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MINUTES <br />ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH <br />May 26, 2010 <br />Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by Anne Miles Cassell 8 May 26, 2010 <br />what is mandated. There are many programs and services that are not <br />mandated but integral to public health and it is advantageous to set the bar <br />higher than only mandated services. <br /> <br />Christopher Cooke said that the request for information can be perceived as the <br />County Manager’s attempt to choose the best option for further cuts as the <br />budget process proceeds. <br /> <br /> F. Public Health Improvement Plan <br /> <br />The NC General Assembly created a special task force appointed by the <br />Secretary of DHHS to develop a “five year public health improvement plan”. The <br />final report to the General Assembly was provided for Board members. The <br />report reviews the background and steps that have led to the plan. This <br />document will be considered by the General Assembly for possible <br />implementation steps. <br /> <br />Rosemary Summers stated that it is important that the Board carefully review and <br />discuss the implications contained in this report. If adopted, the report could <br />have the following impacts on Orange County: <br /> <br />• Reduced state and federal funding due to county ranking <br />• Addition of local fees for food and lodging <br />• Additional reporting and evaluation requirements <br />• Additional accreditation requirements <br /> <br />The Board was asked to review the report with the county health ranking data in <br />mind that places Orange County as the second highest ranked county in the <br />state and be aware of how this will impact Orange County, i.e. less funding from <br />state and federal sources. Redistribution of public health funding is being <br />seriously considered. The Board was asked to consider how to inform the Board <br />of County Commissioners of potential impacts and consider messages that <br />should be sent to legislative delegation. <br /> <br />Tony Whitaker asked if there was an executive summary available as he had <br />difficulty after reading this report in parsing out the information someone new to <br />the Board might understand more easily. He also asked what the biggest <br />concern was with the Public Health Improvement Plan. <br /> <br />Rosemary Summers replied that one of her largest concerns is the single stream <br />funding concept that the legislature seems to want. The legislature’s concept of <br />single stream funding is to take the small pots of money that they receive a <br />request for, roll them up and provide that funding back out to counties based on <br />risk factors. It was pointed out that one of the biggest problems is that North <br />Carolina has little to no investment in public health, therefore resulting statistics <br />show that NC ranks 40th in the nation for healthy population and is obviously not <br />enough investment to make a difference in outcomes. <br /> <br />Christopher Cooke stated that the report also gives one an insight into the