Board of Health

Agenda Village of Arlington Heights Board of Health Buechner Room-33 S. Arlington Hts. Rd., AH August 15, 2022 6:30 PM I. CALL TO ORDER II. ROLL CALL III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. Minutes from February 28, 2022 IV. REPORTS A. Director Update B. Nursing Services Update V. OLD BUSINESS VI. NEW BUSINESS VII. OTHER BUSINESS A. Future Topics for Consideration VIII.ADJOURNMENT Persons with disabilities requiring auxiliary aids or services, such as an American Sign Language interpreter or written materials in accessible formats, should contact Rosangela Maldonado, at 33 S. Arlington Heights Road, Arlington Heights, Illinois 60005, rmaldonado@vah.com or (847)368- 5791.  Board of Health 8/15/2022 Item: Minutes from February 28, 2022 Department: Health and Human Services ATTACHMENTS: Description Type Minutes from February 28, 2022 Minutes  Minutes Village of Arlington Heights Board of Health Buechner Room 33 S. Arlington Heights Rd., AH 60005 February 28, 2022 6:30 PM I. CALL TO ORDER Chairperson VanLandeghem called the meeting to order at 6:31 p.m. All stood for the Pledge of Allegiance. II. ROLL CALL Present Also Present Karen VanLandeghem, MPH, James McCalister, Commission Liaison Chairperson Mary Sterrenberg, Supervising Nurse Sean Barnett, M.D. Lindsay Dohse, Community Health Nurse Kristen Brown, M.D. Nicole Espinoza, Social Services Coordinator Jerome Meservey, M.D. Melissa Jacobsen, Administrative Assistant William Moran, M.D. Absent Shalu, Gugnani, M.D. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. Minutes from November 1, 2021 A MOTION WAS MADE BY DR. BARNETT TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE NOVEMBER 1, 2021 MEETING, SECONDED BY DR. MORAN AND APPROVED BY UNANIMOUS CONSENT. IV. REPORTS A. Social Services Update 1 Ms. Espinoza, Social Services Coordinator, reported about the Social Services and CARE program. She said in addition to her role as Social Services Coordinator, Social Services also includes the Disability Services Coordinator and Case Worker. She explained that in 2021, Social Services served 1900 residents. She said that in response to COVID-19, financial assistance was the primary need of residents and Social Services provided rent, utility and mortgage assistance. She said that Social Services has a partnership with Journeys The Road Home for residents experiencing homelessness or who are at risk for homelessness. She said that Social Services partners with the Fire Department to work with families post fire in helping find resources, housing, replacing items lost in a fire, and emotive support. Ms. Espinoza explained that Social Services provides resource referral for mental health, among other services. She said the most common resource referral provided are ways to reach food pantries, therapists, housing and senior services. Chairperson VanLandeghem asked if any children are provided resources for mental health. Ms. Espinoza said that Social Services receives requests from parents and she connects them with mental health counselors. She said Social Services primarily receives adults needing assistance with mental health crises. Dr. Barnett asked if Social Services is on call. Ms. Espinoza said Police Officers and the Fire Department will call after hours to place residents in emergency shelter. Dr. Meservey asked if residents under age 18 are a focus for Social Services. Ms. Espinoza said there is no age limit. Ms. Espinoza shared data from the Police Department and indicated that there was a small spike in deaths last year, which might be attributed to a shipment of Fentanyl. Dr. Meservey asked if there has been an increase in problems since the sales of cannabis in Arlington Heights. Ms. Espinoza said she has not seen an increase in Police or Fire calls due to cannabis, but she has seen an increase in active psychosis since the COVID-19 pandemic. She said there is research showing psychosis months after testing positive for COVID-19, which is something Social Services will be aware of. Ms. Espinoza shared data regarding the use of Narcan and that the Fire Department’s use of Narcan has increased, which is good because this means that it is more readily available. She said if someone is found unconscious with an unknown cause, they may try Narcan as it has a low risk for side effects. She said that the CARE program is a collaboration between the Fire and Police Departments, Live4Loli, Brightside Clinic, Omni Youth Services, and Social Services. She said there is a 24-hour hotline available and the program is funded through an annual criminal justice-based grant. She said the four modalities to enter the program are post overdose response, self- referrals, active outreach, and community engagement response. Ms. Espinoza provided the Board with demographic reports for the that breakdown race, gender etc. Dr. Meservey said the data appears that participants do not get connected post engagement. Ms. Espinoza said a participant may connect for initial services with the CARE team and enter treatment, but not respond to a check in. She said reporting also changed in 2021, so the follow up questions were not being captured prior to 2021. Chairperson VanLandeghem asked if the Board of Health can assist Social Services in any way needed. Ms. Espinoza said psychiatry referrals has been the greatest challenge and if the Board 2 has any resources that would be helpful. Dr. Moran asked if there is connection between the hospital and CARE program. Ms. Espinoza said representatives from Northwest Community Hospital and all the municipal social workers in the surrounding communities created a collaborative to troubleshoot topics and discuss legislative changes on a monthly basis. She said the collaborative with the hospital has been helpful opening the doors for who to speak with through processes and to remove silos. B. Director Health and Human Services Update Mr. McCalister said masks are optional in Village Hall and practicing social distancing is still occurring. He said employees in the field need to ask before going into a resident’s home if they prefer that they wear a mask. He said the positivity rate in Region 10 is 2.1%, and ICU bed availability is at 19% with the goal being over 20%. He said the state has seen ten consecutive days of decreasing COVID-19 patients in hospitals. He said when moving from Delta to Omicron, the hope was decreased hospitalizations. He said Delta was still 70% on January 2, but on February 20, Omicron was 99.9% which is helping. He said also helping decreasing positivity rates are vaccinations, and the 18-64 age group are 77.83% fully vaccinated. Mr. McCalister said on Friday, February 25 the CDC is changing the reporting criteria based on the following three metrics, new COVID-19 hospital admissions in past 7 days, percent of occupied ICU beds with COVID-19 patients, and total new COVID-19 cases testing positive in the past 7 days. He said they defined the transmission levels as green (low), yellow (medium) and orange (high). He said Region 10 is currently green and the majority of the state is yellow. Some southern regions are still orange. He said the CDC provided mitigation recommendations based on the color status. Mr. McCalister said in January 2022 because of the Omicron surge, testing was the highest since January 2021. He said testing is projected to decrease by 80% in February 2022 compared February 2021. He said the Arlington International Racecourse testing site decreased hours of operations as they only had 34 people get tested on Saturday. Dr. Moran said the highest hospitalizations at Northwest Community Hospital was 130 patients, and currently 12 COVID-19 patients are admitted. Mr. McCalister shared that the Village hired an architectural firm called BKV to assist in the process of updating the Senior Center building. He said the goal is to make the building more modern and attract a younger, senior population. He said their proposal shifted the entry way more towards New Wilke Rd so that the activity indoors can be more visible from the exterior, and proposed a cover coming off the entry to the building to protect people from the elements. He said one of the popular items is a vibrant café when you walk in the building that could offer soups, sandwiches and coffee, with both indoor and outdoor seating. Mr. McCalister described an area for an outdoor porch and a gaming area. He said lighting is very important, and proposed is to include sky lights. He said more windows would be added so people driving by can see more activity in the front of the building. Dr. Brown asked what does the Lending Closet offer. Ms. Sterrenberg said crutches, wheelchairs and other medical equipment for Arlington Heights residents. Mr. McCalister said an arts studio is also highly desired. He said meetings will continue 3 for the next several months to continue planning the updates for the Senior Center. Dr. Brown asked when will the building updates be finalized. Mr. McCalister said the final proposal will be received by the Village Board in late April/May. Dr. Moran asked how many visitors did the Senior Center have prior to COVID-19. Mr. McCalister said prior to COVID-19 there were 400-600 visitors a day, and now there are 300-350 a day. Dr. Moran asked if the Senior Center will be open during construction. Mr. McCalister said it is yet to be determined if the Senior Center operations will be open during construction. Mr. McCalister said virtual option programming is also available and a popular option for patrons. Mr. McCalister said the American Rescue Plan Fund Allocation grant funds were allocated for use as follows Water and Sewer Fund Infrastructure, Arlington Heights Park District Capital Projects, Capital Projects Fund, and Police and Fire Vehicle Purchase, Fleet Fund. Dr. Moran asked about the disaster training regarding natural disasters occurring in the community, such as if power goes out due to heat or cold weather, are there local cooling and warming centers for residents. Mr. McCalister said the Senior Center has a generator and is a heating and cooling location that would be opened to residents if deemed necessary. He said they also have a list of Park District buildings, schools and churches as locations, but few have generators. Mr. McCalister said the Village Board is discussing adding one or two cannabis dispensaries in Arlington Heights, and will be discussing the topic at a Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting in March. Dr. Meservey said his opinion has not changed and the Board of Health has made the recommendations clear about adult-use recreational cannabis sales in Arlington Heights. Dr. Barnett asked if there is a way to route the funds back to Social Services. Mr. McCalister said he will bring the question to the Village Manager about where funds from cannabis sales will be allocated. Mr. McCalister announced David Robb, Disability Services Coordinator will be retiring and the position is being evaluated to possibly include current disability services and add geriatric/senior social services components to the job role. The Board agreed that including a geriatric component to the position would be beneficial. C. Nursing Update Ms. Sterrenberg said since November 2021, the nurses resumed the Vision and Hearing Screening program at Our Lady of the Wayside, St. James, and St. Peters. She said that screenings were unavailable for the 2020-2021 school year due to the Delta surge. She said that there was not a significant increase in referrals despite the lack of screenings. Dr. Meservey asked about the results of the screenings. Ms. Sterrenberg said close to 1100 students were screened, about 100 students needed rescreening and 40 students were referred for follow up. She said Nursing Services provided a COVID-19 booster clinic for employees, and is still offering COVID-19 shots to home visit clients. She said Pat Harris, prior Board of Health member Tom Harris’ wife, sent an email about how can the Village promote ovarian cancer in the community, such as get teal ribbons throughout the Village. Dr. Meservey suggested signs downtown or publicizing 4  information on the electronic board. Dr. Moran said there is no screening for ovarian cancer and suggested a fund-raising event for research since there is a lot of traffic in the downtown area. Ms. Sterrenberg said that she will let Pat Harris know that the Board of Health supports for ovarian cancer awareness and Dr. Moran’s recommendation of pursuing fundraising for research. Ms. Sterrenberg announced that she will be retiring in May 2022. V. OLD BUSINESS Chairperson VanLandeghem said there are now seven Board of Health members. Ashley Bae is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) who will be sworn in to the Board of Health March 7 and new member Dr. Gugnani was already sworn in. Dr. Meservey said pediatric emergency department and pediatric inpatient unit will no longer be available at Northwest Community Hospital. VI. NEW BUSINESS VII. OTHER BUSINESS A. Other Topics for Consideration No report VIII. ADJOURNMENT DR. MESERVEY, SECONDED BY DR. BROWN, MOVED TO ADJOURN AT 7:59 P.M. ALL CONCURRED AND THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. The next scheduled meeting is May 16, 2022. 5