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MINUTES <br />ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH <br />October 26, 2006 <br />Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by Anne Miles Cassell 7 <br /> October 26, 2006 <br />Typically the agenda includes officer elections, review of retreat materials to be <br />forwarded to the Board of Commissioners, and any pressing funds acceptance or <br />program approvals. <br /> <br />By consensus Board members agreed to meet in Hillsborough prior to adjourning to <br />the Saratoga Grill for dinner, pending securing a reservation. <br /> <br />G. Informational Items <br /> <br />1. Assessment Report on Mental Health Needs of Adolescents <br /> <br />Healthy Carolinians conducted and published an assessment this month on <br />Mental Health Needs of Adolescents. Donna King briefly summarized the <br />report and stated that the knowledge of the risk factors faced by our <br />adolescents can help promote prevention programs and work to ensure that <br />all children with mental health and substance abuse challenges have access to <br />effective, high quality mental health and substance abuse treatment. The <br />committee is meeting with school systems to review the findings and develop <br />recommendations based on the report. <br /> <br />Rosemary Summers said the report would be sent to Commissioners for <br />informational purposes. Tim Carey stated the report was excellent and <br />thought it should be sent to mental health providers. <br /> <br />2. Child Health Report Card <br /> <br />Rosemary Summers reported the findings of the 2006 NC Child Health Report <br />Card. Overall Orange County has a long way to go to improving child health. <br /> One major concern is the large number of uninsured children. We <br />experience the same disparity issues as the rest of the state. Dental Health in <br />Orange County is far better than other parts of the state. This is in large part <br />due to the excellent program in place at the health department. <br /> <br />Orange County has one of the highest overweight and obesity rates for <br />children in the state. The Orange County Partnership for Young Children has <br />made this a priority issue for the next two years and is taking on a major <br />fund-raising project in order to fund local projects to address childhood <br />obesity. <br /> <br />Tim Carey commented on how the issue was handled in Arkansas and the <br />positive results that were obtained by developing a social will to do what was <br />necessary. It took about three years to see the positive results. <br /> <br />Moses Carey reported that there was a movement two years ago to eliminate <br />sodas and unhealthy snacks from schools. Schools have been reluctant to <br />eliminate the soda and snack vending machines due to revenue received from