State Health Department to hold public hearing for Healthy Illinois 2021 in O’Fallon

With only a “slight improvement” in the Illinois health status since the Healthy Illinois 2010 initiative, Mark Peters with the St. Clair County Health Department said he’s confident that while progress is incremental, upcoming public hearings for three parts of the state will provide valuable community feedback and data analysis, which in turn will raise awareness and change to the Illinois health report card.

The Illinois Department of Public Health is holding public hearings on the State Health Assessment and State Health Improvement Plan, which are two components of the Healthy Illinois 2021 initiative. One of the hearings will be held on Wednesday, March 30, in O’Fallon.

The documents help the St. Clair County Health Department understand the current health needs in Illinois and map out strategies for the public health system to address these needs, according to Peters.

“It’s all apart of a bigger effort that began in 1994, the state requires every five years a community health needs assessment be completed on the local county level and state level, then a plan is developed,” Peters said.

Peters said the last plan was the Healthy Illinois 2010 plan, which targeted 2011 through 2016, and still some issues remain, especially when it comes to four specific areas.

Participants in these public hearings will have the opportunity to provide feedback on the current state of health in Illinois, and health improvement activities related to those four specific problem areas: chronic disease, maternal and child health, behavioral health and neighborhood violence.

“Obesity, diabetes and heart disease is very high in our area, and so is lung cancer and other chronic pulmonary diseases like bronchitis and, particularly asthma,” Peters said. “We have the highest (chronic pulmonary disease) rates than any other state.”

According to the May 2007 SHIP report, total asthma hospitalizations have averaged more than 20,000 per year since 1999.

Being located in the Mississippi River Valley, Peters said “we have a tendency to experience very hot days in spring and summer with high humidity and heat, not to mention the very high pollen counts, too.”

Other environmental factors like second-hand smoking from cigarettes and/or vehicle fumes are also prevalent causes leading to alarming health concerns.

High rates of teen pregnancy and infant mortality rates are some of the other concerns in the category of maternal and child health, according to Peters.

“In the third problem area is behavioral which encompasses the rising suicide and substance abuse rates in our region of St. Clair County,” Peters said. “Violence on a local level has climbed too. It includes the increase in homicides, domestic abuse and neighborhood crime.”

The O’Fallon Public Safety Building, at 785 N. Seven Hills Road, will be the venue for one of the three hearings. Sign-in will be from 1-1:30 p.m. with the hearing to follow until 4:30 p.m., Wednesday, March 30.

“The City of O’Fallon (including the O’Fallon Police) have been very open for even some of our local needs assessments, and it’s very easy for people in the area to find,” Peters said.

O’Fallon Police Capt. Mark Berry said the location was chosen as a matter of convenience for all, as well as the St. Clair County Health Department’s familiarity with the department since it was also a venue last summer for the Get Up & Go campaign.

Illinois law requires a State Health Improvement Plan be provided. The plan must include priorities and strategies for health status and public health system improvement in Illinois, with a focus on prevention. It also must address reducing racial, ethnic, geographic, age and socioeconomic health disparities.

The plan is produced by a team of public, private and voluntary sector stakeholders appointed by the Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, according to Melaney Arnold, public information officer for the Illinois Department of Public Health.

IDPH initiated the development of the Health Illinois 2021 State Health Improvement Plan in early 2015 to foster collaboration between the public health system and communities to improve the health of the population. The plan also looks at social determinants of health and access to care, and recommends interventions.

Two other public hearings are required and will be held in Chicago on March 28 and in Normal on March 31.

This story was originally published March 25, 2016 at 1:39 PM with the headline "State Health Department to hold public hearing for Healthy Illinois 2021 in O’Fallon."