Approved Minutes of April 23, 2025

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MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH April 23, 2025 IV. Priority Committee Updates Behavioral Health Committee Dr. Baldwin provided the update for the Behavioral Health Committee. The committee planned an event on Friday April 25th to promote the recent resolution passed by the BOH on screen time and social media as well as National Screen-Free Week, which takes place May 5th-11th, to community members in Orange County. The event will overlap with the April Hillsborough Last Friday event. For Screen-Free Week planning, the committee wanted to ensure that they provide accessible alternatives to using screens —things that don't cost much or anything —to ensure that the event is equitable and accessible to all. Additionally, in response to a prompt from Commissioner Fowler, committee members discussed their support for the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC)'s continued funding for the establishment of a behavioral health urgent care center in Orange County. The committee spent time during their meeting discussing the current unmet need for behavioral health care, especially for vulnerable populations such as justice-involved individuals, and the potential impact of such a facility. Dr. Baldwin encouraged other members of the BOH to reach out to the BOCC and express their support for continuing funding for this project. The committee will next meet in early June. Ms. Stewart clarified that the vendor's market will not be taking place at the April Hillsborough Last Friday's event, so the table for the event will be hosted outside the West Campus Offices at 131 W. Margaret Lane. Dr. Royce asked if the event could be used to promote other public health topics, such as Medicaid expansion or measles awareness, which Ms. Stewart affirmed. In response to Dr. Jonnal's question, Ms. Stewart explained that the resolution is on the consent agenda at the May 6th BOCC meeting, meaning it is not slated for formal discussion, though it may be pulled from the consent agenda and discussed in more detail as the county manager had a lot of questions about it. She added that she has been in discussion with the county manager about Orange County Schools (OCS), and they have not formally adopted any new policies around screen time as of yet. Dr. Jonnal suggested that she or Dr. Crandell could make a public comment about screen time at a future school board meeting to help raise awareness. Dr. Royce agreed and suggested that school nurses could be a good resource to help share information about screen time. She added that all the individual schools do have policies around cell phones, though the district may not have an official policy. Ms. Stewart clarified that neither district is opposed to regulations limiting phone and screen time, OCS has simply not participated in formal policy action and campaigns to support this. Like Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS). Dr. Royce asked about ordering name tags for BOH members to wear at community events, which Ms. Stewart said could be ordered, but would not be available in time for Friday's event. Regarding the planned Behavioral Health Facility, Mr. Whitaker commented that he thinks it's a great idea and added that he hopes as the county plans new buildings that appropriate staff will be involved in the planning and maintenance of the facility. Ms. Stewart shared that she previously sat on a committee that did some of the initial planning for this behavioral health urgent care facility. This planning has been underway for several years with ongoing questions about funding and construction. Dr. Stuebe asked if it would be useful for the board to hear more about the project, and Ms. Stewart shared that Cait Fenhagen, Deputy County Manager, is spearheading the project. Access to Care Committee S:\Managers Working Files\BOH\Agendas &Abstracts\2025 Agenda and Abstracts/ April Page 3