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Peoria County health department outlines priorities, flags possible emergency-preparedness grant cuts
Summary
Monica Henderson of the Peoria County health department updated the committee on a countywide community health assessment, the selection of multi‑year health priorities, grant funding status and measles preparedness; staff expect cuts to some emergency-preparedness grants and plan further coordination with city and county partners.
Monica Henderson, Health Department staff, told the Peoria County committee that the department is completing stakeholder meetings to set county health priorities and will develop a three‑year improvement plan that would go into effect Jan. 1, 2026.
The work, Henderson said, builds on routine community health assessments required of local health departments and on collaboration with hospital systems and neighboring counties to align resources and scoring. "Those scores along with our neighboring counties and our hospitals will be consolidated together and we'll have one aggregate score for what we all focus on," she said.
Henderson said the department is primarily grant funded and is finalizing applications for state and federal pass‑through dollars. She said the department expects cuts to emergency management and City Readiness Initiative grants and that staff are coordinating with the county administrator and the city manager to determine how the city and county could support operations while grant outcomes are clarified. "We expect cuts for our emergency management grants and our city readiness initiative grants," Henderson said.
Henderson reviewed the county's Emergency Management Agency (EMA) consolidation, saying the county adopted a consolidated EMA in 2018 and later consolidated city efforts in 2022. She said Jason Marks, emergency management staff, is focusing on first‑responder accreditations and the county's aging outdoor warning systems; Marks is also coordinating related planning and data work.
Henderson described facilities and infrastructure work at the new Health and Human Services campus, including climate‑control issues and coordination with facilities management superintendent Brian Johnson and community partners. "The beauties of a new building until you stretch its temperature, then we don't know how well it's going to work," a committee member observed while Henderson answered questions.
On infectious‑disease preparedness, Henderson said the department has been monitoring regional measles activity and working with school districts and the Regional Office of Education on back‑to‑school vaccination outreach. "No," Henderson said when asked if there were any known measles cases in the county, adding, "I say that because as soon as you say it out into the universe, you get nervous." She urged vaccination and noted differing vaccine histories for people born before or after 1957 may affect booster needs.
Henderson said the department will host the final stakeholder/community partner meeting this week to finalize scoring; those scores will guide the department's improvement plan and grant requests. She invited committee members to ask questions and said staff will continue to share updates as grant and preparedness work proceeds.
