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9 <br /> 1 Colleen Bridger said the incidence rate is higher than the state, but mortality is also higher <br /> 2 than the state average and this is age adjusted data. She said this means it cannot be attributed <br /> 3 to overpopulation. She said there is no good explanation, but the solution is better screening. <br /> 4 Commissioner Rich asked if there is any ethnic data. <br /> 5 Colleen said the incidence is more prevalent in African Americans. She said screening <br /> 6 activities are targeted to African American churches. <br /> 7 Commissioner Dorosin said he would like to see more attention focused on child poverty in <br /> 8 the County. He asked for feedback on what else ought to be done. <br /> 9 He asked if there was anything that the Health Department would like to request from the <br /> 10 Board. <br /> 11 Colleen Bridger said more funding would be helpful. <br /> 12 She said one of the dashboards being worked on is "Social Determinants of Health". She <br /> 13 said poverty is a big indicator for all of the priority issues. She said there needs to be a better <br /> 14 understanding of the pockets of poverty in the County. She said this will allow greater focus for <br /> 15 the interventions. <br /> 16 She said the other initiative is to continue to invest in education, which is the solution to <br /> 17 pulling people out of poverty. <br /> 18 Commissioner Dorosin said he is thinking about the needs of children even before they <br /> 19 reach public school. He feels there needs to be more early intervention. <br /> 20 Colleen Bridger said the first five years are critical. She said it might be interesting to <br /> 21 delve into the brain development in the first five years, to further understand the importance of <br /> 22 investing in that age. <br /> 23 She said that her answer to Commissioner Dorosin's question is that the Board of Health <br /> 24 would like to better integrate health into things like planning and transportation. She said help is <br /> 25 needed from the Board in order to move forward with becoming more involved in this <br /> 26 conversation. She said more money would also be great. <br /> 27 Commissioner Dorosin asked if there were more money, would you be doing more of the <br /> 28 same thing to a larger number of people, or if it would mean expanding priorities. <br /> 29 Colleen Bridger said the department would expand their priorities. <br /> 30 Corey Davis said there is a huge list. <br /> 31 Commissioner Dorosin said he is interested in seeing that list. <br /> 32 Matthew Kelm said one of the intervention ideas came from working with environmental <br /> 33 health. He said this led to a realization that there could be more done to educate families about <br /> 34 lead in the water. <br /> 35 Colleen Bridger said the department was very appreciative of the additional funding for this <br /> 36 year. <br /> 37 Commissioner Pelissier referred to the comment on transportation and health. She said <br /> 38 the Master Aging Plan committee is always talking about transportation for the aging population. <br /> 39 She said it would be good to collaborate with other departments, such as the Department <br /> 40 on Aging. <br /> 41 Colleen Bridger said she would make sure this is on the radar screen. <br /> 42 <br /> 43 With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:57 pm. <br /> 44 <br /> 45 Barry Jacobs, Chair <br /> 46 <br /> 47 <br /> 48 David Hunt <br /> 49 Deputy Clerk to the Board <br /> 50 <br />