County health department reports mosquito West Nile positives, big electronics-recycling turnout and Crystal Lake renovation progress

McHenry County Department of Health officials gave several operational updates Oct. 20, including results from mosquito surveillance, a successful electronics-recycling event, construction progress on the Crystal Lake facility and program-level reports for cancer screening outreach.

Mosquito surveillance: Staff reported collecting about 300 mosquito batches for West Nile virus testing this year; 35 batches tested positive. The count is consistent with prior years, officials said, and staff said that variability tracks with weather and precipitation patterns.

Electronics recycling: The county held a final electronics recycling event of the season at the fairgrounds that drew nearly 600 participants, the department said. Organizers cautioned that traffic backups occurred at peak times but called the turnout strong, particularly in partnership with the City of Woodstock for local events.

Crystal Lake renovation: Staff updated the board on the Crystal Lake site renovation. IT staff will clean and reorganize the IT closet and install new cabling over two days, during which some systems will operate on a reduced, “soft” close with calls routed to the administration building. Construction milestones reported as complete include paving of the parking lot, landscaping, window installation, interior walls painted, and the installation of sprinkler systems and drop ceilings scheduled for the week following the meeting. Staff asked the board to plan a November walkthrough focused on the nursing side; the animal-control area will follow in subsequent weeks.

IVCCP and cancer screening: County staff reported that the Illinois Violence Prevention and Cancer Control Program (IVCCP) participated in local mammography outreach this month, including the Woodstock North 5K, and had one corrective action for clinical operations on its recent audit and zero fiscal findings — the first time the fiscal reviewer reported no fiscal findings in three years. Department leaders praised the team for stabilizing the program amid staffing changes.

Animal services and clinics: The department’s vaccinations clinic served just over 250 animals at its last low-cost event. Staff announced two new hires: one staff member moved from a volunteer role into an office position and the county filled a cattle coordinator role with a candidate who has a veterinary-technical background. Animal-control staff will relocate temporarily to administrative offices for a brief period while IT work occurs at Crystal Lake.

Staffing and openings: Environmental health currently has two open positions: an administrative specialist and an environmental health practitioner. Officials said they are receiving multiple, qualified applicants.

Community health assessment: The department completed the community health assessment, including surveys, key-informant interviews and focus groups. The vendor Metopia will prepare a presentation for funders and a final report in the next month; staff plan a public presentation early next year.

Ending note: Department leaders encouraged board members to review supplemental materials in the board packet and said no executive session was necessary.