Board of Health

Skokie Board of Health Thursday, September 8, 2022 7:00 pm Board of Health Members Zoom/Virtual Meeting MINUTES Present: BOH Chair: Dr. Edward Linn; BOH Members: Dr. Swapna Dave, Margaret Keeler, Heidi Nickisch Duggan, Rohit Pandya, Romil Sood, Irtaza Usman, Ruth Varma, Dr. Michael Vernon, Dr. William Werner, Dr. Larry Williams, Sibyl Yau; Trustee Liaison James Johnson; Staff: Mike Charley, Absent: BOH Members: Dr. Bruce Gaynes, Juliet Haido, Maureen Hanlon, Dr. Girija Kalyan Kumar, Jan Shiffman, Juliet Haido, Dr. Jeremy Schwartz, Jan Shiffman, Dr. Kyungran Shim, Patricia Urbanus; Emeritus Member: Dr. Michael Drachler; Trustee Liaison Keith Robinson; Staff: Cameron Hendricks, Sue Reisberg I. Call to Order @ 7:04 PM II. Approval of Agenda, by consent III. Approval of Minutes, June 9, 2022, by consent IV. Chair’s Report, Dr. Linn: Dr. Linn communicated that Dr. Werner had an announcement to make. Dr. Werner announced that in March he took a medical leave as Chair due to a medical procedure. Dr. Werner reported that his health is better, however he has decided to submit his official resignation as the BOH Chair. He has decided to continue to participate as a member of the BOH. Dr. Linn and Mike Charley thanked Dr. Werner for his leadership. Charley communicated that he has recommended to the Mayor that Dr. Linn continue on as the permanent Chair and the Mayor will be appointing Dr. Linn as Chair on Monday September 19. Dr. Linn communicated that several weeks ago the CDC sent out streamlined recommendations and COVID-19 guidance on isolation and quarantine. Dr. Linn communicated that he has been participating on some COVID education programs and that the educational group has recognized general COVID fatigue and that individuals have a perception that we are done with COVID, however this could not be further from the truth. Dr. Linn provided that the CDC recommendations still recommend close-contacts mask for 10 days and individuals test on day 5, however the media has failed to adequately communicate this. Dr. Linn recommended that the BOH members continue to share that COVID is still prevalent and that individuals should still take precautions. V. HHS Vision and Hearing Program Presentation, Mike Charley, Director of Health and Human Services Program: Mike Charley communicated that this presentation is one of a series of Health and Human Services program presentations that will be provided at BOH meetings. Charley communicated the following regarding the HHS Vision and Hearing program: • The Village has provided Skokie private schools and licensed day care centers vision and hearing screening services for over 25 years. Public Schools provide screenings for their school-age children. • 24 private schools, preschools & day care centers are serviced with 4,126 screens performed annually  • Prior to 2022, the Village HHS had a full-time staff member administering the screens. This staff person retired in 2021. • Starting in 2022, the Village hired a licensed vision and hearing contractor to conduct the screens. The contractor is paid per screen. • The vision and hearing program is funded 100% from a State of Illinois Vision and Hearing Grant ($15,890) and from fees paid by private schools per screen completed. Dr. Werner inquired whether children that require vision and hearing follow-up are getting the recommended services? Charley communicated that he believes that the schools are responsible for following up, not the HHS Department or the vision and hearing contractor. Charley will check to determine who is responsible. Maureen Hanlon recommended that an inquiry is conducted with the Village’s Law office to determine who is responsible. Charley communicated he would first talk to staff and/or reach out to the vision and hearing contractor and/or schools. Rohit Pandya asked whether Skokie HHS was providing for adult hearing screenings still? Charley responded “no”. VI. Director’s Monthly Report, Mike Charley, Director of Health and Human Services: The following was presented during Charley’s report: • COVID-19 News and Updates since the last BOH meeting on June 8. • Skokie HHS vaccine updates including that HHS will start administering the bivalent Moderna booster dose on September 13, 2022. • State of Illinois communicable disease data provides that the number of COVID Skokie resident cases has been decreasing since mid-May. This is data from the State’s Salesforce system that tracks tests administered by medical/testing providers. • Cook County’s CDC community level is “medium”, while Skokie’s community transmission rate is at 94 cases/100,000, which equates to a “substantial transmission” rate. • Updates were provided on various other program areas/topics including Monkey Pox, Health Inspection Professionals starting to conduct food inspections, the hiring of Rachel Blut, Public Health Nurse/Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, the addition of a Social Work intern, ongoing tobacco enforcement on flavored nicotine containing tobacco products, community flu clinic information, the Emergency Financial Assistance program, the pilot Seniors Matter Rideshare Program, information on the Human Relations Commission and Commission on Family Services and various grant updates. Dr. Werner inquired whether Skokie was doing any wastewater screening for disease. Charley communicated that he is aware that there is wastewater screening being completed to detect the COVID virus, however Skokie is not participating at this point. Dr. Linn commented that Cook County is conducting wastewater screening and that the COVID virus can be found up to 2 weeks prior to observing increased cases in humans. Dr. Williams mentioned that during the last IPLAN process that oral health was addressed, and he would be happy to provide input and assist with this issue. Charley communicated that he would introduce Dr. Williams to Liz Nelson, Public Health Program Analyst/Manager. VII. Old/New Items of Business A. Partners in Public Health Excellence Awards: Mike Charley provided information on the two nominees for this year’s Public Health in Public Health Excellence Awards. The two nominees are Heartland Health Centers and Kids First Pediatrics. Both went above and beyond in Skokie to improve public health. Charley requested that he BOH approve by vote for Health and Human Services to submit a memo to the Village Board and present the Partners in Public Health Excellence Award to each organization. The BOH voted unanimously to move forward with this. B. BOH Onboarding: Heidi Nickisch Duggan recommended that he BOH consider an onboarding process  for new member for the BOH. She communicated that while she appreciates learning about all the programs that the HHS Department manages, she felt that if there was a formal onboarding process, BOH members would become more familiar with these programs and could use their expertise to provide better feedback at BOH meetings. Dr. Linn stated this is an excellent suggestion. Dr. Linn asked if anyone else is interested in working with Heidi, Dr. Linn and Mike Charley to develop an onboarding process for new members. Margaret Keeler stated that as one of the newer members, she seconds that and setting up and onboarding process is a great idea. Dr. Linn communicated that one of the reasons why he and Mike Charley developed the monthly HHS programs presentations, was to help BOH members understand those programs better. There were several BOH members who volunteered to participate on a subcommittee to develop the BOH onboarding process including Dr. Werner, Dr. Dave, Dr. Yau, Maureen Hanlon, Margaret Keeler and Heidi Nickisch Duggan. Heidi communicated that she would be willing to coordinate. VIII. Public Comments, No public comments. IX. Adjournment @ 8:07 PM, first by Dr. Williams and second by Maureen Hanlon Next Meeting: October 13, 2022, 7:00 p.m.