Agenda 04-01-2004 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Attachment 1: BOCC/BOH Joint Dinner Meeting 04/01/04 BUSINESS PLAN Orange County Public Health Department Primary Care Services March 23, 2004 Business Description The mission of the Orange County Health Department (OCHD) is "to enhance the quality of life, promote the health, and preserve the environment for all people in the Orange County Community." Enhanced quality of life and promotion of health are achieved through improved access to a continuum of services, both preventive and primary healthcare services. As such, the OCHD is seeking to expand its current base of preventive services to include primary care for its traditionally served populations. This new service will be provided in the current VA -fitted clinical facility in Hillsborough to facilitate access for OCHD's client base, as well as make use of existing staff, equipment, and supplies. Industry Analysis Primary care services are aimed at assuring that the basic health needs of patients are met. This includes ongoing evaluation of the individual's health and early diagnosis and treatment of common illnesses. In addition, the primary care clinician acts as an advocate and consultant to the patient, providing advice regarding various diagnoses and therapies, referrals to specialized care physicians, and continuing care for chronic conditions. One of the primary goals of the OCHD is to provide quality health care services when they are not otherwise available. In Orange County, several access -to -care barriers exist. Issues such as language and cultural barriers (i.e. Latinos), uninsured, underinsured or Medicaid status, and workers earning wages below the federal poverty line result in inadequate access to primary care services. Few medical providers offer a sliding fee scale and those that do are often inaccessible due to a limited transportation system, particularly in the northern part of the county. Orange County has a significant number of families living in poverty, with 14.1 % of all individuals living below poverty level. More specifically, 3 8.5 % of female - headed households with children under 5 years of age are living below the poverty level, of which many are OCHD clients'. A 2002 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey found that 8.4% of Orange County residents usually went to a public health clinic for their healthcare, 23.5% said they did not have a regular medical provider, 5.5% used the emergency room, and 2.8% went to urgent care. An income level below $50,000 increased the likelihood of these occurrences from 4 times to as many as 25 times2. Information from the University of North Carolina (UNC) Hospitals illustrates that 86.2% of Orange County visits to the emergency room were made between the hours of 8am and 1 1pm. 49.6% of these visits were for conditions with a low potential for complications or were unlikely to progress in severity, and required minimal resource intensity. These conditions are of the type that can be handled more cost effectively in a primary care setting. 'Scully, Aviva. Primary Care Needs Assessment for Orange County Health Department. October 2003. 'North Carolina Center for Health Statistics. Results from the N.C. Behavioral Risk Factor Survey (BRFSS). hM?: / /www.ppi state nc us /SHSC/Healthstats/brfss /2002 loran /getcare.html.