Approved Minutes of April 24, 2024

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MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH April 24, 2024 Media items were in the packet, which focused on Orange County's events, our involvement in various efforts, and various public health topics. D. Health Directors Report Ms. Stewart presented her report to the Board. Below are brief highlights of her report. • Bonnie Hammersley, the County Manager, has recently announced that she will be retiring in mid-July. • Earlier that morning, there was a plane crash at RDU involving a former board of health member, Dr. Paul Chelminski. Both he and the pilot are okay, but Ms. Stewart wanted to alert the board in case any of them wanted to reach out. • Ms. Stewart recently attended the Health Director's Legal Conference at UNC. During the conference, OCHD was used as a case example of best practices regarding the recent dispute between Coronato's Pizza and Oasis Cigar Bar. • The health department is entering a hiring freeze, during which only essential/direct care positions will be filled. Grant-funded positions are not affected. She added that currently there are only 8 vacancies of 121 positions and that no positions are being cut at this time. Mr. Whitaker asked about revenue-generating positions, to which Ms. Stewart replied that it is possible to appeal if you believe a position is essential but being revenue-generating does not make it an exception. In response to Dr. Stuebe's question about why the budget is short, Ms. Stewart explained that it is related to a deficit from the Medicaid Hold Harmless Agreement, from which the County had expected to receive a reimbursement but is instead being required to make a $2.2 million payment. • The adjudication hearing needs to be rescheduled, as the appellant's legal counsel was unable to make the previous date. Mr. Whitaker asked if the appellant had surrendered their right to appeal by not meeting the deadline imposed by the legal statute, to which Ms. Stewart replied that she had spoken at length with County Attorney Morgan Pierce, who recommended honoring the request to reschedule as a best practice to ensure equity to the appellant. Based on the availability of the board members, Monday May 13t" at 6:30pm was chosen for the rescheduled hearing. IX. Adjournment A motion was made by Commissioner Amy Fowler to adjourn the meeting at 9:07 p.m., was seconded by Dr. Lee Pickett, and carried without dissent. The next Board of Health Meeting will be held May 22, 2024, at the Orange County Health Department, 300 West Tryon Street, Hillsborough, NC at 7:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Quintana Stewart, MPA Orange County Health Director Secretary to the Board S:\Managers Working Files\BOH\Agendas &Abstracts\2024 Agenda and Abstracts/ April Page 9