Approved Minutes of April 24, 2024

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MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH April 24, 2024 • Mr. Bagby asked how the BOCC had decided to allocate the funding, to which Ms. Stewart replied that the BOCC received applications from community partners, which were reviewed by the Advisory Committee. The Advisory Committee made recommendations and the BOCC then selected proposals. She added that the first year of funding approvals required some trial and error, but the parameters are clearer now. • In response to Dr. Royce's question about evaluation and accountability for the funded opioid programs, Ms. Stewart explained that it is a requirement for all programs receiving opioid settlement funds to report annually about their processes and impact. • Dr. Royce asked if the funds were designated only for opioid use or if they could also be used for programs targeting other substances based on need, to which Ms. Stewart replied that programs must be opioid-targeted but are allowed to address other substances tangentially. • Mr. Whitaker asked about municipal areas in the county and whether they receive funding and representation for allocation decisions, as the MOU is primarily county centric. Ms. Stewart explained that some larger municipalities statewide are receiving funding, but most are not. However, municipal law enforcement agencies are represented on the Advisory Committees and are in contact with elected officials, so municipal representatives are not locked out of the loop. Municipal elected officials are also required to be invited to all annual community meetings. • In response to Dr. Crandell's question about funding for law enforcement to help address the influx of illegal Fentanyl, Ms. Stewart said that provision of Fentanyl test strips to community members is covered by opioid settlement funding. • Dr. Jonnal wondered why there are no alcohol company settlements given the related harms, to which Commissioner Fowler replied that ABC Stores are required to help fund treatment and prevention programs, adding that the El Futuro, El Centro, and the Campus Community Coalition (CCC) are partially funded by the ABC Board. • Dr. Stuebe mentioned the Horizons Program, which is a substance treatment program in Orange County focused on pregnant and parenting individuals which has both in- and out-of-county participants; Ms. Stewart said that once you are in Orange County, community supports are available to you regardless of your county of origin. • Ms. Stewart concluded her presentation by sharing that the OCHD has made an offer to fill the Harm Reduction Coordinator role, and that employee will begin on May 4t" B. 2024 Board Retreat Evaluation Jean Phillips-Weiner, Board of Health Strategic Plan Manager, provided an overview of the data and results of the evaluation survey for the 2024 Board Retreat. Some highlights of her presentation are below: • Five of the eleven board members (45.45%) responded to the survey. Those who responded seemed to be satisfied overall with their retreat experience. However, several respondents felt that at least one of the retreat activities (such as the adjudication training or the discussion of priority areas) should have been longer or shorter. All respondents strongly agreed that they had gotten to know another board member better during the retreat and that they had learned something that would be useful to them as a board member going forward. • Dr. Pickett expressed concern about the low response rate, wondering if perhaps two thirds of the board members had strongly disliked the retreat and simply didn't want to say so. Several other board members chimed in that they felt this was unlikely, as generally people with strong negative feelings are more likely to respond to anonymous or semi-anonymous surveys compared to those who were relatively satisfied. Board S:\Managers Working Files\BOH\Agendas &Abstracts\2024 Agenda and Abstracts/ April Page 5