McLean County Health Committee Met March 1.
Here is the minutes provided by the committee:
The Health Committee of the McLean County Board met at 4:30 p.m. in Room 404 of the Government Center Building 115 E. Washington Street, Bloomington, IL.
Members Present: Chairman Susan Schafer, Members: Lyndsay Bloomfield, Randall Martin, Sharon Chung, Elizabeth Johnston, Hannah Beer (via remote attendance) Catherine Metsker (via in person).
Members Absent: None
Other Members Present:
Staff Present: Ms. Camille Rodriguez, County Administrator and Mr. Chris Spanos, First Assistant State’s Attorney – Civil Division (in person); Ms. Cassy Taylor, Assistant County Administrator; Ms. Cathy Dreyer, Assistant County Administrator; Ms. Julie Morlock, Recording Secretary; (via remote attendance)
Department Heads/Elected Officials Present: Ms. Jessica McKnight, Health Department Administrator; Ms. Terri Edens, Nursing Home Administrator; Mr. Jason Tabb, Juvenile Detention Center, Ms. Suzanne Scott (via remote attendance).
Others Present:
Chairman Schafer called the meeting to order at 4:30 p.m. and declared a quorum.
Chairman Schafer presented the minutes from the February 1, 2021 regular meeting for approval.
Motion by Chung/Johnston to approve the minutes from the February 1, 2021 regular meeting.
Motion carried. Roll Call Vote. Chairman Schafer and Members Martin, Chung, Johnston, and Beer voted yes. Member Bloomfield had technical difficulties and her vote was not recorded.
Ms. Suzanne Scott, Adult Detention Facility present her monthly reports. Chairman Schafer asked if there were any questions, hearing none, she thanked her.
Mr. Jason Tabb, Juvenile Detention Facility presented the Juvenile Detention Medical report. Ms. Metsker asked if he had been able to fill the vacant nursing position. Mr. Tabb stated interviews were scheduled for later this week. Chairman Schafer asked if there were any further questions, hearing none, she thanked him.
Ms. Jessica McKnight Health Department Administrator presented the Health Department’s monthly reports to the Committee and provided answers to questions the Department had been receiving.
1. When will we move to Phase B? She stated there are about 55,000 people in Phase 1A and 1B and about 43% of those have received at least the first shot in the vaccination, so she anticipated moving forward in early April.
2. Is the Sangamon County fairground vaccine site open for anyone? She confirmed it is a Statewide site and open to all Illinois residents.
3. What is the process for requesting vaccines and why are they not asking for more? She said it is not a request process as they are told what they are getting. She said once she knows the amount they are getting then she determines how that will be allocated among all the local distributing partners. She stated that she does submit additional order request for vaccines, but only once had they received the additional requested amount. She said they have spoken and continue to speak with local and state official about the need for more.
4. How are we addressing vaccine distribution inadequacies? Ms. McKnight went over clinics that they have set up and additional clinics they are working to set up to address these needs.
Ms. McKnight stated the number of new cases continue to decrease but cautioned people that new variants have been detected and urged individuals to still stay vigilant in their practices of washing hands and social distancing. Mr. Martin stated a hospital in Northern Illinois reported being asked by the State if they could handle Ebola patients. He asked if she had heard about this. Ms. McKnight indicated they had not. Ms. Johnston asked if the variants had been detected in central Illinois. Ms. McKnight stated she believed one of them had been detected in McLean County.
Ms. Chung asked if they had been able to catch up from cancelled clinics. Ms. McKnight confirmed they were able to provide the vaccines scheduled during those cancellations. Ms. Beer asked how about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine would affect distribution. Ms. McKnight indicated they were still getting information about which populations would receive that vaccine and when they would receive the first doses. Ms. Chung asked about feedback from town hall meeting. Ms. McKnight indicated they recorded the town hall and were working to post on the website. She further indicated feedback had been positive.
Ms. Schafer indicated that she and others had been reaching out to Illinois representatives and there had been several counties speak at a recent senate hearing about the distribution inequities. She stated that they had heard back from Representative Brady and there had been calls with IDPH trying to get some answers. Ms. Johnston asked about targeted clinics. Ms. McKnight confirmed they are looking to repeat those clinics in other locations. Ms. Metsker thanked her for acknowledging need to go to rural communities. Ms. Metsker also thanked her for her presentation at the Chamber of Commerce. Chairman Schafer asked if there were any further questions, hearing none, she thanked her.
Ms. Terri Edens, McLean County Nursing Administrator Home presented for action a request to approve a Nursing Facility Hospice Services Agreement (Single Patient) with Community Hospices of America, LLC d/b/a Hospice Compassus – Northwest Illinois. Ms. Edens indicated the agreement was for one patient who had utilized this company prior to being admitted to the nursing home.
Motion by Johnston/Martin to recommend approval of a Nursing Facility Hospice Services Agreement (Single Patient) with Community Hospices of America, LLC d/b/a Hospice Compassus – Northwest Illinois.
Motion Carried. Roll call vote – all members present voted yes including the Chairman.
Ms. Edens presented her monthly Nursing Home report. Ms. Edens stated she was proud of the hard work of her staff as they had now been 5 weeks COVID free. She stated she felt having the vaccinations complete was also helping keep COVID from the facility. Ms. Chung asked if all residents and staff had been vaccinated. Ms. Edens indicated about 98% of residents and about 50% to 60% of staff have received the vaccine. She stated they are working to provide more vaccine information to encourage staff to get vaccinated. Ms. Chung asked about new residents and vaccines. Ms. Edens stated new residents get the vaccine before they are admitted or vaccinated through Walgreens after admitted. Ms. Johnston noted three new residents this month and asked if the facility was still utilizing contract staffing. Ms. Edens confirmed they are still utilizing contract staffing as they are not getting a lot of applicants. Ms. Johnston asked how many open positions she had. Ms. Edens indicated they would like to hire 6 to 8 certified nursing assistants and 4 registered nurses. Chairman Schafer asked if there were any further questions or comments, hearing none, she thanked her.
Ms. Camille Rodriguez, County Administrator indicated she had no items for action. Chairman Schafer asked if there were any questions, hearing none she thanked her.
Chairman Schafer asked if there was any other business to come before the Committee, hearing none, she reminded the Committee the next meeting would be Monday, April 5, 2021 and moved to the payment of bills and transfers
Chairman Schafer presented for approval the bills for the Board of Health with a prepaid total of $322,707.23.
Motion by Chung/Bloomfield to approve the prepaid bills for the Board of Health as presented.
Motion Carried. Roll Call Vote – all members present voted yes including the chairman.
Chairman Schafer presented the bills for the Developmental Disability Board for approval with a prepaid total of $93,504.46.
Motion by Johnston/Chung to approve prepaid bills for the Developmental Disability Board as presented.
Motion carried. Roll Call Vote. All present voted yes including the Chairman.
Chairman Schafer presented for approval bills for Jail Medical and JDC Medical with a prepaid total of $26,704.10.
Motion by Martin/Johnston to approve prepaid bills for Jail Medical and JDC Medical as presented.
Motion carried. Roll Call Vote - all present voted yes including the Chairman
Chairman Schafer presented for approval the Nursing Home bills with a prepaid total $369,924.86.
Motion by Bloomfield/Chung to approve prepaid bills for the Nursing Home as presented.
Motion carried. Roll Call Vote - all present voted yes including the Chairman.
Chairman Schafer asked if there was any additional business to come before the Committee; hearing nothing, she adjourned the meeting at 5:00 p.m.
https://www.mcleancountyil.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/8043
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