Kane County’s health director told the Public Health Committee on Oct. 22 that 2023 vital statistics show continuing declines in births, persistent disparities in infant mortality and a public‑health workload that spans chronic disease, environmental health and communicable disease.

Michael Isaac, director of the Kane County Health Department, said the most recent county data covered births to county residents and showed “just under 5,500 births in 2023.” He told the committee the county’s general fertility rate and birth counts have fallen substantially since the early 2000s and that the county recorded an infant‑mortality rate of 7.1 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2023. “When you multiply that by 5 and a half, that’s how we end up, losing about 40 little ones a year,” he said.

Isaac emphasized drivers that appear in the data: prematurity and low birth weight account for many infant deaths, and persistent racial disparities remain a concern. He told the committee the infant‑mortality rate for Black residents in the county has been two to three times the non‑Black rate and that the health department has pursued targeted interventions and deeper analyses, including work connected to the perinatal periods of risk method. Isaac said the department will provide comparative data for neighboring counties and the state at a future meeting.

Committee members asked whether miscarriages were included (they are not) and probed whether implicit bias among providers and social stressors contribute to disparities. Isaac and other staff said those factors are well documented in public‑health research and that the department can include measures of access, provider bias indicators and comparative rates in future packets.

Isaac also reviewed all‑cause mortality and causes of death for county residents, noting an uptick in deaths during the onset of COVID and a gradual return toward pre‑pandemic rates. Cancer, heart disease and stroke remain leading underlying causes of death in the county; Isaac and the committee discussed the role of upstream prevention (food environment, physical activity and chronic disease management) as well as the limitations of local government to change national food systems.

On communicable disease, staff noted a rise in sexually transmitted infections. Department staff said case management, partner notification and up‑to‑date treatment guidance (particularly for antibiotic‑resistant gonorrhea) are current priorities; the department said it is exploring whether an STI clinic would be appropriate and reaffirmed ongoing partnership work with local clinics.

The health director described Fit for Kids, a county‑partnered 501(c)(3) program that issues microgrants to support active school environments, and highlighted the Walk and Roll to School event held Oct. 8, in which more than 60 county elementary and middle schools participated. Isaac said Kane County has historically had the state’s highest participation and that the department and partners award roughly $50,000–$100,000 in grants annually, with Kane County contributing $10,000.

Several committee members urged more public outreach using short online videos and local social‑media content. Isaac said the department is developing short videos for both internal onboarding and public education and that localized videos often perform better than national campaigns. He also described how the department is assembling more routine environmental‑health and communicable‑disease metrics and asked the committee whether those metrics should be included in regular meeting packets, on a public dashboard, or provided on an as‑requested basis.

The committee discussed its own goals and the form those goals should take. Members recommended framing committee goals (distinct from the health department’s program goals) as measurable objectives and deliverables, and suggested the committee use a dashboard and periodic highlights so members can drill down without enlarging routine packets.

Ending: The health department said it will return with comparative mortality and birth‑rate data, fleshed‑out dashboard examples and samples of short public‑education videos; the committee asked staff to propose formats and frequencies for data reports and metrics in upcoming packets.