Approved Minutes of October 23, 2024

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MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH October 23, 2024 Access to Care Committee Dr. Pickett provided the update for the Access to Care Committee. The Access to Care Committee is planning a Photovoice project examining barriers to healthcare in Orange County. The goal is to learn more about barriers to care through qualitative data collection — allowing people to share their experiences instead of letting them pick from a preexisting list of potential experiences. Currently, the committee is in the process of planning the project timeline, the budget, and the IRB application. Dr. Pickett added that the project plans to intentionally target certain populations to ensure their inclusion, including migrant workers, formerly incarcerated individuals, individuals living with a substance use disorder, those eligible for expanded Medicaid, immigrant and low-English proficiency neighborhoods, low-income and public housing neighborhoods, rural neighborhoods and those far from public transit, especially in Northern Orange, college students, and individuals who are living unsheltered. Dr. Nickelson commented that she was glad that the project was asking people to share what they need instead of giving them a list of options to choose from; she shared a story about a friend of hers who works for an organization that helps link people to care and that a question this organization asks clients is "what would you do next if you didn't call us?" and many people draw a blank in response. She added that many people seem to go to the emergency room for non-emergencies because they don't know what else to do. Dr. Jonnal cautioned about limiting participation to certain groups, as everyone is having a hard time right now. She shared a story about struggling to get care for her own father-in-law despite her being an ER doctor and her father-in-law having insurance. Dr. Pickett assured her that the project will be open for participation to everyone in Orange County who is eighteen or older. Dr. Rodgers added that the committee has discussed how all the committee members, who are educated and have health insurance, still face difficulties in things like getting appointments. Dr. Jonnal agreed and mentioned that referrals expire after a year, and she has had appointments cancelled because the referral expired before they could get her in to see a doctor. Dr. Stuebe commented that the Thriving Hearts project recently completed an exercise called Extremes and Mainstreams, which uses design thinking to consider the needs of people on opposite extremes of an issue, which helps cover the needs of the majority of people who are somewhere in the middle. She suggested that the group could invite the design thinker working with Thriving Hearts, Kyle, to speak at a future meeting, but added that the goal of such a project is to expand knowledge rather than to learn everything, the project could always be iterative, and that the enemy of done is perfect. Dr. Pickett said that the culmination of the project is to host an exhibit, educate people, and open a community conversation about access to care. Dr. Royce added that this project can help build political will to make changes. Commissioner Fowler arrived during this discussion. The committee will next meet in late January. Connections to Community Support Committee Mr. Whitaker provided the update for the Connections to Community Support Committee. He shared that the committee recently heard from Julia Sendor, lead organizer for Justice United. Ms. Sendor shared some past organizational wins, including collaborating with Alliance S:\Managers Working Files\BOH\Agendas &Abstracts\2024 Agenda and Abstracts/ October Page 2