Meeting in Manteo Monday night, the Dare County Board of Commissioners passed three resolutions and received an annual report about the county’s health plan.

A resolution about adverse childhood experiences and adverse community environments was adopted.

The resolution proclaims this week through Sunday, Nov. 24 as Resilience Week in Dare County. The commissioners supported “the ongoing collaborative efforts of Be Resilient OBX to raise awareness about, build capacity to intervene in, and support recovery from the impact of ACEs and toxic stress.”

Two resolutions about commercial fishing were brought forward by commissioner Steve House.

One resolution strongly opposes the reclassification of jurisdictional waters.

The Marine Fisheries Commission and the Wildlife Resources Commission formed a joint committee to determine the boundaries between inland and coastal waters. In August, the Marine Resources Commission, acting alone, moved forward with proposed boundaries based on salinity.

The proposal would mean the loss of 144,984 square acres or 226.5 square miles of coastal and commercial fishing waters. The resolution would exceed a $1 million impact.

The second resolution opposes Amendment 3 to the Blue Crab Fishery Management Plan. The resolution recommends tabling the amendment until the 2019 stock assessment data is completed and considering habitat conditions as part of the management plan.

Both matters were discussed at the Working Watermen Committee meeting Nov. 11. House chairs that committee.

A hearing was held about proposed schedules, standards and rules for the Dare County 2020 revaluation. No one spoke. The document will be presented for adoption Dec. 2.

A presentation about Dare County’s medical plan including plan performance, health initiatives and the employee wellness clinic was made.

The county’s actual total paid for the fiscal year was 4% less than predicted, $6,212,772.

Plan participants reduced emergency room expenses by 22% and reduced avoidable emergency room encounters by 22%. Medical admissions fell 5%.

Mammogram compliance remains steady at 66%; colonoscopy compliance increased from 35% to 42% and routine/preventive office visit compliance is steady at 48%.

The report pegged the following as the top health risks for Dare County employees:

Weight: 51% of males have waists greater than 40 inches; 57% of females have waists greater than 35 inches.

Cholesterol: 17% have high cholesterol.

Blood pressure: 30% have high blood pressure.

For biometric screening, 614 employees participated.

In 2018, 67 employees did not meet passing criteria; in 2019, 35 employees did not meet criteria.

In 2018, 178 members had high blood pressure. 16 of these members no longer have high blood pressure.

Pre-diabetics number 50 employees in 2018; by 2019, 23 of these members were no longer are pre-diabetic.

In 2019, 40 members had diabetes. In 2019, 15 of these members no longer have diabetes.

Tobacco users numbered 73 in 2018. 16 of these members no longer use tobacco.

The county’s wellness clinic opened Sept. 26, 2016. Clinic services are available to full-time benefitted employees, spouses and retirees under age 65. In December 2017, some 1,170 people were eligible to participate.

Visits to the clinic between September 2018 and October 2019 totaled 1,726.

“We are very proud of all our employees,” said Elizabeth Riley, director of human resources for Dare County. “They are playing attention to their biometric numbers and making changes and being mindful.”

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