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MINUTES AMENDED 11-17-2005 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH October 27, 2005 Board of Health Minutes Transcription completed by Anne Miles Cassell 1 October 27, 2005 ORANGE COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT MISSION STATEMENT: To enhance the quality of life, promote the health, and preserve the environment for all people in the Orange County community. THE ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH MET ON October 27, 2005 at the Southern Human Services Center, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. BOARD OF HEALTH MEMBERS PRESENT: Alan Rimer, Chair; Jessica Lee, Vice-Chair; Sharon Freeland; Tim Carey; Matt Vizithum; Jim Stefanadis; Moses Carey, Jr.; Chris Harlan BOARD OF HEALTH MEMBERS ABSENT: Sharon Van Horn; Alice White STAFF PRESENT: Rosemary Summers, Health Director; Angela Cooke, Dental Health Services Division Director; Ron Holdway, Environmental Health Services Division Director; Donna King, Health Promotion and Education Division Director; Leticia Burns, Central Administrative Services Business Director; Wayne Sherman, Personal Health Services Division Director; Anne Miles Cassell, Administrative Assistant GUESTS PRESENT: Dennis Harrington, MPH, Chief Local Health Services, North Carolina Division of Public Health I. Educational Presentation: Public Health Funding Streams Dennis Harrington, MPH, Chief Local Health Services, NC Division of Public Health In an overview of present funding Mr. Harrington stated that on a statewide basis 81% of public health expenditures are provided at the local level, 19% through state and federal funding. This 81% also includes 3rd party reimbursements and fees. Uncompensated care not covered by insurance or Medicaid, is the majority of health care provided by Public Health in the sate. Over $7 million in prenatal care is provided free in North Carolina. The point was made that 50% of the Public Health workforce in the state is within 3-5 years of retirement. Recruitment into the public health field is not expected to keep up with the retirement rate. Grant and foundation funding is typically acquired for new public health programs. Health Departments are finding it difficult to take on new programs with limited staff and funds available to run existing programs; therefore these sources of funding are limited. A Public Health Authority “model” is an alternative self-governing structure that allows for establishment of fees for service, services in more than one county, increased flexibility to operate in the market and usually better retention of financial resources. North Carolina is the only state that has provisions for a Public Health Authority. Cabarrus County, the only long term Health Authority, has operated successfully under this system for 6 to 8 years. One other county has recently begun operating under this structure. Mr. Harrington left a handout that compares the powers and duties of a local board of health to that of a public health authority board. It was noted by several Board members and the staff that this model would require the