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Tazewell County Health Department outlines services, staffing and finances during board presentation
Summary
Tazewell County Health Department leaders summarized the agency's mission, accreditation status, programs, staffing and budget outlook, and flagged rising tuberculosis cases and cautious expansion of services at a new Pekin location.
Tazewell County Health Department administrators described the agency’s programs, staffing and budget position during a presentation to the Tazewell County Board.
The health department’s administrator, Amy Fox, and assistant administrator, Stacy Eley, told the county board that Tazewell County Health Department (TCHD) is an accredited health department, operates from two locations and currently accounts for about 110 employees across Tremont, Pekin and school-based programs. Fox said the department has been accredited since 2015 and is preparing for reaccreditation in 2027.
The department’s presentation emphasized mission and values — service, quality, accountability, integrity, collaboration, innovation and respect — and highlighted performance management, workforce development and evidence-based programming as benefits of accreditation. "It is our mission to promote and protect the public's health and well-being," Fox said. Eley added that the department’s Office of Planning houses epidemiology, emergency preparedness and communications staff that support all divisions.
Officials provided a breakdown of divisions and services. TCHD’s five primary divisions are environmental health, community health, birth-to-5 services, clinical services and business operations. Eley described environmental health responsibilities that extend beyond restaurant inspections to include recycling, sewage systems, radon, recreational water, tanning and body art inspections and seasonal mosquito and tick monitoring. The department also oversees a county-managed solid waste fund, Eley said.
On staffing and locations, Fox said the Tremont site has about 61 staff, the Pekin office about 16 staff with plans to add six to seven more when dental services open, and 25–35 staff work in school-based programs. "Tazewell County Health Department — two locations and one mission," Fox said, summarizing the organization’s approach to splitting staff and services between sites.
On finances, Fox walked the board through the department’s annual report and fund mix, noting that reported property tax figures include personal property replacement taxes combined with property taxes. She said TCHD maintained a positive net position in 2023 and retains a fund balance above 50 percent. Because the Pekin site is newly occupied, Fox said the department will take a cautious approach to expansion and will monitor operating costs such as increased utility and grounds-keeping expenses.
Board members pressed staff about program expansion and revenue uncertainty. Fox said federal and state funding variability — including a cut to an expected federal grant — is prompting caution: "This first year is going to be...we're gonna remain pretty cautious about how quickly we expand things," she said. She also noted potential future impacts from proposed Medicare and Medicaid changes on fee-for-service revenues.
Public-health workload was another topic. Fox and Eley said tuberculosis (TB) cases have increased in recent years: nine cases in 2022, seven in 2023 and 12 in 2024. "For every case, you have to do testing of pretty much everybody that they've been around," Eley said, noting the follow-up and case management required for each TB case.
The presentation highlighted public resources such as the department’s online data portal, which offers maps and statistics for heart disease, lung health, Lyme disease, mental health and other community health indicators. Staff asked county board members to help spread awareness of services and noted a guide to services in the board packet that lists programs and contact information by site.
The department fielded board questions about client volume and WIC and other clinic utilization; Fox said the department is seeing both new patients and returning families who need continued services. The board also discussed oversight links between the county board and the department’s appointed board of health; Fox noted the board of health is appointed by the county board and that Jay Hall currently serves as the county’s health services chair on the health board.
The department concluded by asking board members to consider referrals and to continue engagement while staff monitor expenses and service demand at the new Pekin location.
