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MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH September 22, 2010 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by Lisa Smith 2 September 22, 2010 B. The NC Accreditation Learning Collaborative, part of the Robert Wood Johnson Multi-state Learning Collaborative, is making funds available to local health departments for implementation of an advanced quality improvement project that will benefit outcomes and business practices. There is a total of $25,000 available for this mini-collaborative statewide. Projects will be funded for amounts ranging from a minimum of $2,500 up to a maximum of $10,000. Only one award will be given at the maximum level of $10,000. The mini-collaborative grant would give OCHD an opportunity to address a long recognized need to allow Environmental Health services to be more efficient and streamlined, particularly with regard to customer service. The process of applying for environmental health permits and services has become cumbersome and frustrating for many clients who are not familiar with the process and the number of approvals required by various agencies. Because there are collaborative agencies involved, it is necessary to have a third-party expert lead the effort to gain consensus among the stakeholders. This project would be a prime opportunity to conduct a “Lean Kaizen” quality improvement event with analyses of the current process so that we can have a “one-stop” centralized permitting application. OCHD has submitted a proposal for the maximum award of $10,000 to cover the cost of the Lean Kaizen Event consultation fee and a high-speed document scanner for scanning all existing paper permits. C. Annually, the NC Public Health Association announces the Wolfe Mini Grants to reduce Infant Mortality and enhance Children’s Health programs in North Carolina Local Health Departments. Four grants of $5,000 each will be awarded in honor of Dr. Ann F. Wolfe, past Section Chief of the Division of Public Health’s Maternal and Child Health Section. OCHD is applying for one of the grants to provide Tdap vaccine (Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis) to household contacts and to caregivers of infants (less than 6 months of age) who are uninsured and ineligible for Tdap vaccine funded through the Vaccines for Children program. Extra outreach will be made to caregivers of infants in Orange County Child Care Centers and child care homes. This project will increase the community level of protection for pertussis and help prevent infant mortality from a vaccine-preventable disease. Orange County experienced a pertussis outbreak during the 08-09 year with 26 known cases and hundreds of contacts having to take preventative antibiotics after exposure. As children age into adolescence and adulthood, immunity to pertussis obtained from early childhood vaccination wanes. One dose of Tdap vaccine is recommended for all adolescents and adults to boost their waning pertussis immunity. VFC eligible children between 10 and 18 are able to receive the recommended Tdap vaccine at no charge due to VFC funding. The only adults who are eligible for Tdap at no charge are postpartum women served by the Health Department or those with insurance to cover the vaccine. Previously, funding provided to the North Carolina Immunization Program paid for any adult needing a Tdap to receive the vaccine at no charge. Now, that funding is no longer available. Adults without insurance to cover the cost of Tap have to pay for the vaccine. Our goal is to protect the household contacts and caregivers of infants most at risk, those who are too young to have received 3 doses of pertussis-containing vaccine. By vaccinating these household contacts and caregivers against pertussis, infants will be less likely to be exposed and develop disease.