Orange County NC Website
MINUTES-Draft <br />ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH <br />March 22, 2017 <br />S:\Managers Working Files\BOH\Agenda & Abstracts\2017 Agenda & Abstracts/ March Page 4 <br />Ms. Young continued by stating that their goals for next year include: <br /> <br />• Expanding the audience for dashboards <br />• Setting local targets for indicators <br />• Incorporating more equity measures <br />• Developing linkage between clinic and county indicators <br />• Continuing to build relationships with UNC hospitals <br />• Identifying alternative data sources <br /> <br />The BOH members had comments and questions that were addressed by Ms. Sheridan <br />and Ms. Young. <br /> <br /> <br />C. State of the County Health Review <br /> <br />Ashley Mercer, Healthy Carolinians Coordinator, presented the 2016 State of the County Health <br />Report (SOTCH). The SOTCH is a report that is produced every year in between the <br />Community Health Assessment (CHA). Social Determinants of Health, Physical Activity & <br />Nutrition and Mental Health & Substance Abuse are the three areas that are focused on in the <br />report. Below are highlights from Ms. Mercer’s presentation. <br /> <br /> Social Determinants of Health <br />o Mortality rates have slightly decreased. <br />o 12.1% of the population under 65 years old is uninsured compared to 15.3% in 2013. <br />o 14.7% of our population lives in poverty and approximately 29% of OC families with <br />children cannot meet their basic needs. <br />o OC ranks 2nd among all counties in NC in income inequality. <br />o Pilot a transportation access improvement activity plan that would offer suggestions <br />such as: designate staff to answer questions regarding transportation or have a <br />space where this information can be displayed. <br /> <br /> Physical Activity & Nutrition <br />o There are still approximately 50% of our community that is not physically active or <br />getting the recommended amount of exercise, ¾ of our community are not eating the <br />recommended servings of fruits and veggies and approximately 50% are not a <br />healthy weight. <br />o The BOH has action plans to advocate for and pursue policies, practices and <br />partnerships aimed at increasing access to healthy foods and safe places for <br />physical activity. One way of doing this is to explore the option to provide incentives <br />to food retailers to be present in and/or offer healthier food and beverage choices in <br />underserved areas (food deserts) with the help from the Orange County Food <br />Council of which Ms. Mercer is the OCHD representative. <br />o The BOH also has plans to work to increase physical activity and improve nutrition in <br />schools by seeking local funding partnerships to provide small grants, for school <br />staff, to implement in-class or other short activity breaks during the school day. <br /> <br /> Mental Health & Substance Abuse <br />o We are ranked #1in the state when it comes to the number of opioid prescriptions <br />(.52) or pills prescribed per resident (34.5), in 2016 (this is an average). So for every <br />100 residents, 52 had an opioid prescription in 2016.