Agenda - 12-10-2013 - 6a - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

7 1• - Expand distribution of Naloxone, a medication that safely and quickly reverses opioid 2 overdose 3• - Healthy Carolinians of Orange County promoting "on the ground" community efforts 4 Project Lazarus (graphic) 5 6 Looking Forward (timeline) 7 8 Tony Whitaker said a committee has been formed to look at the topic of substance 9 abuse and mental health. He said these topics have been combined because they are so 10 closely related. 11 He said there has been a lot of discussion of innovation tonight, but not all innovation is 12 high visibility. He said the Board of Health reorganized the standard committees to represent 13 the board's points of focus. 14 He said the Smoke Free Public Places (SFPP) initiative was one of the most successful 15 accomplishments of this past year. He said public input was valuable in tailoring the rule that 16 was eventually adopted. 17 He noted that the 550 signs posted for this initiative were covered by the funding 18 received. 19 Commissioner Rich asked about the cessation class. 20 Colleen Bridger said the "Fresh Start" model is used, and this involves a four session 21 class. Each class is facilitated by a trained educator. She said the class teaches people how to 22 quit smoking, set goals and create coping mechanisms. 23 Commissioner Rich asked if this has been successful. 24 Colleen Bridger said this is being evaluated. She said typically less than half of those 25 who try to quit smoking are successful. She said the rates are a little higher than that on the 26 initial evaluations. She is not comfortable publishing this information until 6-12 months after the 27 classes. 28 Tony Whitaker said nicotine replacement therapy kits have also been distributed, and he 29 thanked the Board for funding this. 30 He said the focus has now been shifted to a substance abuse and mental health 31 evaluation. He reviewed upcoming sessions happening on October 23, and November 20tH 32 and he invited Board members to attend. 33 He noted that Project Lazarus is an intervention model that has been used successfully 34 in Wilkes County. He said there are a number of different strategies that are community based, 35 education based and policy based. He said Healthy Carolinians has already begun community 36 and educational strategies, including installation of prescription drug boxes at three police 37 departments in the County. 38 He said Healthy Carolinians has received grant money to continue this work, and the 39 Board of Health is working with them to look at how to do more at a policy level. 40 Tony Whitaker said there are several coalition building efforts in the works for the future. 41 42 4. Affordable Care Act Marketplace Status 43 Colleen Bridger noted the flyer included in the abstract, which reviews information on the 44 Affordable Care Act. 45 She said her focus tonight is on how to work together as a community to get as many 46 people as possible enrolled in the marketplace. She said the first part of this process is letting 47 people know about it. 48 She said there is a national organization called Enroll America that has deployed workers 49 to states with the highest number of uninsured residents. She said North Carolina is one of those 50 states. She said there are volunteers being mobilized to go door to door to answer general