Approved Minutes of September 25, 2024

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MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH September 25, 2024 these groups are not screened. In response to Dr. Steube's question, Ms. Ekenna explained that pap smears are not done as part of the initial health screening and must be scheduled as part of a separate physical exam. • Ms. Ekenna shared that in the past year, they have assisted 62 refugees in the process of adjusting their legal status to permanent residency. • Ms. Ekenna reviewed the major challenges and barriers related to health screenings and some possible solutions. While language barriers are a problem, interpreters can help. For individuals who lack transportation, they recommend using buses and other transportation and offer flexible appointment times depending on arrival. The required screenings also serve as an opportunity for education about the US healthcare system. • Dr. Stuebe asked if the health department could take on responsibility for these screenings, refugee primary care, and family planning if additional staff were to be hired and create more of a `one-stop-shop' for refugee health. Ms. Stewart explained that this is a possibility, especially as these services would be covered by Medicaid reimbursement, but short staffing is an issue, and the health department would need to be granted funding to hire more staff. • Dr. Pickett asked if there were any health reasons that a refugee might be expelled from the US to which Ms. Ekenna replied that there is a well screening conducted prior to admission to the US, so if an individual passed this screening and were admitted, it is very unlikely that they would then be ejected for any health-related reason. • In response to Dr. Royce's question, Ms. Ekenna explained that trauma screening is offered as part of the physical examination, but not the initial health screening. C. Annual Board of Health Policy Review Jean Phillips-Weiner, Board of Health Strategic Plan Manager, reviewed the recommended changes to the Board of Health Policies and Procedures Manual with the board. The recommended policy changes are as follows: 1.0 Mission Statement and Scope of Services • No Changes. I.A. — Requests for Environmental Services and Assessments • No Changes. I.B. — Fee and Eligibility Policy • Some minor updates to wording and punctuation throughout. • Section 11111.113.1 Updated income verification window to be in line with current practice (10 days or less rather than 30 days or less). • Section VI.1.2: Updated wording to reflect the minimum fee for Dental services, which does not slide to the 0% pay level and stops at 20%. • Section VII.J.1.a: Updated billing statement cycle to reflect current practice (sending out bills monthly rather than no more than three days after charges post). I.C. — Community Assessment Policy • The policy was updated throughout to reflect changes in the State of the County Health (SOTCH) reporting requirements. • Several broken links were removed or replaced. I.D. — Review of Reports and Documents S:\Managers Working Files\BOH\Agendas &Abstracts\2024 Agenda and Abstracts/ September Page 6