Peoria Standard

Peoria County Board of Health met Monday, Nov. 14.

The Peoria County Board of Health is responsible for policy issues that guide strategies and activities toward the goals and mission of the Health Department. As Board vacancies occur, applications will be reviewed by the Board of Health and recommendations forwarded to the Peoria County Board Chairman for appointment consideration.

Here are the minutes as provided by Peoria County:

Peoria County Board of Health Minutes of November 14, 2016 Meeting

MEMBERS PRESENT: Ms. Harant Dr. Trachtenbarg

Ms. Simpson Ms. Williams Ms. Sullivan Rev. Duren Dr. Armmer Dr. Anderson Ms. Groves-Allison

MEMBERS ABSENT: Dr. Na’Allah Mr. Baker

Dr. Hippler

STAFF PRESENT: Gene Huber, Public Health Administrator

Jean Bellisario, Director of Infectious Disease Monica Hendrickson, Epidemiologist Emily Connors, Director of Human Resources Brian Gulley, Director of Finance Carey Panier, Assistant Director of Environmental Health Nicole Ingold, Director of Strategic Performance Melissa Hall Adamson, Director of Community Health Policy &

Planning/Assistant Administrator Meredith Littell, Assistant Director of Infectious Disease Wil Hayes, Director of Environmental Health Dr. Bishop, Director of Dental

OTHERS PRESENT: Elliott Murray, League of Women Voters

Kim Thomas, Head Start

Item 1 – Call to Order Meeting was called to order at 5:31 pm by Ms. Harant.

Item 2 – Pledge of Allegiance

Item 3 – Comments from the Public There were no comments from the public.

Item 4 – Strategic Planning Ms. Ingold stated that the draft Strategic Plan will be sent to the Board this week for review before approval at the December Board of Health meeting.

Item 5 – President’s Comments Ms. Harant stated that she attended the American Public Health Association meeting in Denver in October. Many of the issues discussed were things happening to integrate health policies into most actions taken by elected bodies. One initiative of the outgoing president of APHA is to engage the public health community in an anti-racism initiative.

Ms. Harant reminded the Board the representatives from the UIC School of Public Health will be at the Health Department at 10:30 am Thursday in Board Room to discuss academic health department collaborations.

Ms. Harant stated that in January, Ms. Huber’s one year evaluation needs to be completed. The Board decided to have an Executive Session in January regarding this issue.

Item 6 – Consent Agenda Items A motion was made by Ms. Simpson to approve the consent agenda items. Motion was seconded by Rev. Duren. Motion carried (9, 0).

Item 7 – Administrator Comments A motion was made by Rev. Duren to approve the Financial Services Report. Motion was seconded by Dr. Anderson. The Financial Services Report was summarized by Mr. Gulley. Motion carried (9, 0). Ms. Huber stated that the issues regarding the FY2017 County Budget are with the general fund; therefore, there are no real issues affecting the Health Department’s budget.

Item 8 – Old Business In the first item of business, regarding the third quarter Performance Management summary, Ms. Harant asked about the objective regarding incident reports. Ms. Connors stated that employees are asked to fill out an incident report if injured at work or if something happens such as items being stolen. She stated that Administration wanted to work on getting those reports turned in accurately and timely.

In the next item of business, Ms. Adamson stated that information regarding the Community Health Improvement Plan was included in the packet. In the document are hyperlinks that will go to the supporting documentation for strategies in the Plan. Ms. Adamson reviewed the document and showed the Board how the hyperlinks will work. She stated that in January, workgroups will begin to work on action plans for the objectives. Ms. Adamson stated that Behavioral Health and Health Eating Active Living are the two health priorities selected by the hospitals so those overlap with the priorities of the Health Department. A formal launch will be done on January 19, 2017. The Plan will be on the websites of the Health Departments involved (Peoria, Tazewell, and Woodford) as well as the website of the Partnership for Healthy Communities. The dashboards will also be updated and posted on the websites. The hospitals’ Community Health Needs Assessments are posted on their websites; however, the hospitals do not have to share their Community Health Improvement Plans. In response to a question from Ms. Sullivan regarding if the Tri-County group will engage in similar strategies, Ms. Adamson stated that there will be one improvement plan for the tri-county area. Efforts within each county are based on the prevalence of the issue; for example, teen pregnancy is less of an issue in Tazewell and Woodford Counties than in Peoria County. In response to a question regarding the mental health legislation strategy, Ms. Adamson stated that the group needs to look into what can be done at the local level. Ms. Adamson stated that groups of people put the document together as a collaborative effort. Ms. Harant stated that the Community Health Improvement Plan will be on the December Board of Health agenda for approval. Ms. Adamson stated that as soon as the final report is ready, she will send it to Ms. Huber and Ms. Grubb to send to the Board for review.

At 6:08 pm, Ms. Sullivan left the room.

Item 9 – New Business A motion was made by Dr. Anderson to approve the FY2017 Board of Health meeting schedule. Motion was seconded by Rev. Duren. Motion carried (8, 0).

At 6:09 pm, Ms. Sullivan returned to the meeting.

In the next item of business, Ms. Adamson stated that in response to questions from the Board’s October meeting, a list of some of the cross-sector community partnerships the Health Department is involved in was provided in the agenda packet. In response to a question regarding if the Health Department has been involved in the Partners for a Healthy Community, Ms. Adamson stated that Ms. Huber has been attending those meetings related to opioid use. She stated that instead of everyone going for the same funding and not communicating with each other, there have been discussions to try to coordinate as best as possible. The mapping project was developed out of that collaboration and is a way for GIS to be used to better understand relationships that already exist in the community, funding sources, and to identify opportunities to bridge gaps in communities with high health disparities. Ms. Huber added that this will also help to identify if multiple groups are working on the same thing how they can possibly better utilize resources. Ms. Adamson stated that updates regarding the partnerships can be provided quarterly or sooner if something important needs to be shared.

Ms. Sullivan asked for clarification on the Infectious Disease Performance Management dashboard regarding the number of retests done in the third quarter. Ms. Bellisario stated that during the third quarter, it is not that the Health Department didn’t retest anyone; clients did not go for retesting. If the client reports that they were tested or if they are positive, Infectious Disease has that information. Ms. Bellisario stated that there needs to be common messaging from providers regarding retesting; this is being worked on. Ms. Sullivan asked for a follow up report on this issue.

Item 10 – Adjournment Being no further business, a motion was made by Ms. Sullivan to adjourn the meeting. Motion was seconded by Ms. Simpson. Motion carried (9, 0).

Meeting adjourned at 6:37 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Samuel Duren, BA Secretary