Make arrangements to attend a meeting of an official board of health (these meetings are open to the public). This may require some advanced planning since many boards of health meet only once a month. After attending the meeting, develop a brief (no more than 300 words) report that relates the agenda of the meeting to specific roles and responsibility of the board of health. If you are able identify any interest groups on the agenda or at the meeting, add these to your report as well. Submit your brief report via the Submit Assignments link using "Board of Health Report" as the title of your submission.
Then review the following Board of Health reports provided by other learners in this course and provide brief comments (no more than 100 words) on the similarities and difference among the reports listed there and your own experience in attending a board of health meeting. Post your comparison via the Submit Assignments link:
I attended the October 4, 2001, Board of Health meeting for DuPage county. The meeting was held from 6:15 p.m. until approximately 9:00.
Attendees: Attendees included all but one DuPage County Board of Health (DCBH)
member, about 14 Board of Health Staff in the audience, about six DuPage County
Health Department staff at the DCBH table, and one other student from Dr. Turnock’s
course.
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Meeting.
- Committee Discussions.
Restaurant - Environmental Health Services. The meeting began with a brief recap
of some of the ongoing work by subcommittees. with Restaurant Rating Program
expected to be public soon.
West Nile Virus - As several birds had tested positive for the virus in DuPage, the DuPage Health Department staff and the Illinois Department of Health (IDPH) staff are working collaboratively on testing, tracking, and reporting occurrences.
- Terrorist Attack. Since this was the first meeting of the DCBH following
the September 11th terrorist attack, there was significant discussion devoted
at the beginning of the meeting to the response to bio-terrorism and the County’s
overall reaction.
- Secure Location. Key Department of Health staff are part of an overall response
to terrorism and attack and were transported and remained in an undisclosed
bunker which serves as a command center for the county.
- Oranizational Response. Weekly meetings of key staff from each department
to assess current conditions and to build upon their response to any future
situations.
- FEMA. A handful of behavioral health and trauma staff of the DuPage Health
Department serve as reserve members of FEMA with FEMa reimbursing expense.
- Concern Over DuPage Residents’ Post Traumatic Symptoms. One of the board
members repeatedly (despite objections from others) raised concern over what
plans were in place to address post-traumatic symptoms of DuPage residents.
- Congratulations. The DCB congratulated individual staff for their response
and for their dedication.
Consent Items
- Overall. Virtually all items on the consent agenda were passed without any
discussion except the budget.
- Budget. Approximately 75% of the entire meeting was devoted to the budget
and budget related items.
- Budgeted Revenues. The expected revenues for County fiscal year (CFY) 2002
reflect a 10% increase from 2001 with approximately 45% from local DuPage County
and remainder from state and federal funds and grants and some third party billing.
Expenses are expected to be decreased in 2002 from 2001 figures mostly by reorganization
of programs and associated staff.
- Grant Accounting. Given that the DuPage Board of Health cannot exceed revenues
nor expenses, they budget an approximate $4 million in yet unknown grants in
case there is an opportunity to garner a grant.
- Fees. Without any discussion about possible impact on access, the Board gave
unlimited approval to increase immunization fees if the drug suppliers increase
their fees.
- Positions. Tension filled discussions occurred when the DCH Executive Director
Lewis made a seemingly innocent ‘aside’ remark about hiring an already
budgeted but vacant assistant that set the entire discussion for the next hour
on whether he had the authority to proceed - with the Board finally conceding
that he did have the authority to make that decision - but hoping he had the
‘wisdom’ to not move ahead on this (clearly a threat not to advance
this issue). The Board demanded that Lewis come back with a detailed job description
at the next meeting .
- Strategic Planning. DCBH admonished the executive staff for not getting them
material the DCBH had repeatedly requested on planning processes and approaches
to expense reductions.
Other Discussions. DCBH enjoyed the presentation and remarks made by Dr. Hagen
of the DuPage Health Department on health related issues.
Overall Impression. While Dr. Hagen is not the Executive Director of the Health
Department he certainly was viewed in a more credible light than the current
Executive Director (business background - no public health or clinical background).
Politics clouded over much of the meeting. Given the agenda and the direction
of the Health Department, discussions appeared to be more focused on business
and micro governance issues rather than health agenda issues or concerns.
The Evanston Community Health Advisory Board meeting was held on Friday September 28, 2001 at 9:30 am. The majority of the “audience” was classmates from CHSC 400. The Board of Health Chair, the City Director of Health and Human Services, employees of the Evanston Health Department and a few elderly members representing the community were the advisory members present.
The Board of Health Director called the meeting to order by addressing future public health events, such as the IPHA and APHA conferences in October. The Board also addressed the recent tragedy America is facing, the bombing of the World Trade Center. The Director of Health and Human Services spoke on additional issues for the majority of the meeting.
A rooster in Evanston? After health department officials visited the rooster who caused quite a stir in the community, the rooster was deemed clean and sanitary and was SAVED! Another concern was flesh eating virus cases at Evanston Hospital. According to the Board, the cases were confined to the hospital and should not be a concern to Evanston residents. The Board also addressed the Dominick’s meat recall in Evanston. There have been local and state E-Coli investigations addressing this issue. The West Nile Virus has made an appearance in Illinois, with reported cases in Evanston. Two dead crows have undergone testing for the virus with one case negative and the other case still pending. The Board spoke on Evanston’s emergency plans on bioterrorism, due to the recent tragedies.
The members asked for questions/input from the “audience”. Advisory board members had questions of their own to the directors. A cause of concern to the advisory members was the absence of a few key members of the committee. The Board will contact the members and invite them to return to the next meeting. The meeting was ended by issuing a tentative date for the next Board Meeting, Thursday November 1, 2001 at 9:30 am.
LaSalle County Board of Health Report
Meeting Date: September 20, 2001
The LaSalle County Health Department has had three administrators since its beginning in 1985. All three administrators have conducted the Board of Health meetings with identical agenda formats. The meeting began with the formality of approving minutes from the last meeting. This is followed by a brief report by the President of the Board of Health, Dr. Harbeck, who made a brief comment regarding a tobacco prevention article written by a board member. The Treasure’s report had the customary review and payment of the monthly bills and the transfer of dollars among the various accounts.
Administrative reports were then given by the Public Health Administrator and Director of Environmental and Personal Health. Highlights of these reports included the announcement of Governor Ryan’s cost of living adjustment for Family Case Management beginning April 1, 2002. Although this is only a two percent increase, it is nonetheless a very important victory for public health in that this program has not seen a COLA since its inception. This COLA will be extended to other Illinois’ human service programs. The Director of Personal health focused on the upcoming flu vaccination clinics. This year’s planning has not been without challenges. Increase in flu vaccine purchase prices, delayed shipments of flu vaccine, changes in the CDC guidelines for the implementation of clinics, and no guaranteed shipment dates, resulted in programming changes. The Board of Health approved a $3.00 increase in the price of a flu shot; community clinics were delayed until November, and some sites were cancelled.
The most controversial issue on the agenda involved environmental health. A business owner petitioned the Board of Health for a review of a denied variance for the use of a private sewage disposal system and private will for his commercial property. It was the City of Marseilles Mayor’s opinion that the business should connect to city water and sewage. The business owner objected to this, partly due to the financial impact. During discussion of the matter, zoning issues were argued by a landowner that resides next to this business. The Health Department Administrator quickly reminded the Board of Health members of their authority only over the approval or denial of the variance requested and that issues of zoning were not within their powers. In the end, the Board of Health unanimously denied the variance.
An executive session was held the following unanimously passed motions; mileage rate increased, renewal of contracts, and changes in a par-time RN employee to full-time employee.
In conclusion, I am very impressed by the new management team in place at LaSalle County Health Department. (All three administrative leaders are new within the last year). The Health Department is recovering from a devastating situation that has resulted in lawsuits against the Board of Health and former Administrator. However, despite this situation, this new team seems to be taking command and is functioning with great confidence.
Village of Oak Park Department of Public Health Meeting Report
Monday, October 8, 2001 7:30-9:30 pm
Attendees:
8 board of health members (4 employees of the dept. of public health, 1 high
school student representative, 3 community committee members)
16 UIC SPH students
Meeting started with two speakers who talked about violence prevention in the Oak Park / River Forrest Community.
John Williams - Director of Oak Park Township Youth Services (OPTYS)
*Mr. Williams explained that OPTYS uses a comprehensive approach to “reclaim”
youth who have tone off track. OPTYS works to get them back on track.
*OPTYS has had 12,000-15,000 youths and their families participate in the program
to date.
*OPTYS reaches youths in three ways: 1) Sports - i.e. After school basketball
programs; 2) Arts - i.e. Poetry slams; 3) Education
*OPTYS has several intervention / violence prevention strategies:
1) Conflict resolution programs
2) High school student discussion groups where students present ideas to one
another and then discuss
3)TIME (Teen Initiative for Meeting Expectations) - youths arrested for minor
offences are given TIME as an alternative to going to court. The family is audited,
youth is screened for drugs, the family and youth undergo counseling, and the
youth must participate in 15-20 hours of community service. 80% of the youths
who do TIME are not arrested again in the next two years. The cost of the program
is $30,000 per year for 45-60 youths.
4) Youth Intervention Coordinator focuses on preventing youths from joining
gangs. There has been a 49.6% reduction in gang related arrests since this position
was created.
*OPTYS programs are based on other successful programs, such as, Peace Builders
in Arizona, Resolving Conflicts Creatively in Redhook, NY, which incorporate
“homegrown community involvement”.
More information can be found at http://www.oakparktownship.org/Youth/youth_contents.htm.
Sgt. Jacques Conway - Sergeant of Oak Park Police Department
*Sgt. Conway feels that the violence problem in Oak Park is because of problems
with the parents.
*Youths need things to do, such as sports, clubs, and/or jobs.
*Youths need to learn not to resolve problems with violence or they will do
the same with weapons when they get older.
*Sgt. Conway has started a Police Explorers program to teach them about police
work, but more importantly to teach youths responsibility and to keep them busy.
After the presenters were finished the board began the business portion of
the meeting:
*The board asked John if his organization would be willing to provide condoms
to the youths. John felt that this should be done case by case and include information
and education. The decision, though, would have to be made by his board.
It seems that Oak Park is a conservative village - the school nurse cannot even
provide students with condoms and the school board is part of the OPTYS board
- this will not likely be a successful motion at the OPTYS board meeting.
*The board then discussed several topics - future speakers, an article about
the causes of high school suspensions in Oak Park (smoking for white students,
and violence for black students) and what the LHD can do to help, what to do
with the information provided by Mr. Williams and Sgt. Conway - and decided
to do some data gathering and thinking.
The board has identified a lot of opportunities but does not seem eager to act
on any of them.
*A board member gave a flu vaccine update.
*The community committee members were asked to give updates from their committees,
such as, elderly, food, transportation, and animal control.
Report of October 11, 2001 from the Village of Skokie Health Department Meeting. Chaired: Dr. Melvin Nudelman; Health Director, Mr. Lowell Huckleberry, 10 member including a pharmacist, physicians, residents, restaurant entrepreneur. The minutes from the previous meeting were reviewed.
Mr. Huckleberry presented a monthly report: flu / pneumonia vaccines availability for residents over 65 (sufficient quantity). Blood donations have been high. Problems with migrating birds have been solved with decals, etc. Concern with the West Nile Virus, 3 contaminated dead birds have been found in Skokie, problem is over for the year. Dog problems, carbon monoxide, insulin needles, food contamination in restaurants, standing water from rains, animal control incidents, fungus from a manicure shop, and sanitation problem in a nursing home. The report demonstrated the multitude of activities that the department provides to the Skokie residents.
Old business: First use of lipstick testers by multiple individuals. The board was concerned that it may be a health hazard. The discussion was tabled as a nuisance only.
The old agenda items included a Bicycle Helmet Law (law is being developed
by Corporate Counsel), the odor from the Metropolitan Sanitary District (the
issue of the odor was identified as more of a nuisance rather than health hazard.
It is suggested that it is lack of monitoring that creates the odor and can
be prevented. A small group is going to try to take a tour of the facility and
discuss the problem of the residents), and the development of a Smoke Free Restaurant
list (Skokie has come up with a program to encourage more places to become smoke
free with the incentive of a certificate and a listing on the IDPH website.
The goal is to encourage more to follow).
New business: bioterrorism. It was reported that there is an emergency plan
for all services (hsp, FD, PD, health dept, IDPH, CDC) was previously developed.
The plan was reviewed last year. A copy of the Oak Park plan has been requested
since it is the only local health dept with a plan specifically for bioterrorism.
City of Chicago Board of Health Meeting
Wednesday, October 17, 2001
9:00-10:30 AM
The Chicago Board of Health meets once a month to discuss the state of health of Chicago. The board is comprised of various members/leaders of the community. For a community as large as the City of Chicago, the board members act as representatives of the various sectors of society.
The meeting began with introductions of this session’s attendants and highlighted the diversity of backgrounds of each participant. At this particular meeting, there were a significant number of public health students. In addition, with the recent anthrax attacks, several media were also in attendance and likely influenced the meeting away from its normal format and demeanor.
Despite the large crowd, the Chicago Board of Health seemed well organized, and the meeting proceeded in an orderly fashion. It began with the Commissioner’s report. He directly addressed the audience of students in explaining the re-budgeting goals of the department. The plan calls for a shifting of resources, and trying to work with other public health resources (such as the county and state) to effectively cover the city’s health needs. The re-budgeting will also now need to include more funding for bioterrorism and, likely, less for primary care.
The highlight of the meeting was a presentation by Dr. Diaz, the Director of the Infectious Disease Division, on Chicago’s emergency preparedness for bioterrorism. She discussed the definition of bioterrorism and the role of the CDPH. She emphasized the need for the department to work with the CDC, CFD, CPD, and FBI. The talk continued by providing general information about surveillance, education of the public, and possible treatments.
The meeting concluded with a brief discussion of the board’s “old” and “new” business, and then adjourned.
This meeting seemed to illustrate a department that works fairly well, including their handling of urgent issues. With Chicago’s ever-changing health issues, the board will continue to face the difficult task of managing the city’s health.
I attended the July 17th, 2002 meeting of the Chicago Board of Health. The nine members of the board are appointed by the mayor of Chicago. The agenda of the board seemed to focus on three key areas: Citywide mental health issues, the role of public health in medicine, and public health presence in more chicago communities. The agenda for the day included a report from Commissioner Wilhelm. Dr. Wilhelm reported that some budget cuts have taken place and have effected some areas in public health. He also stated that more cuts are imminent. The board also discussed some strategies for the 12 million in aid received from the federal government for Bioterrism Preparedness. This was a very enlightening assignment. Coming from a limited Health care background, this gave me an insight into one of the governing health care bodies in the city.
PH 414 Conferencing Exercises last revised March 17, 2004 (epowell)