for immunizations. At these clinics, many parents were concerned about how they would afford the care, as they did not have insurance. She expressed that many new residents to Orange County have not gotten connected enough to access insurance. • Dr. Stuebe said that it is heinous how difficult it is for patients to receive all the benefits that their health plans supposedly offer. She wondered if this was an issue of Connections to Community Support or Access to Care, to which Ms. Creed replied that it could be either or both, and that many of the committees are likely to have overlap. Several board members also expressed that technology is a barrier for many people, especially older adults, to accessing things like insurance and insurance benefits. Mr. Bagby suggested that family members might be able to assist older adults with enrollment. Ms. Stewart added that she has been voicing concerns about Prepaid Health Plans (PHPs) being held accountable for actually providing the services they claim to offer. • Dr. Jonnal clarified that the Healthy Carolinians of Orange County and BOH will have separate committees that will be working in parallel to achieve similar goals; Ms. Creed affirmed this to be the case and said that board members are encouraged to volunteer on the Healthy Carolinians of Orange County committees, so long as they do not form a quorum. At the conclusion of her presentation, Ms. Creed gave each of the board members in attendance a printed copy of the CHA. Copies for the three members not in attendance were given to Ms. Phillips-Weiner to distribute later. Vill. Reports and Discussion with Possible Action A. Media Items Marcy Williams, Health Promotion and Education Services Manager, briefly summarized the articles in the meeting packet. Article topics included that sports gambling is now legal and available in NC with related concerns about gambling addiction, that the first over-the-counter birth control pill, OPill, is now available at pharmacies, the launch of a peer warmline in NC to supplement the 988 suicide lifeline, and an update on Wake County Schools joining a lawsuit against social media companies due to mental health concerns in youth. In response to Commissioner Fowler's question about how to contact the warmline, Ms. Williams explained that there is a phone number, 1-855-PEERS NC (1-855-733-7762), that can be called or texted. Media items were in the packet, which focused on Orange County's events, our involvement in various efforts, and various public health topics. S:\Managers Working Files\BOH\Agendas &Abstracts\2024 Agenda and Abstracts/ March Page 8 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH March 27, 2024 B. Health Directors Report Ms. Stewart presented her report to the Board. Below are brief highlights of her report. • Ms. Stewart thanked the board for reviewing and scoring the outside agency applications and explained that those are currently under review for funding. • The Orange County Countywide Five-Year Strategic Plan has been completed and focuses on similar priority areas as those identified by the CHA: Environmental Protection and Climate Action, Healthy Community, Housing for All, Multi-Modal Transportation, Public Education/Learning Community, and Diverse and Vibrant Economy. The full plan can be found here: https:HorangecountVnc.gov/DocumentCenter/View/26972 • Ms. Stewart shared that, due to ongoing interest from board members, she will resume including COVID wastewater surveillance in her monthly reports. She added that the numbers are beginning to trend down, which she hopes signals the end of respiratory illness season. • Bars that serve food in NC are being pulled back under the authority of health departments after a period of ten years without being evaluated by health inspectors to the same standards as restaurants. Bars with kitchens will now need to be inspected and permitted by October 1, 2024. As of March 20, 2024, Orange County Environmental Health Services has already received applications and completed inspections for all 34 bars that serve food in the county. • UNC's Student Health Action Coalition (SHAC) requested help from the health department to get school-aged children up to date on school-required vaccinations and physical exams. Carla Julian, Public Health Nursing Director, held three special clinics in the last week with assistance from all the divisions of the health department to help serve approximately 50 students. • There have been 64 cases of Measles in 17 US states since the beginning of the year. So far, none of these cases have been in NC, but there have been cases in nearby states including Georgia and Virginia. Ms. Stewart emphasized the importance of vaccines to help curb the spread of vaccine-preventable illnesses such as Measles. • Starting July 1 st, 2024, tobacco-free policies will be taking effect at healthcare providers contracted with Medicaid. This includes both combustible (e.g., cigarettes, cigars) and non-combustible (e.g., vapes, smokeless tobacco) products. Ms. Stewart clarified that exceptions to this regulation include but are not limited to retail pharmacies and non- emergency medical transport. Dr. Stuebe asked who is responsible for enforcement of smoke-free policies, to which Ms. Stewart clarified that it falls under the jurisdiction of local law enforcement. • The Orange County Opioid Settlement Community Meeting will be held at 10am-3pm on Saturday, April 271h in the Donna Baker Meeting Room of the Whitted Building, 300 West Tryon Street, Hillsborough, NC 27278. Ms. Stewart provided a preview of the new funds Orange County will be receiving from the Walmart settlement, $459,509.50, with an overall payout of$51,430,837 from Walmart to all of NC. • Ms. Stewart shared that there is an appeal pending, though she has not yet received the formal request. Through a brief discussion, the board members agreed to hold the evenings of April 10th and April 11th as potential dates for an adjudication hearing. Ms. Stewart explained that it was possible for board members to videoconference in, as Dr. Jonnal said that she would be out of town on both those days. In response to Dr. Baldwin's question as to whether the appellant wins their appeal by default if the board fails to schedule the hearing in time, Ms. Hudson said that this would not influence the judgement of the case, but board members would be in violation of state law and subject S:\Managers Working Files\BOH\Agendas &Abstracts\2024 Agenda and Abstracts/ March Page 9 MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH March 27, 2024 to misdemeanor offenses if they fail to schedule the hearing within the mandated window. Mr. Whitaker asked if the appellant's availability needs to be considered during scheduling, to which Ms. Stewart explained that the board is only responsible for having a quorum present and providing 10 days' notice before the hearing. IX. Adjournment Dr. Jonnal thanked Ms. Phillips-Weiner and the Environmental Health Staff on behalf of the BOH for their work at the board retreat. A motion was made by Dr. Alison Stuebe to adjourn the meeting at 9:05 p.m., was seconded by Dr. Bruce Baldwin, and carried without dissent. The next Board of Health Meeting will be held April 24, 2024, 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 S:\Managers Working Files\BOH\Agendas &Abstracts\2024 Agenda and Abstracts/ March Page 10