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MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH February 22, 2007 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by Anne Miles Cassell 4 February 22, 2007 review of operating procedures for possible revision. The re-drafted operating procedures are considerably more streamlined than the current version and would require fewer changes in the future since it would not require revision based on changes in state law. Many of the legal references have been removed. The new draft is based on template developed by the UNC School of Government to assist local health departments with accreditation requirements. Motion to approve the revisions to the Board Operating Procedures was made by Jessica Lee, seconded by Sharon Freeland. and carried without dissent. E. Draft Social Justice Goal Several years ago the Board of Commissioners expressed interest in developing a social justice goal for the county and charged the Human Rights and Relation Department with exploring the elements of such a goal. Last fall the Board participated in a “pennies for justice” exercise formulated by the Human Rights and Relations Commission to determine what critical issues should be addressed in a social justice goal. Board members were provided a copy of the draft, a culmination of all the community input gained through that exercise plus results of listening sessions and other data provided to the Human Rights and Relation Committee. The draft recommendations were presented for Board feedback to the Human Rights and Relation Committee as they finalize their recommendations to the Board of Commissioners. Board members offered the following suggestions. Discrimination: Dr. Carey suggested a change in language to include the phrase “bilingual as in native language” at the end of the bullet #3 regarding the hiring of fluent Spanish speakers and on bullet #4 Sharon Van Horn suggested “and English adequately” be added regarding hiring of fluent bi-lingual employees. Income and Wealth: Ernie Dodson felt the county should not pursue and implement a livable wage ordinance as it could potentially send future and current employers to other nearby counties where business operating costs would be less. Tim Carey expressed a concern that this issue be addressed because many limited income citizens in the County experience sub- standard living conditions. Healthcare: Dr. Carey strongly felt the first bullet should be rephrased to express the philosophy of “access to health care by every person in the County” because it is an achievable goal in this county. He expressed concern that the County could find itself in the expanded role of insurance company and establishing risk pools, an insurance function, and that this would be better handled at the state level rather than by county government. Anissa Vines and Sharon Van Horn recommended that Board of Health recommendations be provided on facility set-up and location to clarify the “co-locate” term used in the draft. Housing: Ernie Dodson felt this was an unrealistic goal and put too much burden on the County