Board of Health

Skokie Board of Health Meeting Minutes September 10, 2020 Present Excused Absent Mr. Abbasi Ms. Urbanus Dr. Dave Dr. Gaynes Dr. Drachler, Emeritus Mr. Usman Ms. Moy-Wooten Ms. Maureen Hanlon Ms. Nickisch Duggan Ms. Ruth Varma Ms. Margaret Keeler Ms. Juliet Haido Dr. Vernon Mr. Bruce Jones Dr. Werner Dr. Linn Dr. Williams Mr. Pandya Sibyl Yau Dr. Shim Trustee Michele Dr. Sood Bromberg Bruce Jones, Susan Reisberg, Staff A. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 7:01 p.m. by Dr. Werner, Chairman. Dr. Werner read a statement stating that meetings will be held electronically until further notice per the State of Illinois Gubernatorial Disaster Proclamation. Members of the public may submit questions to Mr. Bruce Jones and they will be presented and read during the relevant portion of the meeting. B. Approval of Board of Health Meeting Minutes, Materials Distributed: The minutes of the February 2020 sent to members electronically and approved by consent agenda. C. Presentation: Ms. Susan Reisberg, RNC, MSN, FNP gave an update regarding the Skokie Health Department’s response to the pandemic from its inception at the end of February 2020 to the current time The Health Department has been conducting contact with individuals, working with businesses to educate and assist in containing outbreaks, providing guidance to Long Term Care Facilities (LTCF) with outbreaks, working with schools, and handling numerous queries from residents. Happily, our LTCF are now doing quite well and are currently out of outbreak status. The Health Department received a grant for over $800,000 from IDPH which has allowed us to hire 2 full-time contact tracers thus far. One is a native Spanish speaker. We will be hiring additional bilingual contact tracers and will have them in place by our next meeting. The grant enabled the Human Services Department to hire 2 social work professionals to assist individuals with assistance that results from a COVID-19 diagnosis and subsequent impact on their lives due to disruption of work and financial and mental health consequences. We are fortunate to have such comprehensive services. The Health Department hosted 3 students from the UIC School of Public Health this summer. Their initial projects changed drastically as they shifted to assist with COVID. Elliot Weiss took on data analysis with David Clough and was so proficient in the process that he was able to take on the task while David was on vacation! Elizabeth Meininger took on the task of following up with businesses who experienced outbreaks and created a spreadsheet which has been useful for the Department to keep track of the many outbreaks, large and small. Jacy Wasoski worked with LTCF to ensure that cases were reported weekly to the Health Department and listed all required information and delineating staff and residents.  All students assisted with contact tracing as time permitted. This was an exceptional cohort of students and public health will be in good hands with graduates such as these! We must recognize our MRC volunteers who assisted not only with contact tracing but continue to assist us with follow-up of other communicable diseases that the staff have not had time to follow-up. They provide invaluable assistance. Community flu Clinics: Staff has been working with Oakton Community Center employees to plan safe clinics following IDPH guidelines. We will be vaccinating residents over a longer period of time to reduce the number of individuals in the building and maintain social distancing. The clinics will take place over a nine hour period on September 30 and Tuesday October 6 from 10 am to 7 pm. Discussion: Dr. Vernon, currently working as an infection control specialist in the IDPH Office of Health Protection informed us that LTCF will be receiving Point of Care (POC), testing supplies which tests for antigen to the COVID-19 virus. LTCF will need to comply with reporting guidelines and register to enter cases into the Illinois Electronic Disease Surveillance System. Negative results will need to be followed up by COVID PCR testing. The additional reporting requirements may be too burdensome for these facilities. There is discussion that schools may receive POC tests as well. In terms of a COVID vaccine, Dr. Vernon informed us that a vaccine will require sub-zero storage and that 2 immunizations administered 3 weeks apart will be required. Dr. Vernon stated that he would share this information electronically with the BOH as this information is “hot off the press”. D. Chair’s Report: Major Happenings: Best Wishes Dr. Counard Moves On Dr. Catherine Counard has taken a position with the Illinois Department of Public Health after ably serving the Village of Skokie for 11 years. Her last day with the Village was August 14. We thank her for her leadership and wish her well as she begins a new chapter as the Medical Director in the Office of Health Protection. Bruce Jones, Environmental Supervisor will serve as the Interim Director of Health. Dr. Bruce Doblin, MD and Master of Public Health will serve as the Village’s medical consultant as the search for Director of Health is pursued. Dr. Drachler was welcomed as BOH Chair Emeritus. Dr. Werner announced new BOH members Maureen Hanlon, RN, JD; Sibyl Yau, RN; Dr. Linn, MD; and Margaret Keeler, PA. Welcome. Resignations: Timothy Youkhana, Jessica Jones Community Flu Shot Program: Please refer to Susan Reisberg’s presentation above. Ongoing Projects 1. Planning of Skokie Community Foundation Health Symposium Beth Lindley and David Clough met with a team of providers to plan a Health Symposium for Healthcare and non-profit providers through the months of July and August. The first program will be held on September 9th via Zoom. DOCS 571192  2. Skokie Community Foundation Flex Fund Grant On August 9, 2020, the Skokie Community Foundation wrapped up their fundraising campaign with a total of $58,274 raised to support Skokie families negatively impacted by COVID-19. During the month of August, 14 families received support through this grant process. CDBG-CV Funding Additional COVID-related CDBG funding will provide rent/mortgage and utility assistance to Skokie residents negatively impacted by COVID-19. Connections for the Homeless will serve as the “banker” for these funds and Human Services staff will work with them to coordinate applications up to $2500 per household. Human Services staff has met with the Connections team on several occasions to plan the application process. Teen Library Council (8/13) Beth Lindley met with the Teen Library Council to say thank you for their support of a well-being call program over the summer and to discuss the Census with them. We reviewed why the Census is important and encouraged family discussion about completing the Census. E. Old/New Items of Business: No old items New items: a. Mr. Abbasi proposed that the BOH adopt an ordinance which would ban flavored vaping products similar to what the City of Chicago has just enacted. After a brief discussion Mr. Abbasi entered the motion which was seconded by Ms. Nickisch Duggan. The motion passed unanimously. b. Dr. Linn has observed that many people do not wear bicycle helmets and noted that Skokie does have an ordinance that individuals under the age of 16 must wear them. Helmets limit head and brain injury. Dr. Linn would like to re-educate our community about the importance of wearing helmets. A lively discussion ensued with ideas such as partnering with service organizations to make it easier for families to purchase helmets, working with local bicycle shops to educate and promote helmet usage, partnering with Skokie Police to provide bicycle safety education. They are the ultimate enforcers of the ordinance. Bicycle safety month is in May so the Board has time to pursue this initiative. F. Citizen Comments: Mr. Bruce Jones checked for citizen comments on the website throughout the meeting. None were submitted. G. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 8:09 p.m. Next Board of Health Meeting: Thursday, October 8, 2020, 7:00 p.m. Board of Health Members-Virtual via Zoom Meetings DOCS 571192