Board advocates for public health
Lake County Board of Health Chairwoman Deborah Krejci said the different backgrounds of each board member have helped it make public health decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Krejci said she’s been on the board for decades and is a recently retired registered nurse who worked for 45 years at St. Mary Medical Center in Hobart. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the board members have embodied — and debated — the different views the public has about the virus.
“(The board) advocates for health in the community and minimize transmission of disease in the community,” Krejci said. “I think it’s a good idea to get a cross section of people.”
Typically, the board meets about every other month — unless an emergency meeting is called — and will discuss and vote on health department policies, fees for things like water testing and actions to control communicable disease, Krejci said.
The board will also work with the health administrator and health officer on educational components, including food safety or vaccinations, that are shared throughout the community, Krejci said. Additionally, the board has
administrative duties, like approving a health department budget and setting strategic goals, she said.
Under state statute, a local health board should be composed of seven members. In the past, the board could not have more than four members affiliated with the same political party, but now the statute calls for an apolitical board, said Lake County Health Department Administrator Nick Doffin.
Lake County Health Officer Chandana Vavilala, who presents information and data to the board and answers their questions, said the health board is a type of advisory board.
“My job is to work the same with all the board members and respect their opinion,” Vavilala said. “What is more important to me is the make up of the board ... in terms of experience.”
Four of the board members should be “knowledgeable in public health,” according to state statute. Of the four, two members have to be licensed physicians and the other two can be any of 10 medical professionals, such as a registered nurse, registered pharmacist or a licensed dentist, according to state statute.
The remaining three members have to be: two people from the general public and the final person can either be a medical professional or another person from the general public, according to state statute.
The current Lake County Board of Health has five members that are medical professionals: Krejci, Chiedu Nchekwube, Deborah McCullough, Lyda Olund and Marla Hoyer-Lareau, Doffin said. Two members — Philip Golden and T.J. Wigmore — are members of the public, Doffin said.
The members of the health board serve staggered four-year terms, and they are appointed by the Lake County Board of Commissioners, according to state statute. To appoint a new member, the current members propose five people to the commissioners, who approve the new member, Vavilala said.
Every November, the board members receive $600 for their work in the board, which equates to $50 a month, said Lake County Auditor John Petalas.
The health board appoints the health officer to serve a four-year term, according to state statute. Under a new state law, the commissioners have to approve the health officer’s contract, said commissioners’ attorney, Matthew Fech.
This is the same state law that requires local health departments that want to take stricter steps than Gov.
Eric Holcomb’s executive orders to get approval by their respective councils, Fech said.
Since the law was passed, Vavilala said she hasn’t be able to mandate COVID-19 protocols the way she did at the start of the pandemic. For example, the county’s Health Department put out a statement that it strongly supports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for students to wear masks in school but — because of the law — Vavilala said she couldn’t mandate that schools follow the protocols.
Under state statute, the chairperson of the board, four members of the board or the local health officer can call a board meeting, which requires or quorum — or four members — to hold a discussion and a vote.
Within a week earlier this month, the health board attempted to hold two virtual meetings, but during the first meeting only three members attended so the meeting was called off. During the second meeting, four members were present at the start of the meeting but then Hoyer-Lareau left the meeting early, which brought the meeting to an end.
Before the meeting ended, the board members were considering a motion to recommend that students wear masks in school, social distance and require schools to have sanitation stations was up for a vote.
The following week, Vavilala submitted a proposed order to the Lake County Council recommending a mask mandate for students from kindergarten through 12th grade attending public, private, parochial and charter schools, according to the order.
One member of the board represents the education system, Krejci said, which has helped bring the perspective of the impact of COVID-19 in schools. Just like businesses and schools debate the issue, Krejci said the board has had debates about “recommendation versus mandating” protocols for COVID-19.
“It’s a cross section of the community,” Krejci said. “We all bring our expertise, our knowledge to the table. Sometimes, it’s a matter of educating. People have their different slant on things. Some come with very different opinions or backgrounds.”
Overall, the board has agreed that the words “strongly recommends” versus “mandate” have had a greater impact on people throughout the pandemic, Krejci said.
“All you can do, really, is argue your point, give the pros and cons, the risks and benefits, and set it all out on the table so that everybody knows,” Krejci said. “The most you can do with anything is educate, educate the community, educate the board members and educate medical providers.”