Board of Health

Skokie Board of Health Thursday, November 10, 2022 7:00 pm Board of Health Members Zoom/Virtual Meeting MINUTES Present: BOH Chair: Dr. Edward Linn; BOH Members: Dr. Swapna Dave, Maureen Hanlon, Dr. Girija Kalyan Kumar, Heidi Nickisch Duggan, Dr. Jeremy Schwartz, Jan Shiffman, Dr. Kyungran Shim, Romil Sood, Patricia Urbanus, Ruth Varma, Dr. Michael Vernon, Dr. William Werner, Sibyl Yau; Staff: Mike Charley, Absent: BOH Members: Dr. Bruce Gaynes, Juliet Haido, Margaret Keeler, Juliet Haido, Rohit Pandya, Irtaza Usman, Dr. Larry Williams, Emeritus Member: Dr. Michael Drachler; Trustee Liaison Keith Robinson, James Johnson; Staff: Jennifer Davis, Cameron Hendricks Link to meeting on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaVpSgC87hw I. Call to Order @ 7:00 PM II. Approval of Agenda: Approved via consent. III. Approval of Minutes, October 13, 2022: Approved via consent. IV. Chair’s Report, Dr. Linn: Dr. Linn presented information on Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and influenza. He recommended individuals get vaccinated for COVID-19 and influenza. Dr. Linn provided an overview of RSV and how it affects young children and older adults. He presented information on the modes of transmission of RSV. Dr. Linn congratulated Sybil Yau to her new role as “Vice Chair”. Maureen Hanlon asked what is the procedure for nominating a BOH member for Vice Chair? Dr. Linn provided that under the Village Code it outlines the process where the Mayor has the authority to appoint all Chairs and Vice Chairs with the approval of the Village Board. Maureen voiced her concern that the Caucus party controls things and questioned why the BOH members were not consulted. Dr. Swapna Dave shared that she would like to understand the process on appointing chairs and vice chairs also. She requested additional information at a future meeting. Mike Charley walked through what he knows of the appointment process. Charley communicated that the Mayor had reached out to Mike for Mike’s recommendation on a Vice Chair. Charley did make the recommendation to the Mayor to appoint Sibyl Yau, due to Sibyl’s contribution to both the IPLAN community health assessment planning committee and her participation in the Village’s Environmental Sustainability Planning Team. The Mayor communicated that he wanted to make the appointment at the first Village Board meeting in November, which is when the Mayor and the Village Board voted to approve Sibyl as Vice Chair. Maureen Hanlon thanked Mike for this response. Heidi Nickisch Duggan communicated that she would have preferred that Sibyl’s appointment was brought to the BOH for input, prior to the actual appointment. She recommended a shift in culture to make the process more transparent. Sibyl Yau communicated that she is honored to accept the Vice Chair nomination and position. V. BOH Member Introductions, Background and Interest in BOH membership: Sibyl Yau communicated that she would like to get to know all BOH members better and many BOH members share this. Yau communicated that she will be working off-line with a small group of BOH members to create a process to collect information on the different BOH members (via survey) that will help BOH members get to know each other better. That information for each BOH member can be included within the newly developed BOH document. Charley recommended that future meetings are held in person and we use future meetings to get-to-know each other better. Maureen in chat recommended possibly Document Number: 602913 Version: 1  featuring a member at each meeting. Charley recommended that BOH members are surveyed with specific questions that would elicit a response with information that can be shared with other BOH members. Dr. Linn communicated that this is something that needs to be worked on. Introductions were tabled for now, but a future agenda will be dedicated to getting to know each other better. VI. Emergency Financial Assistance & Assist a Family Program Presentation, Mike Charley, Director of Health and Human Services: Mike Charley provided an overview of both programs. EFA is an ongoing program that provides financial assistance to qualifying individuals that are past due on rent, mortgage or utility bills. AAF is a seasonal program where HHS provides for gift cards during the winter holidays to families that have experienced undue financial hardship over the last calendar year. VII. Director’s Monthly Report, Mike Charley, Director of Health and Human Services. Mike Charley provided updates on COVID-19. He also provided information on the Village’s ongoing IPLAN community needs assessment process, asylum seekers being housed in Skokie, an upcoming community blood drive at Village Hall on December 1, communicated that RSV, influenza and COVID are all increasing and creating issues with ICU availability around specific parts of the State of Illinois and introduced Amy McManus (new HHS Disease Investigator position). Dr. Linn reinforced that individuals need to stay ‘up-to-date’ on their COVID vaccines to ensure the vaccines are as effective as possible. Vaccinations still reduce severe illness and hospitalizations. Dr. Linn recommended that all BOH members be advocates with both influenza and COVID vaccinations. VIII. Old/New Items of Business A. BOH Onboarding Subcommittee: Heidi Nickisch Duggan shared a draft BOH member “Handbook and Onboarding Guide” document that she started with an initial draft and was reviewed prior to this BOH meeting by a small group of BOH members, including Sybil Yau and Swapna Dave. The current document would include 1) a welcome letter, 2) purpose of BOH, 3) BOH ordinance language, 4) statement of conduct/ethics, 5) required Open Meetings Act Training and other training, 6) calendar/schedule of events, 7) BOH member bios, contact information, 8) HHS Department contacts and 9) important links. It was also discussed providing each new BOH member with an “onboarding buddy” to help with the new member’s transition to the BOH. There was some discussion about also surveying other boards and commissions, possibly reaching out to their chairs to discuss their onboarding. It was recommended by Dr. Linn to include something regarding introducing all new BOH members to the Village’s Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) and encourage application to the MRC. Dr. Werner and Maureen Hanlon communicated that they will also be open to participating in the small group meeting off-line. B. MRC: Clinical backgrounds only? A question was raised whether MRC members be licensed medical professionals. Charley communicated he would follow-up to determine whether this is true. IX. Public Comments: No Public Comments X. Adjournment @ 8:00 PM, First by Hanlon, Second by Yau Next Meeting: November 10, 2022, 7:00 p.m. Document Number: 602913 Version: 1