Ill. County Creates `Health Educator` Position

By Brendan Denison

Sept. 14--DANVILLE -- In a move some county officials are hailing as progressive, the Vermilion County Board Chairman's office announced Tuesday plans to create a new liaison position within the Health Department.

According to a press release by board Chairman Mike Marron, the new health educator will travel out to county schools to speak to youths about issues such as substance abuse and safe sex practices, and will also be available at the Health Department to help connect patients to healthcare resources.

At a Tuesday morning press conference, he recalled a county board decision in 2010 that reduced the Health Department's staffing by two-thirds due to serious fiscal restraints. Since then, Marron said the department has done an "admirable job" attempting to stem public health problems with limited resources, and providing the best services possible. He also said the county board has since looked into applying their limited resources both effectively and fiscally responsibly to county taxpayers.

"Certainly, the cost of public health and mental health issues we see across our community are great," Marron said. "The costs manifest themselves from the resources spent at the health department, the increased cost of health care to the community from misuse of thehealthcare system, increased criminal activity, and substance abuse from lack of mental health resources, and the cost of incarceration of people with mental health issues.

"The answer we therefore seek is how to make targeted investments of limited resources, getting the greatest return on investment in both cost savings in the aforementioned areas while increasing the quality of life for our citizens."

Marron said the best possible use of resources was to create a position tasked with funneling the low-income population to where there are available resources to help them, and partnering with providers such at Presence United Samaritans, Carle Clinic, and local mental health facilities.

He added the main focus of the position will be to direct vulnerable populations to the proper areas for treatment, such as the Community Resource Center at Presence, and to link up those individuals with opportunities for health insurance.

Marron said the new position would also be tasked with assisting the creation of a system to help the county probation department get their clients needed mental health or substance abuse treatment, giving them the best possible chance of not reoffending.

According to Marron, the full-time position would be funded through phasing out a rent payment over the next two years, which was historically charged to the Health Department. He described it as a "money shuffle," that would make half a year's salary available sometime next year for the department to make the hire, giving them plenty of time to collaborate with partners and develop a plan for operation.

"In an effort to be frugal, we stopped all progress for the future. It is time to start moving forward again," Marron said.

Doug Toole, Public Health Administrator of the county Health Department, said the education at the department was necessary, but it limited their ability to address public health concerns in the community.

"It's a frustration that frequently comes up at our staff meetings," he said. "We want to do more in the schools. We want to have a presence with healthcare. We want to have speakers at civic organization meetings. We want to hold classes. We want to better track diseases through the community. We'd like to have a liaison with other service agencies."

Jim Russell, director of the 708 Mental Health Board, said that most people in the community are unaware of the resources of mental health and substance abuse resources, except in cases of personal and family involvement of sudden need of services for themselves.

"That lack of knowledge of resources is one finding of the needs assessment that this office is currently working on," Russel said. "The health educator position will not provide additional services, but it will provide another avenue to make the current services more visible, and will assist the seekers of those services what is an often difficult process."

"This step will not solve all the problems, but it is one step in the right direction."

Dr. Jared Rogers, CEO of Presence USMC, said part of their mission was to bring healing and hope into the communities they serve.

"Part of that healing and hope is certainly treating disease, treating injury, treating illness, but part of the hope is also providing where we can affect prevention in our community members," he said.

Rogers referenced outreach programs such as I Sing the Body Electric, the HALO project and Faith in Action, which he said provides means to access illness and injury prevention.

"Working in collaboration with the county board, the mental health board, and our county health department, we can really bring about change in our community," he said.

Copyright 2016 - Commercial-News, Danville, Ill.