Board of Health — Skokie, IL
Date: 2018-06-14

Skokie Board of Health
 Thursday, June 14, 2018

 Village Hall – 2nd floor Conference Rooms D & E
 7:00 p.m.


 AGENDA
 U




 I. Call to Order



 II. Approval of Minutes



 III. Dr. Catherine A. Counard, Director of Health:
 • FY2018 Year in Review
 • Plans for the coming year
 • Update on fulfilling the 2017 Skokie Community Health Plan



 IV. Chair’s Report



 V. Director’s Monthly Report




 VI. Old/New Items of Business




 VII. Next Meeting:

 September 13, 2018, 7:00 p.m.
 Village Hall 2nd Floor Conference Rooms D & E

 Harold Primack, Chair
 Skokie Commission on Family Services

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Skokie Board of Health
 June 14, 2018

Present Absent Excused
Mr. Abbasi Dr. Prince Dr. Vernon Ms. Black
Dr. Dave Dr. Sood Ms. Jones
Dr. Drachler Dr. Topouzian Dr. Shim
Dr. Gaynes Ms. Urbanus Ms. Varma
Ms. Haido Dr. Usman
Ms. Nickisch Duggan Dr. Werner
Mr. Pandya Dr. Williams

Dr. Catherine Counard, Director of Health
Mr. David Clough, Staff

Dr. James Miles, Northern Illinois Public Health Consortium

Call to Order - The meeting was called to order at 7:06 p.m. by Dr. Drachler, Chairman following a
group picture.

Approval of Minutes – Minutes from the April meeting were reviewed and approved.

Year End Review – Dr. Counard- a copy of the presentation is attached
Dr. Counard provided a synopsis of Board of Health accomplishments throughout the past year. Board
actions included participation in the IPLAN committee, providing letters of support for the SAHELI
grant, and serving in the MRC. Looking ahead to the upcoming year, the Board will continue working on
initiatives from the 2017 Skokie Community Health Plan, focusing on creating a “Welcome Center” and
promoting trauma-informed care in Skokie (also known as minimizing the long-term health impact of
Adverse Childhood Experiences). Dr. Counard concluded by mentioning community health plan
initiatives that have already been fulfilled, including offering SNAP benefits at the Farmer’s Market and
passing Tobacco 21 in Skokie.

Dr. Williams commented that an initiative to engage the school system to develop health care
opportunities for children would be important. Mr. Clough added that District 69 has a Community
Schools Action Team that promotes health initiatives such as bringing dental and medical vans to the
schools and informing parents of the Federally Qualified Healthcare Centers.

Mr. Abbasi brought up the idea of having a bike sharing service in Skokie. Mr. Clough reported that a
feasibility study had been done by Divvy a number of years ago, but this study was before the Skokie
Valley Trail was completed. Dr. Counard stated she would follow up with the Community Development
Department to see if this had been revisited. She also reviewed plans for the completion of the Skokie
Valley Trail in the next few years.

Dr. Counard reported that following the presentation on Adverse Childhood Experiences at the Skokie
Public Library, a multidisciplinary team came together to begin working on raising community awareness
and developing referral networks to provide help once ACEs have been identified. The group discussed


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the books The Deepest Well, The Other Wes Moore, and Hillbilly Elegy and how they had helped raise
awareness of ACEs. Ms. Urbanus mentioned the importance of having a caring adult during childhood as
highlighted in the books. Dr. Williams described the issue of trauma in the military and the different
reactions of increased resilience in the face of adversity versus posttraumatic stress disorder. Dr. Drachler
added that the ultimate goal of our collective work around ACEs will be to provide services that promote
resilience.

Mr. Clough reported on a recent meeting with representatives from the Village, Skokie public schools,
and the SkokieCares group regarding the Welcome Center. The idea of housing the Welcome Center at
the library and staffing it with reference librarians was discussed. The attendees developed a list of
possible issues that residents would need assistance finding resources for. Dr. Counard also reported on
the Mount Prospect Community Connections Center that could be used as a model for the Welcome
Center. We are I the early stages of this project, and plan a trip to Mt. Prospect to learn more.

Dr. Counard concluded her report by soliciting suggestions for speakers for the next year. Trustee
Bromberg suggested a new mental health advocacy group called “No Shame On You”.

Chair’s Report
Dr. Drachler encouraged everyone to attend the the summer Board of Health dinner. After some
discussion it was decided that dinner would be on Thursday, August 9th at the Cheesecake Factory. (Note
– that date was later changed to September 6).

Ms. Haido was given the opportunity to introduce herself to the Board of Health. Ms. Haido works as a
nurse at NorthShore Evanston Hospital. She is originally from Arkansas. She worked in cardiology for 9
years and the cardiac catheterization lab for 5 years. She now works in administration on the patient
quality control database. She is married with a two year old and a four year old. She is Assyrian and
wants to help get her community more involved in public health and local government.

Director’s Monthly Report – a copy is attached
Due to time constraints the Director’s Monthly Report was given to the Board to read. Dr. Counard did,
however report on the retirement of Jackie Johnson and the Erikson Institute selecting Skokie and Morton
Grove as a site to administer their early development instrument.

Old Business - SAHELI study update
Dr. Dave reported on the progress of the SAHELI study as the 2nd year begins. There were 31 participants
recruited into the first cohort in March, 2018. The participants were randomly divided between the
intervention and control groups, and the study is underway! In addition to the exercise classes offered as
part of the intervention, the NIH-grant funds are being used to cover the cost of the women’s only
exercise class at the Park District.

We are now recruiting the second cohort in Skokie and working with Metropolitan Asian Family
Services, the health Department and others to identify potential participants. Dr. Dave also acknowledged
Dr. Sood for inviting the SAHELI team to speak with some of his South Asian patients.



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Another exciting development is that that American Heart Association (AHA) issued a statement on
South Asian cardiovascular risks that referenced the SAHELI study. The AHA mentioned the lack of
scientific studies of lifestyle interventions for this high risk group. Dr. Dave is hopeful that this will help
with the knowledge gap regarding South Asian health risks in the scientific community.

Dr. Drachler asked for advice on speaking to South Asian patients about their cardiovascular risks. Many
of his South Asian patients have stressed that they are vegetarian and can’t understand why their risks are
still so high. Dr. Dave suggested emphasizing the way the food is prepared and the dangers of frying and
using large amounts of fat and butter. She added that in the MASALA study (the study that provided the
baseline data for the SAHELI study), South Asians had the lowest level of physical activity. She
suggested underscoring the importance of exercise and of eating some raw vegetables in addition to the
cooked vegetables.

Dr. Dave stated an additional benefit is that many SAHELI study participants were reporting behavioral
changes in their family members as well. Children of participants were eating better food and exercising
more along with their parents.

New Business- SkokieCares SEED Training
Dr. Counard invited Board of Health members to participate in the upcoming “Seeking Educational
Equity and Diversity” (SEED) training sessions sponsored by SkokieCares in the fall. The SEED
trainings will be held at the Skokie Public Library and occur each month for one year. Dr. Counard stated
that she participated in the program last year and found it to be highly beneficial, in fact transformative of
her thinking about these important issues. This program fits in well with the “Promoting Equity” priority
of the 2017 Skokie Community Health Plan. Dr. Counard will send Board members additional
information about the training, and a link to sign up if interested.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:29 PM.



Next meeting:
Thursday, September 13 at 7:00 PM
Skokie Village Hall
2nd floor Conference Rooms D & E




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