Board of Health — Skokie, IL
Date: 2015-01-09

Skokie Board of Health
 January 8, 2015
 7:30 p.m.
 AGENDA
 U




MEETING LOCATION: SKOKIE PUBLIC LIBRARY 2ND FLOOR BUSINESS CENTER

 I. Call to Order


 II. Approval of Minutes


 III. Muhammad W. Paracha, MD, MPH
 Clinic Director
 Asian Human Services Family Health Center


 IV. Chair’s Report


 V. Personal Statements


 VI. Director’s Monthly Report


 VII. Community Health Plan Initiatives Updates


 VIII. New Items of Business


 IX. Adjournment/Next Meeting:

 Thursday, February 12, 2015

 Terry Mason, M.D.
 Chief Operating Officer
 Cook County Department of Public Health

 7:30 p.m.
 Skokie Public Library
 nd
 2 Floor Business Center
452820 v.8

Skokie Board of Health
 January 8, 2015


Present Absent Excused
Dr. Drachler Ms. Jones Thorne Dr. Prince Mr. Abbasi
Mr. Nidetz Ms. Urbanus Mr. Pandya Ms. Nickisch Duggan
Dr. Sood Dr. Williams Ms. Varma Dr. Gaynes
 Ms. Langguth
 Dr. Luka
 Dr. Polin
 Dr. Topouzian
 Dr. Usman


Dr. Catherine Counard, Director of Health
Mr. Bruce Jones, Staff
Ms. Susan Reisberg, Staff

NOTE: A large blizzard prevented many members of the committee from making it to the meeting.

Call to Order - The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by Dr. Drachler, Chairman
Dr. Drachler welcomed and thanked the three potential new Board members: Dr. William Werner,
Dr. Swapna Dave and Dr. Michael Vernon for attending

Approval of Minutes - The minutes of the previous meeting were approved as corrected.

Presentation – Muhammad W. Paracha, MD, MPH Clinic Director Asian Human Services Family Health
Center (AHSFHC). Dr. Paracha gave a detailed presentation about the AHSFHC (a copy of the
PowerPoint presentation is attached)

AHSFHC History:
  • In 2001 AHSFHC was incorporated as a not for profit 501 (c) 3
  • AHSFHC started providing services from February of 2002
  • AHSFHC received FQHC status in the fall of 2003
  • Started providing services in a rental facility at 2820 W. Peterson from March 1, 2004
  • Moved to 2424 W. Peterson building on September 29, 2008
  • In 2011 started the first oral health program i.e. the Little Kids, Big Smiles Dental Clinic
  • In 2013 expanded services at a new location at 2501 W. Peterson Ave

AHSFHC Staff:
40 plus staff – speak 16 different languages on-site and have access to 25 languages through AHS.
  Family Physicians
  Obstetrics & Gynecology
  Pediatrician
  Dentists
  Nutritionist
  Affordable Care Act (ACA) Navigators
  Psychiatrist



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AHSFHC Services include:
  • Health care
 o Family Health Center
 o Mental Health Program
 o Community Health Program
  • Employment
 o Employment Center
  • Education
 o Passages Charter School
 o LEAF Program

AHSFHC population served:


Community Area Population Asian


West Ridge 71,942 22%


Uptown 56,363 11%


Lincoln Square 39,493 11%


Edgewater 56,521 12%


Rogers Park 54,991 6%


Albany Park 51,542 14%


Total in Six Community 330,852 13% (Average)
Areas

Skokie 64,784 25.5%




Most commonly asked questions are “Is Asian Human Services only for Asians?” – No everyone is
welcome. And, “Do AHS services cost money?” AHSFHC provided primary care and oral health
services on a sliding fee scale. They accept Medicaid and Medicare and all the enabling services are free
in addition to free cancer screenings and ACA enrollments.




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Dr. Drachler asked if AHS provided Mental Health Services? Yes, Dr. Paracha replied, they provide
Mental Health Services in the form of counselors and a licensed Psychiatrist to help their client base.

Dr. Drachler asked how the Skokie clinic has been received by the community. Dr. Paracha said that
right now the clinic is still very new and seems to be getting most of their clients by “word of mouth”,
but they also have an outreach manager who is working on getting the message out to various
communities.

Dr. Drachler asked who AHSFHC uses for various referral services including births. Dr. Paracha
responded that they mainly refer to Swedish Covenant along with St. Josephs, and NorthShore Hospitals.

Dr. Drachler thanked Dr. Paracha and his guests for presenting to the BOH and said we look forward to
them coming back with any updates in the future and working with them on other endeavors.

Dr. Williams is volunteering at the AHSFHC Peterson location with students from the Midwestern
University Dental School where he is on faculty. He said it was a pleasure to work with AHSFHC on
dental issues within the community and hoped they would be able to expand these services in Skokie.


Chair’s Report
Dr. Drachler said he will share shared several articles with the Board on Smoking, Sugar and Water
consumption and how it’s affecting our health during the Community Health Plan Initiatives Updates.

Personal Statements
Dr. Drachler explained to the potential new Board members how the members will give a brief personal
and professional background overview to the Board to make everyone more acquainted with each other.

Director’s Monthly Report
Dr. Counard presented the December monthly report (attached). The highlights included:

 • Ebola exercise
 After months of preparation, the Skokie Fire, Health and Police Departments collaborated to conduct a
 successful test of our ability to safely transport a person potentially ill with Ebola to Skokie Hospital.

 • Proposal to modify Village tobacco ordinances
 Work is underway to modify Skokie ordinance language to treat electronic cigarettes as tobacco
 products, and to increase the legal age to sell or purchase tobacco to 21 years. These important
 measures recommended by the Board of Health, will help prevent youth from using tobacco.

 • Excavation completed at former Manufactured Gas Plant location
 Two years after beginning the excavation of the former manufactured gas plant site, that portion
 of the 18 acre clean-up project is complete. The site will now be restored, and leased to the
 Skokie Park District for recreational purposes, with a target for completion in 2017.


 • Continued preparations for Jan. 24 South Asian Health Town Hall Meeting
 The plans for the January 24 Town Hall meeting focused on South Asian Health are nearing
 completion. The event was advertised locally in the Jan/Feb edition of NewSkokie, Desi Talk
 newspaper and through flyers distributed around Skokie.



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 Dr. Drachler asked where the affected Ebola patients are coming from. Dr. Counard explained they are
 coming in from the affected countries and are mainly returning volunteers or returning resident that have
 visited the areas.

 Dr. Williams mentioned that he had participated in an Ebola decontamination exercise in October during
 cold inclement weather and this was a major issue that needs to be looked at closely. Dr. Counard said
 that they are hoping cases would be directly transported to the primary location Evanston Hospital which
 has an indoor ambulance bay which could allow for indoor decontamination of equipment and personnel.


 Community Health Plan Initiatives Updates
 • Tobacco Use Prevention – Dr. Drachler distributed an article from the New England Journal of
 Medicine on Tobacco and the use of cytisine in tobacco cessation which almost doubles the chance
 of quitting at 6 months. States smoking is still the #1 preventable cause of death in the United States
 and the world.

 Dr. Counard & Dr. Drachler will continue to move forward on strengthening Village code to regulate
 the use of e-cigarettes and increasing the age to purchase or sell tobacco to 21 years.


 • Obesity Prevention –Dr. Drachler distributed an article on Body Mass Index (BMI) and obesity
 linking overweight pregnant moms to lower IQ in their children.

 Dr. Counard mentioned that we are collecting all the BMI data from the Skokie School districts in
 order to obtain a baseline for Skokie. Dr. Counard mentioned that Dr. Leslie Cordes, a pediatrician
 from Lurie Children’s Hospital who is getting a Master of Public Health, will assist with developing
 a comprehensive plan to address childhood obesity in Skokie.

 NorthShore Skokie Hospital is considering a “Rethink Your Drink” program that involves the IPLAN
 committee, Board of Health, Skokie Schools, Skokie Park District and Skokie Library. The IPLAN
 sub-committee on this issue are meeting next week 1/13/15 at 3:00 p.m. at Village Hall.


• Healthy Environment – Dr. Drachler mentioned a January 4th Chicago Tribune article “Across the
 seas for water’s sake” that speaks to the issue of water use and the need for conservation. Water
 scarcity will be the next issue shaping geo-politics and will be the next commodity to have this kind
 of clout. Article shows the areas within the world with water shortages and the need for conservation
 efforts.


 • Access to Healthcare – Still being addressed aggressively with the two new community clinics - Erie
 Evanston/Skokie Family Health Center & AHSFHC. There is the upcoming South Asian community
 forum/town hall style meeting on January 24, 2015 to look at health disparities in this group.
 Dr. Counard mentioned that Dr. Sood has shared more than 75 flyers!




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Old Business
None


New Business

Ms. Jessica Jones Thorne asked about the possibility of the Board of Health (BOH) promoting or
sponsoring some sort of walking program or activity programs. There are other towns/communities that
have programs that we could look at to get templates that Skokie could use. Dr. Williams mentioned
there are National resources under healthy communities that address walking and bicycle programs

Dr. Drachler thanked everyone who came out tonight during the heavy snow to attend the meeting.

Dr. Drachler stated that Dr. Williams will chair the February meeting, as he will be in Australia and New
Zealand for two weeks!

The Next Meeting is Thursday, February 12, 2015 with Terry Mason, M.D. Chief Operating Office,
Cook County Department of Public Health as our guest speaker.

Dr. Counard passed out a flyer about an exhibit at the Skokie Holocaust Museum entitled “RACE: Are
We So Different?”, and encouraged everyone to attend the event. This is the first national exhibition to
tell the stories of race from the biological, cultural, and historical points of view. Combining these
perspectives offers an unprecedented look at race and racism in the United States.

Dr. Williams mentioned an online Department of Human Services training program (with 6 CEU’s)
called “Think Cultural Health” that would be good for all BOH members to review. He will send the link
to each BOH member.


Adjournment The meeting adjourned at approximately 8:42 p.m.




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