Before 1975, there was no health department in McDonough County to ensure food establishments were inspected and that immunizations were available.
“That’s what, I think, fostered the McDonough County League of Women Voters to put it on the referendum and say, hey, we need to do something about this,” said Chris Adams, the department’s current public health administrator.
Voters approved the referendum to create the McDonough County Health Department, and members of its Board of Directors held their first meeting on April 17, 1975.
To mark the anniversary, a ribbon cutting ceremony will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, April 17, at the health department’s offices at 505 E. Jackson St. in Macomb.
Adams said in addition to inspecting food establishments and providing immunizations, the department also offers health education programs, works on lead mitigation efforts, is involved with emergency preparedness, and much more.
“Programs that help the health and safety of our residents, which goes right along with why the residents wanted to have a health department in the beginning,” Adams said.
He said cuts to the department’s budget have posed challenges through the years. He said the department had 34 employees when he started working there in 2006. Now it has 14.
In addition, fewer people are going into public health, and some left the field due to the stress of working during the pandemic.
“COVID created such a big workforce problem. We’ve had so many employees that left across the state and even across the nation because of what they experienced during that pandemic,” he said. “Definitely a big burnout for public health employees.”
Adams said every year seems to present a different public health challenge. For example, last year the department dealt with an outbreak of pertussis. This year they’re monitoring bird flu.
He said it’s always evolving, which is what makes public health so interesting.
“We’ve come a long way with our ability to use technology compared to what they had when they first were established. We have a lot more resources in our toolbox than they had 50 years ago,” Adams said.
He said they also now must contend with misinformation spread through social media.
“We need to make sure that the right information is out there for the public so that way they have a reliable source,” Adams said.
“In all of our information, we try to echo the state government and the federal government so we’re all on the same page so there’s none of this variation left or right. This is what it is, and you need to make your decisions.”
The department’s hours are 7 :30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday.
Adams said Kathleen Markey was the health department’s first director. The department was originally housed in a small rented room in the basement of McDonough District Hospital in Macomb. Then from 1976 to 1981, it could be found at 3 Doctors Lane.
The health department was moved to 303 E. Jefferson St. in 1981, and remained there until 1988 when it relocated to its current building.
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