Approved Minutes of June 25, 2025

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MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH June 25, 2025 Connections to Community Support Committee Mr. Whitaker provided the update for the Connections to Community Support Committee. The committee held a working meeting the night before to work on a draft of their resolution in support of promoting affordable/attainable housing. Committee members pulled together an outline with a variety of land use and zoning recommendations to improve the affordable housing supply in Orange County. The resolution is intended to target elected officials for both the county and municipalities. During the July break, Jean Phillips-Weiner, Board of Health Strategic Plan Manager, will further flesh out the draft and bring any subject matter questions to the group when they reconvene in early August. The committee is planning to present their draft resolution to the full board for a vote at the Board meeting in either August or September. Dr. Royce brought up some concerns related to heat-related illness and wondered if the board could work on a resolution related to heat-related illness, heat safety, and heat as a public health concern. Dr. Pickett commented that Dr. Jonnal may be interested in working on this, as she is an ER doctor and likely has a lot of experience treating heat-related illnesses. Ms. Stewart suggested that perhaps this could be a task for the Connections to Community Support Committee, as there are many existing resources focused on heat and heat safety and that the county already provides heat-related initiatives such as cooling centers. Dr. Royce clarified that her primary concern was for individuals who work outdoors, particularly those who may be members of the Latino/a/e community, as she has heard stories from friends about the exploitation of these groups in the informal employment sector and of community members succumbing to heat-related illness. Mr. Whitaker shared that, anecdotally, he knows many construction companies take heat safety seriously and make it a big part of their safety plans. Ms. Stewart added that the Environmental Health Division is diligent about heat safety and includes heat and weather forecasts in their weekly newsletter. Victoria Hudson, Environmental Health Director, shared that because of the current heat dome they have notified their contractors that inspections will be limited after 2pm until further notice due to the heat and that it would be easy to extend this to any contractors that are listed in Energov. Libbie Hough, Communications Manager, suggested connecting with the group who developed the Heat Action Plan, as one of their goals is to work with employers to ensure heat safety for all employees. Ms. Hough added that the countywide Beat the Heat Campaign is featured on the Health Department homepage. Commissioner Fowler shared that she recently heard the Beat the Heat Campaign referenced on NPR, so that information is being disseminated widely. She also agreed that it was important to ensure that outdoor workers are protected during extreme temperature events. In response to Mr. Whitaker's question, Dr. Royce expressed that while she is happy that there are programs working to address the issue, she would like more data about the scope and impact of heat on the population. Ms. Hough said that UNC Chapel Hill is doing some research on heat impact and heat-related illness, while Ms. Hudson shared that she receives a weekly Heat Related Illnesses Report from the Public Health Preparedness Staff at the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), which she offered to share with Dr. Royce. Mr. Whitaker suggested keeping a running analysis of the county heat data based on this resource and considering a resolution in the future. Dr. Jonnal arrived during this conversation. S:\Managers Working Files\BOH\Agendas &Abstracts\2025 Agenda and Abstracts/ June Page 3