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MINUTES <br /> ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH <br /> January 21, 2026 <br /> • In response to Mr. Whitaker's question, Ms. Stewart explained that there is an ongoing <br /> hiring freeze and that new or vacant positions are still being approved on a case-by-case <br /> basis. Mr. Perschau agreed that staffing may be a bit of a moving target in next year's <br /> budget, to which Mr. Whitaker requested that staff be transparent with the Board about <br /> any assumptions factored into the upcoming budget request. <br /> Vill. Actions Items <br /> A. Amendment to 2026 BOH Schedule <br /> The Board discussed the possibility of calling a special meeting to reschedule the March <br /> meeting for earlier in the month, as Dr. Stuebe and Ms. Stewart may have trouble making the <br /> meeting due to a scheduling conflict where they inadvertently scheduled an all-day Thriving <br /> Hearts event. Because a hybrid meeting would also be an option to accommodate the issue, the <br /> Board elected to keep the schedule as-is for now and did not call for a special meeting. <br /> B. Policy Review— Inactive Accounts <br /> Because there was not a quorum present, the changes to the Inactive Accounts policy <br /> could not be approved. This policy will be reviewed and voted on at the February 25, <br /> 2026, meeting. <br /> IX. Reports and Discussion with Possible Action <br /> A. Media Items <br /> Marcy Williams, Health Promotion and Education Services Manager, presented the media <br /> packet to the board. Topics included: local families avoiding using food bank services due to <br /> fear of ICE, an upcoming reproductive healthcare event, federal funding granted to Hillsborough <br /> to assist with water treatment services, a recent pediatric flu death in Western NC, a new <br /> Medicaid plan that allows children in the foster system to remain enrolled and receive services <br /> even when they move between counties, a measles exposure at the RDU airport in December, <br /> and a new website developed by the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy called <br /> NaloxoneNearMe.org. <br /> Dr. Royce asked if Ms. Williams knew anything about the Erasing Medical Debt program, which <br /> she recently saw had forgiven $2.5M in medical debt in NC and offered easement to anyone <br /> with less than $96K in medical debt. Mr. Whitaker commented that he has heard of the nonprofit <br /> Undue Medical Debt (formerly RIP Medical Debt), which buys medical debt for pennies on the <br /> dollar and then forgives it. Dr. Jonnal added that medical debt forgiveness programs have been <br /> going on for several years, and Dr. Royce clarified that this was a new agreement between the <br /> hospitals and the NC state government, though she doesn't know much about the specifics and <br /> hopes to learn more in the future. <br /> Media items were in the packet, which focused on Orange County's events, our <br /> involvement in various efforts, and various public health topics. <br /> B. Health Directors Report <br /> Ms. Stewart presented her report to the Board. Below are brief highlights of her report. <br /> S:\Managers Working Files\BOH\Agendas &Abstracts\2026 Agenda and Abstracts\ <br /> January Page 6 <br />