Board of Health

Skokie Board of Health Thursday, June 9, 2022 7:00 pm Board of Health Members Police Department Training Room 7300 Niles Center Rd, Skokie, IL 60077 MINUTES Present: BOH Chair: Dr. Edward Linn; BOH Members: Dr. Swapna Dave, Dr. Bruce Gaynes, Juliet Haido, Margaret Keeler, Dr. Girija Kalyan Jumar, Heidi Nickisch Duggan, Rohit Pandya, Dr. Jeremy Schwartz, Dr. Kyungran Shim, Romil Sood, Patricia Urbanus, Ruth Varma, Dr. Michael Vernon, Dr. William Werner; Staff: Sue Reisberg Absent: BOH Members: Maureen Hanlon, Jan Shiffman, Irtaza Usman, Juliet Haido, Dr. Larry Williams, Emeritus Member: Dr. Michael Drachler, Sibyl Yau, Trustee Liaison James Johnson, Trustee Liaison Keith Robinson; Staff: Mike Charley, Cameron Hendricks I. Call to Order @ 7:01 PM II. Approval of Agenda: by Consent. III. Approval of Minutes from March 10, 2022 by Consent. IV. Chair’s Report, Dr. Linn: Dr. Linn discussed the moderate to high COVID rates that we are still experiencing. Children ages 5-11 have received their primary COVID-19 vaccination series but booster rates in this population are low. The Omicron strain continues to mutate causing repeated cases of COVID in people up to date on their vaccines. Dr. Linn encourages BOH members to continue to educate and strongly recommend wearing masks in indoor settings to people they encounter. He thanked SHHS Director Mike Charley for his continued diligence in putting out this information. Dr. Linn asked rhetorically “What should the BOH be focusing on in the near future?”. Dr. Linn discussed two public health issues. They include gun control and women’s reproductive rights. Gun violence is one of the leading causes of death in the U.S. among children. It is estimated that 42% of homes in the U.S. have one gun and 4.6 million children live in homes with unlocked and loaded guns. Between 2015-2020, there were 2070 unintentional shootings by children in their homes. There is a one in three chance that a child will visit a friend where there is a gun in the house. Health care professionals should screen for safety issues such as seat belt usage, bike helmets, abuse, and guns in the home. Dr. Linn urged the Board to consider what the effect of women’s reproductive rights will have on the community. Although the right to choose will not be affected in Illinois, what will the effect on our healthcare system be if Roe V Wade is overturned and women from neighboring states seek care in Illinois? Dr. Linn encourages the BOH to consider these issues over the summer. V. SHHS Childhood Lead Program, Sue Reisberg; RNC, MSN, FNP, Skokie HHS Personal Health Supervisor provided an overview of the Childhood Lead Program. The Department receives 1-3 reports of children with elevated blood lead levels per month. Sue works with environmental inspectors from IDPH to try to identify causes of lead exposure in the home. She reviewed common sources of lead exposure. One of the more recent challenges is that most of the elevated blood lead levels are seen in our immigrant population, particularly Afghan refugees. The source of their exposure most likely occurred before they arrived in the United States. Many of the families do not speak English so we utilize a translation service to make certain that they understand the education we provide. SHHS case follow-up includes identifying and connecting with caseworkers to ensure that the families maintain follow-up appointments. VI. Director’s Monthly Report, Sue Reisberg summarized Mike Charley’s monthly report, COVID-19 news since the last BOH meeting, shared that the HHS Department shares news weekly in weekly SkokieNews newsletter, provided vaccine updates, presented Skokie covid-19 rates (starting to decrease). Long time employee Claudia Braden RN,  Emergency Preparedness and Communicable Coordinator retired. She will be greatly missed. Her position has been posted. Cameron Hendricks, LEHP started his employment with SHHS May 3, 2022 as the new Environmental Health Supervisor. VII. Old/New Items of Business A. Skokie Police Department: National Bike Safety Month Event @ Oakton Park, May 14, 2022: Dr. Linn and Ruth Varma participated at this event and their focus was bicycle helmet safety. Bicycle helmets donated by the Skokie Police Department and Al’s Cyclery were raffled and Dr. Linn assisted with helmet adjustment VIII. Public Comments: No public comments. IX. Adjournment. Meeting ended at 7:58 pm Next Meeting: September 8, 2022, 7:00 p.m. We wish everyone a pleasant summer!