Environmental Health Services

Thaddeus J. Koeune was hired as new EHS Director. He is a Licensed Environmental Health Practitioner and Retail Food Inspection Officer with the State of Illinois and is a Registered Sanitarian with the National Environmental Health Association. He previously worked for the Lake County Health Department.

EHS was at the forefront in responding to West Nile Virus activity in Illinois. In the Spring of 2002, EHS developed an action plan to address WNV activity. Monitoring began May 1 with the collection of dead birds to identify WNV. The first human case and the first human death in Illinois occurred in DuPage County. EHS received a $397,160 grant from the Illinois Department of Public Health in emergency funds for mosquito abatement for agencies that are responsible for mosquito control. The Health Department was the first in Illinois to request and receive this funding.

EHS was reorganized in 2002 to increase efficiency and effectiveness of services offered. The reorganization resulted in the elimination of four vacant positions and the consolidation of management duties. EHS positions were fully staffed for the first time in three years.

All EHS codes were reformatted and consolidated into one Health Chapter in the DuPage County Code Book with the fees in each code placed into a separate ordinance. The rationale was to place all EHS codes in one location in the DuPage County Code Book and to place all fees in a separate chapter.

EHS was reorganized in 2002 to increase efficiency and effectiveness of services offered. The reorganization resulted in the elimination of four vacant positions and the consolidation of management duties. EHS positions were fully staffed for the first time in three years.

In order to bring EHS in line with other health departments in the state and country, and to make revenue collected from fees more closely match the cost of administration, two changes were made to increase revenue. The first was to change the definition of “Fee Exempt” to allow revenue to be collected for EHS work conducted primarily at schools and governmental agencies that is required by the IDPH for Certified Health Departments. The second change was a
5 percent increase in all environmental health fees.

EHS has begun a program to monitor, sample and to issue permits for supplemental water wells. Supplemental wells are private water wells on property on which the owner has hooked up to a public water supply and wants to maintain the private water well for irrigation purposes.

EHS developed a plan review section to insure that all food plans for new or remodeled food establishments are reviewed in a consistent manner. Previously, all food plans for new or remodeled independent food establishments were reviewed by the sanitarian in whose area the new or remodeled establishment was located.

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