Lake County Board members get health-care primer
By Frank Abderholden fabderholden@stmedianetwork.com January 19, 2012 7:38PM
Lake County Health Department STD HIV program coordinator Brian Bongner talks about his programs to Mark Pfister (left) of Lindenhurst and Lake County Board members Steve Carlson, Jim Newton and Steve Mountsier during a tour of the Community Health Center in Waukegan. | Thomas Delany Jr~ Sun-Times Media
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Updated: March 20, 2012 1:15AM
Lake County Health Department officials provide a tour of their main facility to County Board members Thursday to emphasize how intricately the agency is tied to the general health of county residents and how it reduces long-term health costs.
“We have a very strong presence in the county,” said Irene Pierce, executive director of the Lake County Health Department/Community Health Center, based in Waukegan.
The health department serves 60,000 patients through either primary care — similar to what you would get in a doctor’s office — to behavioral or mental health care. There is also HIV and sexually transmitted disease treatment and prevention, pregnant woman and infant care, tuberculosis screening and treatment, and substance abuse programs.
“And we cannot do this alone,” Pierce said, explaining how they partner with other groups so services aren’t duplicated and provide training to groups when necessary. There are five primary care centers scattered around the county and 12 other health department facilities.
One of the things she emphasized is that there is no wrong door to enter to receive care. Primary care services works with the behavioral services when needed. The woman, infants and children special supplemental nutrition program will refer a patient’s child to pediatrics if screeners notice a problem while working with the mother to get her started on the WIC program that provides nutrition to mothers and newborns and children up to 5 years old.
Referrals are made to the immunization clinic for children not up to date on their shots. Dental problems are also referred to the dental clinic or one of the participating dentists.
Fees are based on a sliding scale according to how much a patient makes in income, and doctors will also take Medicare, although plans to cut that by more than 20 percent are going to cause problems Pierce indicated. Rates are determined by surveying private care fees.
“If they are not able to pay, we set up a payment plan. People value it more if they pay a portion,” said Pierce. The number of people seeking services continues to increase.
“It’s really gone up every year. We always have a need greater that what we can provide. There’s always a waiting list,” she said.
Cuts have already hurt the behavioral health side of the clinics, with state funds being slashed. When funding goes down, the number of people that can be served drops as well.
“It’s so discouraging. That’s our most vulnerable population. The cost to keep them well is so much less than when they are ill and have to be hospitalized,” she said.
Ted Testa, director of mental health, said they treat everyone from homeless to those still functioning in society, as long as they take their medications.
“We concentrate our resources on the most chronically ill,” he said. Without treatment, the people can end up in local emergency rooms, which cost much more, or jails, which also cost more than treatment.
“We have 500 people a month coming for services,’ he said. Over half of those also have other medical needs — from diabetes to obesity to substance abuse from self medicating. “It’s for the good of the community in the long run,” he said.
County Board Member Stevenson Mountsier of Lake Barrington asked Mark Pfister, director of population health services, how staff members are able to stay motivated and not get depressed when dealing with so many desperate people. “How do you take care of them?” he asked.
“The key is to select individuals who want to make a difference,” he said, because you get see how you make a difference everyday. He also said they diversify the exposure by moving people around, and they have been successful.
“We have a lot of tenured people in challenging positions like counselors and nurses,” he said.
Staff members working with people that have pulmonary tuberculosis are the most at risk, especially now that a TB strain has been identified that does not respond to any medications. Their office has a special ventilation system and glass shields in some areas to keep from getting coughed on.
Dhiya Bakr, program coordinator, said they average 10 to 20 cases a year and usually they are people who have recently come to this country from Asia, Mexico or Africa.
“You can find a patient anywhere in the county,” she said, but homeless populations are the hardest to treat.
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