Approved Minutes of January 24, 2024

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MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH January 24, 2024 Welcome New Employees Ms. Stewart introduced the new employees in attendance: Luz "Carolina" Lopez-Flores— Medical Office Assistant; Karina Kohls — Lab Technician; LaToya Jones — Family Success Alliance Navigator; and Dr. Rivkah Stack— Dentist. II. Public Comment for Items NOT on Printed Agenda: None. III. Board Comments Board comments were incorporated into the welcoming of the new board member, Commissioner Fowler. IV. Priority Committee Updates Access to Care— Dr. Baldwin, Dr. Nickelson, Dr. Rodgers, and Dr. Stuebe Dr. Stuebe shared that the Access to Care committee has been considering access as multidimensional (e.g., that some people might struggle to realize when they need care, some may struggle to find transportation to care, some may struggle to pay for care) and therefore the committee wishes to learn more from residents about their personal challenges. To this end, the committee is planning a Photovoice project, in which members of the community will be invited to take photographs of things that they believe prevent them from receiving healthcare and then to explain their photographs. The committee recently had a good planning session and hope to host the completed project in a gallery showing at Eno Arts Mill. Dr. Stuebe added that it is common for people to assume that there are no problems here because Orange County is a relatively wealthy and liberal county, and she believes it is important for projects like this to elevate that there is still work to be done. Dr. Baldwin expressed regret for not designating a speaker in advance to allow adequate time to prepare. He added that the committee is also interested in Medicaid expansion efforts. He shared that about 6,000 new people in Orange County are eligible to enroll in expanded Medicaid, but so far only about 2,000 have enrolled. Dr. Baldwin concluded by saying that the committee hopes to help locate and reach the people who are missing. Substance Use Disorders — Dr. Baldwin, Dr. Crandell, Dr. Jonnal, and Dr. Royce Dr. Jonnal shared that the Substance Use Disorders committee recently hosted Landon Weaver, Community Paramedic Coordinator, who gave a comprehensive overview of addressing substance use disorders, particularly the Opioid Epidemic, in the field and touched on issues around prevention and treatment. She added that he had spoken about a Post- Overdose Response Team (PORT) program for Opioids that was seeking funding, and Ms. Stewart chimed in to say that this program has since been reviewed and granted one year of funding. Dr. Jonnal mentioned that she had reached out to Mr. Weaver on behalf of Person County, as she also works there, and learned he had already shared data and resources there. S:\Managers Working Files\BOH\Agenda&Abstracts\2024 Agenda&Abstracts/ January Page 4