Loading...
06-15-2020 Meeting Minutes BOHMINUTES PERSON COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH MEETING FEMA ROOM June 15, 2020 A regular meeting of the Person County Board of Health was held in the FEMA room of the Person County Government complex. The following members constituting a quorum were present: Dr. Jeffrey Noblett, Ray Jeffers, Phillip Edelblute, Dr. Kimberly Yarborough, Dr. Stephen Saunders, Ted Michie, and Steven Bailey. Board members Dr. Christopher Atkins, Patsy Clayton, Dr. Barbara Harris, and Ben Tillett were absent. Also present were Harold Kelly, Environmental Health Supervisor, Tabatha Philpott, Nursing Supervisor, Jennifer Melton, Administrative Assistant, and Janet Clayton, Health Director. A. Call to Order Steven Bailey, Chairman of the Board of Health called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. B. Public Comment Period No members of the public joined remotely to sign up for public comment. C. Consent Agenda A motion to approve the consent agenda as presented was made by Dr. Jeffrey Noblett, seconded by Dr. Stephen Saunders, and the motion carried unanimously. D. COVID-19 Update Update as of 6/15/2020: Person County Health Department has a total of 85 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the start of this event. Of these 85 confirmed total cases: 61 have been released from isolation by the Health Department, 3 are still being monitored at home, 3 are hospitalized, and there has been 1 death.  There have been 2,354 tests performed on Person County residents. 3.6% positive.  Beginning this week, case count updates will be shared MWF.  Two Drive Thru Clinics were held at Southern Middle School from 12-3 o 6/3-14 tests o 6/10-43 tests o 6/24 is the next date due to weather o PCHD in partnership with Person County Schools and MAKO medical provided the clinic. Assisted by Person County EMS, General Services, and the Sheriff’s Office.  Continue to monitor confirmed cases and close contacts through contact tracing. o PCHD staff are contacting all confirmed cases and the close contacts. o Tabatha Philpott, Nursing Supervisor explained contact tracing process.  Due to cyber incident, contacts were temporarily delayed, but thanks to the diligent work of IT and staff quickly thinking outside of the box, the delay was only temporary.  Working with CCNC to provide additional contact tracers to assist PCHD staff.  Additional county level data will be available soon through the NCDHHS website. We will notify the BOH and the public when this goes live.  Continue to work with department heads, community partners, and the business community on response efforts and to ask questions. Steven Bailey asked if close contacts are given the name of the positive case. Tabatha Philpott responded that positive case information is not released to close contacts due to privacy laws. Dr. Jeffrey Noblett asked if any individuals from the drive-thru testing event tested positive. Tabatha Philpott responded that there were 6 positive results out of 57 total tests performed. Dr. Kimberly Yarborough asked if an individual who tested positive could sign a consent form giving permission for their name to be given to close contacts. Tabatha Philpott responded that a signed consent would work to give permission for their name to be released, but the positive case would need to come out of home isolation to sign the form; this would not be in the best interest of the community. Ray Jeffers mentioned a negative post on social media regarding the number of times the health department reaches out to close contacts; the post had 87 comments, and he wanted to be sure that the health department was aware and on top of the situation. Tabatha Philpott stated that the individual was upset because the medical provider contacted them twice before the health department contacted them. Tabatha explained that the cyber incident occurred during this same timeframe, and it took time to get information needed to contact the patient; the situation was resolved quickly. Janet Clayton asked if there was any other information that the board would like to see the health department make available to the public. No suggestions were given. Dr. Jeffrey Noblett asked why we think case counts are rising. Tabatha Philpott responded that it is a combination of more businesses opening up and increased testing. Ted Michie asked who is monitoring local businesses to be sure that guidelines are being followed. Janet Clayton and Harold Kelly stated that information has been given to local restaurants regarding seating capacity and safety procedures. E. Department Services Update  Interviews are scheduled for later this week and next week for the Social Worker II position and the lab position. The PHN II position will be reposted.  Still targeting an August date for the resumption of services. F. Staff Liaison Updates  Environmental Health o Applications are on the rise o All public pools are open o Restaurant inspections are increasing with phased openings o EnerGov on pause until IT issues are addressed o Henri is tracking files that will be added to the database and scanned  Personal Health-please refer to COVID-19 updates Dr. Jeffrey Noblett asked what the latest information is regarding the cyber incident, and who is responsible for paying for the recovery. Janet Clayton stated that we have minimal computer access, but it is improving each day; phone system is close to 100%; IT teams are visiting each department to get users back on board. Ray Jeffers stated that the county set aside $100,000 when the event occurred; $112,000 has already been spent. The county has insurance that will cover approximately $1,000,000. G. Health Directors Report  COVID-19  Flood-May 28th o 3 restrooms, 2 conference rooms, 4 offices, one storage room, and part of our medical records room  Cyber Incident-May 30th o Minimal computer access currently. Computer access was quicker for our department because of the devices that we had on hand that were not connected to the network at the time of the incident. o Staff have been creative in the work arounds they have found. This is in part to our emergency planning over the years and thinking through the COOP process. o We were provided a cellphone for the main phone line until phones were restored. o WIC is providing services via the phone and faxing to NCDPH. o LeighAnn has been providing PIO support to IT since the beginning of the event. o Daily meetings included-EOC morning briefings, Dept. Head briefing, Planning meetings, and Debriefing meeting.  Tabatha and I met with Person Family Medical Center to discuss the COVID and clinic processes. H. Health Director’s Annual Summary/Job Description Janet Clayton reviewed the minor changes within the health director’s revised job description. She also shared with the Board members the department’s annual summary for the past year. A motion to approve the job description was made by Dr. Kimberly Yarborough, seconded by Dr. Jeffrey Noblett, and the motion carried unanimously. I. Closed Session-Personnel A motion to enter into closed session to discuss personnel was made by Dr. Kimberly Yarborough, seconded by Dr. Stephen Saunders, and the motion carried. A motion to return to open session was made by Dr. Jeffrey Noblett, seconded by Phillip Edelblute, and the motion carried unanimously. A motion to approve the Health Director’s annual evaluation as presented by the Personnel Committee was made by Dr. Stephen Saunders, seconded by Phillip Edelblute, and the motion carried unanimously. J. Adjournment Having no further business to discuss, a motion to adjourn was made by Dr. Stephen Saunders, seconded by Dr. Kimberly Yarborough, and the motion carried. Respectfully submitted, Janet Clayton Health Director/Secretary