Orange County NC Website
MINUTES <br />ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH <br />February 25, 2015 <br />Page 3 <br />based on benchmarking data from other jurisdictions showing that an increase of 33% <br />would put Orange County with the highest fees in the area and a reluctance to institute <br />such a large increase at one time. Dr. Bridger offered to research the possibili ty of a <br />Fee Waiver program for low-income residents and bring the results of that research <br />back to a future BOH meeting and make sure to review the Environmental Health fees <br />on a regular basis. <br /> <br />BOH members had several clarifying questions that were addressed by Dr. <br />Bridger and Alan Clapp, Environmental Health Director. <br /> <br />Motion was made by Liska Lackey to approve the recommended fee changes with <br />a phased in fee increase for Environmental Health, seconded by Dan Dewitya and <br />carried with dissent from Corey Davis. <br /> <br />After the Board decided to increase Environmental Health fees by 11%, Dr. Bridger <br />presented her recommended FY 2015-16 budget (see attachment). This budget has a <br />total increase of approximately $520,000 (6.5%), with a $233,000 (4%) increase from <br />County General Funds. Dr. Bridger detailed all costs that contributed to the increase <br />that were outside of the control of the Health Department, which equaled approximately <br />$230,000, and reviewed requested increases from the Health Department for an <br />additional Dentist, Dental Assistant, 0.5 Office Assistant to full time, Public Health <br />Nurse, and additional 0.5 FTE to bring an existing part time Family Nurse Practitioner to <br />full time. <br /> <br />Dr. Bridger stated that additional revenue related to the new dent ist was calculated at <br />75% of Dr. Day’s earned revenue based on when the dentist will be hired and that <br />productivity with a new team may be lower than with an existing team. The new dental <br />team will have a focus on pediatric and prenatal patients. <br /> <br />Dr. Bridger reviewed the medical related position changes, which will allow the <br />department to see more patients as long as another PHN I is added with it. Personal <br />Health revenue will increase by approximately $60,000, the majority of which will be <br />billed by the full time Family Nurse Practitioner. <br /> <br />Dr. Bridger reviewed requests over $5,000, which are mostly related to a projected <br />increase in patients seen. The additional $30,000 in contract services is related to an <br />agreement with UNC Chapel Hill and the Town of Chapel Hill. Each entity will contribute <br />$30,000 to hire a staff person to oversee the recommendations of an Alcohol Prevention <br />Task force. The task force will ask the ABC Board for an additional $40 -45,000 to <br />support the position. Dr. Bridger stated that the ABC Board is very excited about the <br />collaboration between the three entities and encouraged the task force to submit a grant <br />request. <br /> <br />Dr. Bridger reminded the BOH of the upcoming budget calendar and process timeline. <br /> <br />The BOH members had several questions that were addressed by Dr. Bridger.