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The Kane County Board of
Health reviewed the
priorities for community
health improvement that were
recommended by the Public
Health Advisory Committee
and the Health Department’s
leadership. As part of the
Department’s efforts to
develop a new Community
Health Improvement Plan, the
Board also reviewed a draft
of the Health Department’s
strategic plan. Both
“roadmaps” will be crucial
as the Health Department
works to fulfill the vision
of making Kane County
residents the healthiest
people in Illinois by 2030.
The Health Department worked
with partners from the
county’s five hospitals, two
United Ways and the INC
Board to conduct the needs
assessment and develop a
community health improvement
plan. A comprehensive
collection of health,
economic and community data
was assembled through a
variety of methods,
including a phone survey of
2,000 residents, data from
local, state and federal
agencies, and input and
feedback from nearly 250
residents through focus
groups, community meetings
and an online survey.
“As a result of our
public-private partnership
we were able to save
resources for everyone and
do more with the dollars we
had. There has never been a
more comprehensive health
assessment performed in Kane
County. This is truly the
community’s plan,” said Paul
Kuehnert, Executive Director
of the Kane County Health
Department. “Our plan calls
on the health system serving
Kane residents to focus
health improvement efforts
across the life span and
make sure that services are
offered in ways that
effectively reach our
diverse community.”
The Kane County health
assessment results pointed
to six major threats to
community health and
well-being in Kane County at
this time: obesity, chronic
disease, infant mortality,
childhood lead poisoning,
communicable disease and
poor social and emotional
wellness. The draft
community health improvement
plan identifies four
cross-cutting priorities for
health improvement to
address these threats. Each
priority can be addressed
through implementation of
one or more evidence-based
strategies that are
described in the health
plan.
A final draft of the
community assessment and
health improvement plan
report will be available by
the end of January. Public
comments will be solicited
throughout the month of
February, and the plan is
scheduled to be brought to
the County Board of Health
for adoption in March, 2012.
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Improvement
Priorities |
Priority 1
Support Health
Behaviors that
Promote Well-Being
and Prevent Disease
Priority 2
Increase Access to
High Quality,
Holistic Preventive
and Treatment
Services Across the
Health Care System
Priority 3
Support & Create
Health Promoting
Neighborhoods, Towns
& Cities
Priority 4
Promote Social,
Economic and
Educational
environments that
optimize health
Improvement
Priorities |
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You
can find more detail
about the
assessment,
Community Health
Improvement Plan and
the Strategic Plan
HERE on our
website.
Keep up with the
latest news about
these and other
important projects
by visiting us on
Facebook, following
us on Twitter and
reading our “Health
Matters”
E-newsletters.To
subscribe to Health
Matters
CLICK HERE. |
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When people excel, the
organization excels. And
while the entire Kane County
Health Department staff
performs at a high level as
a matter of routine, five
staff members were
recognized for their “above
and beyond” contributions
over the last year. Chosen
by their co-workers and
leadership, the five
received
Beyond Our Wildest Dreams
certificates at an all-hands
meeting Dec. 15.
Shown, left to right, Maria
Almanza, Administrative
Assistant in Environmental
Health; Nora Arch, Support
Associate for Administration
Section; Jackie Forbes,
Health Planner, Community
Health Resources Section;
Janie Maxwell, Fit for Kids
Coordinator, Health
Promotion Section; and Kathy
Swedberg, Public Health
Nurse, Disease Prevention
Section. |
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The Making Kane County Fit
for Kids Funders Consortium
announced the award of 11
grants to local agencies and
community groups earlier
this month. The grants,
which ranged from $1,200 to
$10,000, will be used to
reverse the rising tide of
childhood obesity in our
county through a variety of
programs designed to promote
active lifestyles and
increase access to fresh
fruits and vegetables.
Grant recipients were chosen
by the Consortium based on
their proposals to implement
strategies that are
contained in the Fit Kids
2020 Plan. This is the
second time this year that
the Consortium has
distributed the grants.
“Once again we are proud to
support these worthy
projects and we strive to
end childhood obesity and
reach our vision of ensuring
that Kane County residents
are the healthiest in
Illinois by 2030,” County Board Chairman Karen
McConnaughay said at the
award announcement Dec. 13.
“The strategies identified
in the Fit Kids 2020 Plan
offer a solid structure that
will allow us to take
specific actions and provide
a healthier future for our
children.”
Some of the projects include
one by the Healthy Living
Council of Aurora, which
will be focusing on Employee
Wellness. In another, the
Northern Illinois Food Bank
will be working with local
pantries and schools to
expand their refrigeration
capacity so that more fresh
produce and dairy products
can be distributed to local
residents. The City of
Batavia and the Batavia
Public Schools will be
working together to install
school walking routes
signage. A grant to the
Downtown Elgin Harvest
Market will expand the
number of Farmers Markets in
the County that accept
Link. Anyone approved to
receive cash assistance or
SNAP (Food Stamps) benefits
is issued an Illinois Link
card. Not only does this
initiative allow lower
income residents greater
opportunity to purchase
healthy foods, it also
provides an economic boost
to the local growers of the
area by increasing their
customer base.
A complete list of the
funded projects is available
HERE. Please visit the
Making Kane County Fit for
Kids website to view the
entire Fit Kids 2020 plan.
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The Health Department has
been working with Hesed
House for the last two years
as it investigates and deals
with the TB outbreak there.
Often, residents of homeless
shelters find
themselves without access to
adequate health care.
Partnering with Aurora
University, nursing students
provided free flu shots and
blood-pressure testing Dec.
2 for staff, volunteers and
residents of the Hesed House
homeless shelter in Aurora.
The effort was the
first-ever college-sponsored
health fair at the shelter.
About 80 shots were given.
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Safely Prepare Your
Holiday Feasts |
 Have
a safe and healthy
holiday and prevent
foodborne illnesses.
Visit our
Holiday Food Safety
page for tips on
proper food
preparation and
storage of turkey
and other holiday
foods. |
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2012 Permits & Fees
for Food Service
Providers |
We
are currently
updating the food
service providers'
information for
2012. Watch our
Fees & Permits Page
for these updates.
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