Lake County Board of Health met April 22.
Here is the minutes provided by the board:
1. Call to Order
President Sashko called the meeting to order at 6:02 p.m.
Present 11 - Member DeVaux R.N., Member Johnson Jones Ed.D., Member Cesnovar, Member Maine, President Sashko, Member Carlson, Member Mittl Pollina Psy.D., Member Rheault Ph.D., Member Hagstrom D.D.S., Member Ehrlich M.D. and Member Schultz
Absent 1 - Member Belmonte D.O.
2. Pledge of Allegiance
Suspended
3. Approval of Minutes
3.1 March 25, 2020 Meeting Minutes
A motion was made by Member Maine, seconded by Member Pollina, that the minutes be approved. Motion carried unanimously.
Aye: 11 - Member DeVaux R.N., Member Johnson Jones Ed.D., Member Cesnovar, Member Maine, President Sashko, Member Carlson, Member Mittl Pollina Psy.D., Member Rheault Ph.D., Member Hagstrom D.D.S., Member Ehrlich M.D. and Member Schultz
Absent: 1 - Member Belmonte D.O.
4. Public Comment to the Board
None
5. Awards, Recognitions, Appointments and Reappointments
None
6. Presentations
None
7. President’s Report
President Sashko reported that through a collaborative effort between County Administrator Gary Gibson and Deputy County Administrator Jim Hawkins, he and Mark Pfister have been able to work out the Medicaid Match language for the change to the County's budget policy. He then turned it over to Mark to provide a financial update relative to COVID-19 operations and an update on COVID-19 testing EtO. Mark informed the Board that a COVID-19 community-based drive-thru testing site will now be located in Waukegan at the vehicle emissions testing station on Northwestern Avenue. Currently, drive-thru testing sites are also located in Cook County and Kane County. The exact throughput number is not known, but other sites have averaged 250 samples per day. It has been 42 days since the first COVID-19 index case in Lake County and the Health Department Team continues to do great work on it's response. He, Pam Riley, and the rest of the Executive Team have begun discussions about what is happening with the FY20 budget. Some grants have been received recently, $300,000 from IDPH and $100,00 from HRSA, both for COVID-19 response, and $1.4M from HRSA. It is currently unknown what we can spend the $1.4M on, but Pam and her team are looking at the guidelines and what the potential expenditures are. Many of the grants for FY20 are good until June 30, 2020, so they will make the Health Department whole, but after June 30, 2020, we may have to start making some other decisions. Currently, 150 Health Department employees, out of approximately 1,000, are on paid furlough but some of those individuals may be called back depending on what Governor Pritzker does in regard to the stay-at-home order. At the County level, the potential for layoffs is being discussed and the layoffs would be done with the intent to bring those employees back. A layoff would require 30-days notice and at this point in time he has made a committment to keep all staff on paid furlough or working remotely until April 30, 2020. There is also the potential for a reduction in workforce should we not get the revenue, which Pam is keeping track of. We did go in the red in March due to the decrease in patient volume in the FQHC's. Also, the County is talking about the potential to have a reduction in salary across the board as they are projecting a $35-75M budget deficit due to the loss of sales tax and lower motor fuel tax, as examples. That being the case, we are going in to the 2021 budget process with a 0% merit increase. For EtO, testing has begun again. Medline spent $10M to put in additional controls to meet the new law. Credit for passing that new law, one of the most stringent ethelyene oxide laws in the United States, goes to Senator Melinda Bush and Representative Joyce Mason. Theoretically, with it's new equipment, Medline can now get a 99.995% destruction of EtO, so the amount they would be emitting would be below the background levels previously found. Monitoring has been going on since the beginning of April and there have been seven deployments of our canisters. We are doing 1-in-3 day testing, which is 10 events during a 30-day period. When that ends in the first week of May, all of the data collected, including the data collected in June and July 2019, and October 2019 thru January 2020, for a total of 150 sampling days, will be submitted to ATSDR for a risk assessment.
8. Action Items
8.1 Anonymous Foundation Donation Approval, $100,000 - Pfister
Attachments: COVID-19 Foundation Donation
Mark Pfister presented this item as provided in the agenda packet.
A motion was made by Member DeVaux, seconded by Member Hagstrom, that this item be approved. Motion carried by the following roll call vote:
Aye: 11 - Member DeVaux R.N., Member Johnson Jones Ed.D., Member Cesnovar, Member Maine, President Sashko, Member Carlson, Member Mittl Pollina Psy.D., Member Rheault Ph.D., Member Hagstrom D.D.S., Member Ehrlich M.D. and Member Schultz
Absent: 1 - Member Belmonte D.O.
8.2 FY2021 Proposed Budget Timetable - Riley
Pam Riley, Director of Finance, presented this item as provided in the agenda packet.
A motion was made by Member Carlson, seconded by Member Rheault, that this item be approved. Motion carried unanimously.
Aye: 11 - Member DeVaux R.N., Member Johnson Jones Ed.D., Member Cesnovar, Member Maine, President Sashko, Member Carlson, Member Mittl Pollina Psy.D., Member Rheault Ph.D., Member Hagstrom D.D.S., Member Ehrlich M.D. and Member Schultz
Absent: 1 - Member Belmonte D.O.
8.3 Proposed Revisions to Health Department Employee Policies and Procedures - Hagstrom
Personnel Committee Chair Hagstrom presented this item as provided in the agenda packet. He informed the Board that the Personnel Committee, during it's meeting which took place just prior to this regular meeting, approved one additional change to the "Identification-Security Access Cards and Door Keys" policy, which is to include the designation of DDS and Psy.D to paragraph III.B.2. He then recommended the policy changes for approval by the Board.
A motion was made by Member Hagstrom, seconded by Member DeVaux, that this item be approved. Motion carried unanimously.
Aye: 11 - Member DeVaux R.N., Member Johnson Jones Ed.D., Member Cesnovar, Member Maine, President Sashko, Member Carlson, Member Mittl Pollina Psy.D., Member Rheault Ph.D., Member Hagstrom D.D.S., Member Ehrlich M.D. and Member Schultz
Absent: 1 - Member Belmonte D.O.
9. Discussion Items
9.1 Schedule of Revenues and Expenditures as of February 9, 2020 - Riley
Pam Riley, Director of Finance, reviewed this item as presented in the agenda packet. She noted that the report is for the first quarter of the fiscal year, and as Mark previously mentioned, it is being closely monitored. The FQHC revenue is about 60% of budget and behavioral health is about 84% of budget. The fund balance has been added to the report because this is the year the fund balance is being reduced due to the amount of property taxes reduced. The County budget policies are recommending we stay at 29% or 31% of the expenditure budget and the FY20 fund balance is at 42%, so she will be monitoring that along with revenue and expenses. In regard to the County budget policies, Mark clarified that for FY20 it is 31%, but for FY21 it will be 29%.
This matter was presented
10. Attachments for Board Review
10.1 Media Placement Highlights - Nordstrom
President Sashko pointed out the difference in the number of press releases sent and placements reported compared to the numbers reported in previous meetings as a result of COVID-19. He also informed the Board that the letter from the Executive Committee to the media outlets relative to the reporting of COVID-19 patient information has gone out.
This matter was presented
11. Lake County Community Health Center Governing Council Update
Dr. Les Zun, Medical Director, informed the Board that COVID-19 services have been consolidated at the North Chicago clinic in what is now the Respiratory Infection Clinic (RIC). A COVID telehealth program has been started where patients will be evaluated in a telehealth format and those that need to be seen will either be referred to the RIC or an emergency department if they are ill.
12. Lake County Tuberculosis Board Update
Mark Pfister informed the Board that the TB Board met on Thursday, April 2, 2020, to approve the sliding fee scale.
13. Added to Agenda Items
None
14. Old Business
None
15. New Business
None
16. Executive Session
None
17. Adjournment
President Sashko commended the Executive Team and health department staff for their hard work, their long hours, their willingness to step up and do what is needed, and their dedication during the response to COVID-19.
A motion was made by Member Carlson, seconded by Member DeVaux, that this meeting be adjourned. Motion carried unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 6:26 p.m.
Aye: 11 - Member DeVaux R.N., Member Johnson Jones Ed.D., Member Cesnovar, Member Maine, President Sashko, Member Carlson, Member Mittl Pollina Psy.D., Member Rheault Ph.D., Member Hagstrom D.D.S., Member Ehrlich M.D. and Member Schultz
Absent: 1 - Member Belmonte D.O.
https://lakecounty.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=M&ID=758219&GUID=0D88A8C7-945F-41ED-A6D1-65B5B050FEEF
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