Lake County Board of Health met Oct. 27

By Angelica Saylo Pilo

Jan 6, 2022

Lake County Board of Health met Oct. 27.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

1. Call to Order

Member Cesnovar joined the meeting at 6:06 p.m.

President Sashko called the meeting to order at 6:03 p.m.

Present 12 - Member Rheault Ph.D., Member-at-Large Hagstrom D.D.S., Vice President Ehrlich M.D., Member Belmonte D.O., Member Schultz, Member Mittl Pollina Psy.D., Secretary DeVaux, Member Johnson Jones Ed.D., Member Cesnovar, Member Maine, Member Simpson and President Sashko

2. Pledge of Allegiance

President Sashko called upon Member Maine to lead the Pledge of Allegiance.

3. Approval of Minutes

3.1 September 22, 2021 Meeting Minutes

A motion was made by Member Johnson Jones, seconded by Member Pollina, to approve the September 22, 2021 minutes as presented. Roll call vote, all in favor, motion carried.

Aye: 12 - Member Rheault Ph.D., Member-at-Large Hagstrom D.D.S., Vice President Ehrlich M.D., Member Belmonte D.O., Member Schultz, Member Mittl Pollina Psy.D., Secretary DeVaux, Member Johnson Jones Ed.D., Member Maine, Member Simpson and President Sashko

Not Present: 1 - Member Cesnovar

4. Public Comment to the Board

None

5. Awards, Recognitions, Appointments and Reappointments

5.1 Five9 Awards Lake County Health Department and Community Health Center Inaugural Reimagine CX Award - McMillan-Wilhoit

Jefferson McMillan-Wilhoit, Director of Health Informatics and Technology, reviewed the information provided in the agenda packet and played a brief 2-minute video.

This matter was presented

6. Presentations

6.1 FY2021 Audit Results - Riley

Kelly Kirkman, Senior Manager with RSM US LLP, reviewed the year-end financial audit results as provided in the agenda packet. There were no questions.

7. President’s Report

President Sashko reported on the following:

1. He and Jefferson recently met with Deanna Olmen, 211 Manager and Director of the Safe and Stable Families program, as a kick off to a very important data sharing grant that 211 received. The grant seeks to aggregate data in near real-time on community resources and community needs and use that data to inform public health activities. It would link to the national 211 Data Platform as a conduit that will transform how 211 data is leveraged by partners beyond information and referral, providing unique data insights related to social determinants of health. There are other platforms across the country and this grant brings together about twenty 211 programs across the U.S. This grant is the foundation of creating reliable community health and human services on a collaborative level and is a breakthrough opportunity in our partnership to share real-time data with 211 and all of our community partners in Lake County.

2. He congratulated Sam Johnson, Behavioral Health Director, on being selected as the northeast representative for the Community Behavioral Healthcare Association of IL (CBHA). The mission of the CBHA "is to represent the interests of our members in order to ensure access and availability of a comprehensive system of accountable, quality behavioral healthcare services for the people of Illinois". CBHA is a statewide not-for-profit association made up of providers of mental health, substance abuse and youth services to IL citizens. It is governed by an 11-member board of directors from the four geographic regions of IL. Sam will assume his leadership role at the annual conference in Schaumburg on December 6-7. The Health Department's presence in regional, state and national public health forums is critical in the recognition of its elite leadership team and what they do day-in and day-out in Lake County. The value of the time and commitment to this clearly establishes the Health Department in the forefront of advancements in behavioral health and all of the service areas of its operations.

3. On October 14, 2021, he and Executive Director Pfister met with the firm conducting the Strategic Planning for the Healthcare Foundation of Northern Lake County. The two messages they conveyed were on Behavioral Health Capacity and that firm's ability to focus on Focus Area #2 of the Health Department's Strategic Plan, "Help people get what they need, when they need it". One of those initiatives was the recent funding of the study and planned launch of a Mobile Integrated Healthcare Program being piloted in central Lake County with four fire districts and four municipalities serving approximately 150,000 residents. It creates a “prevention medical model” rather than a response model to the medical needs of people. Since the Health Department serves the underserved, those are many of the contact points for pre-hospital EMS and therefore a target group for better health care, truly working on social determinants of health.

4. He recognized Dr. Sana Ahmed, Emily Gelber, Pat Brady and many other LCHD staff involved in the Test To Stay program for schools in Lake County. He sent a memorandum to the Board of Health earlier this month but wanted to ensure everyone is aware of the success of this program and the national recognition the Health Department received, including a CNN interview of Dr. Michael Karner, Regional Superintendent of Schools in Lake County, on the value of this program. This program safely keeps kids in school by partnering with other mitigation strategies instead of quarantining kids at home if they are COVID-exposed. Under traditional measures, 97% of kids who tested negative after an exposure would still stay at home from school. The CDC is evaluating the efficacy of this great initiative and was part of a White House Coronavirus briefing recently. Another great example of the Health Department's forward thinking, innovative group of professionals it has throughout its operations.

5. He recognized the Health Department's leadership team and especially Pam Riley, Director of Finance, for all of their hard work and the great job done on this year's budget. Yesterday the Health Department budget was presented to the County Board and, probably for the first time or in a very long time, there were no questions or concerns and it was passed. Mark called him that night with the outstanding news as it is clearly validation of the great work we all do together. He thanked County Board/Board of Health members Maine and Simpson for their support so that the Health Department can continue to provide the excellent services it does.

He then turned the floor over to Mark Pfister for a brief COVID-19 update. Mark reported on the following:

Lake County has moved from high to substantial transmission but the mitigation processes for both are the same so nothing has changed. We are doing much better when compared to October 2020 when we were seeing a much larger increase at the end of that month and 500 new cases per day in November 2020, which is a testament to the value of vaccination. While we were seeing a plateau in all age groups, within the last week or two we have seen an increase in the number of cases in the age 5-10 population. Pfizer now has a vaccine for age 5-11 that will hopefully be available by the first week in November, second week at the latest, but we will not be able to administer that vaccine until it is approved by CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky. It will be 1/3 of the adult dose, given in two doses, three weeks apart. While some parents are having some trepidation, we do need to remind the public that getting the age 5-11 population vaccinated is very important as there have been children who have been hospitalized and/or died and getting them vaccinated will protect them from hospitalization and death at a much greater level than potential natural immunity from getting the virus. Ultimately, it also protects those in the older age groups, especially those who are immunocompromised. In regard to boosters, CDC is no longer going to weigh in on the mix-n-match schema. There is some data from National Institutes of Health (NIH) that it may be appropriate for those who received the J&J vaccine to get an mRNA vaccine, whether it's Pfizer or Moderna, however the Moderna dose used in the NIH study was the full dose, not the half dose so we are not certain that the half dose will give the same boost of immunity. The other thing we don't know in regard to the mix-n-match schema is whether a greater increase in antibodies will provide greater protection because there is still a lot of science to be done on the memory T-cells. We are recommending that people eligible for a booster get one. The Health Department is only providing boosters to its FQHC patients. There are over 200 locations in Lake County providing boosters, for example, pharmacies, private providers, and hospitals, and we have been working with pediatricians and other family medicine providers to make sure they are ready to provide that vaccine. This is very different from the mass vaccinations when there were only seven of us at that time. We are currently piloting the age 5-11 vaccination process at two of our FQHC locations to ensure we have the correct set up and are drawing the right vials, etc., and will then expand it to the remaining locations.

8. Action Items

8.1 Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), $83,995 - Grant Increase Approval - Kritz

Lisa Kritz, Director of Prevention, reviewed the information provided in the agenda packet.

A motion was made by Member DeVaux, seconded by Member Schultz, that this item be approved. Roll call vote, all in favor, motion carried.

8.2 Resolution ratifying a 60-day contract extension with Quest Diagnostics, Wood Dale, Illinois for Agreement #16174 Referral Laboratory and Phlebotomy Services for Lake County Health Department and Community Health Center - Nordstrom

Jerry Nordstrom, Director of Business Operations, reviewed the information provided in the agenda packet. Member DeVaux asked for the reason for the change in vendors. Jerry explained that it had been 5 years since the call for bid on these services was last put out, so it was due. Of the two vendors who responded, Quest and LabCorp, it was determined LabCorp better met the Health Department's needs both financially and operationally.

A motion was made by Member Rheault, seconded by Member Belmonte, that this item be approved. Roll call vote, all in favor, motion carried.

8.3 Amended Lake County Health Department and Community Health Center Purchasing Policies and Procedures - Nordstrom

Jerry Nordstrom reviewed the information provided in the agenda packet.

A motion was made by Member Hagstrom, seconded by Member DeVaux, that this item be approved. Roll call vote, all in favor, motion carried.

8.4 Window Replacement Bid #21140 - Nordstrom

Jerry Nordstrom reviewed the information provided in the agenda packet.

A motion was made by Member Ehrlich, seconded by Member Belmonte, that this item be approved. Roll call vote, all in favor, motion carried.

8.5 Executive Director Performance Evaluation - Sashko

President Sashko reviewed the information provided in the agenda packet.

A motion was made by President Sashko, seconded by Member Belmonte and all the other members, that this item be approved. Roll call vote, all in favor, motion carried.

8.6 Provider Appointments and Reappointments - Maine

Credentialing Committee Chair Maine informed the Board that the Credentialing

Committee met just prior to this regular meeting and that there are three providers for appointment (Pratibha Patel, DPM; Kelly Ratz, PMHNP; Isabel Rojas, DPM) and four providers for reappointment (Zina Banna, MD; Jessica Barrera, APRN; Brian Salzverg, MD; Luma Sukkar, MD) and the committee recommends approval.

A motion was made by Member Maine, seconded by Member Hagstrom, that the appointment and reappointment of the providers listed be approved. Roll call vote, all in favor, motion carried.

8.7 Proposed Changes to Health Department Employee Policy - Hagstrom

Personnel Committee Chair Hagstrom informed the Board that the Personnel Committee met just prior to this regular meeting to review the proposed revisions to the policy provided in the agenda packet. He noted that the committee agreed that the words “is prohibited” need to be added back to paragraph I.H.7 as the words “unacceptable behavior” in paragraph I.H are not strong enough. The committee recommends approval of the policy as revised and amended.

A motion was made by Member Hagstrom, seconded by Member DeVaux, that this item be approved as revised and amended. Roll call vote, all in favor, motion carried.

9. Discussion Items

10. Attachments for Board Review

10.1 Media Placement Highlights - Nordstrom

This matter was presented

11. Lake County Community Health Center Governing Council Update

Mark informed the Board that on Monday, October 18, 2021, the Governing Council Nominating Committee met to nominate the slate of officers for 2022. That slate will then be presented at the Governing Council's annual meeting on December 14, 2021.

12. Lake County Tuberculosis Board Update

Lisa Kritz had nothing to report in regard to the TB Board, however she did note that a recent article stated that tuberculosis fatalities rose in 2020 worldwide for the first time in a decade and it's thought to be because a lot of people missed preventative treatment during COVID.

13. Added to Agenda Items

None

14. Old Business

None

15. New Business

None

16. Executive Session

None

17. Adjournment

A motion was made by Member Belmonte that this meeting be adjourned. President Sashko adjourned the meeting at 6:54 p.m.

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