Lake County Health Department has new executive director

Lake County has a new executive director to lead the county health department and its community health centers.

The Lake County Community Health Center Governing Council appointed Irene Pierce to the post after a positive recommendation from the county board of health last week.

Pierce, of Wadsworth, has served as the health department's director of primary care services since 1995, and as assistant director of the medical services division from 1990 to 1995.

She starts her new job June 28, leading a department with a $64 million budget and 1,000 staff members.

Pierce replaces Dale Galassie, health department executive director since 1992. At the time, the department operated with a $19 million budget about 600 employees.

Galassie, a driving force behind the health department's growth in the area of community health services, is retiring after 27 years.

Pierce was chosen after a national search and from among several internal applicants because she had the most public health experience, Galassie said.

"She has had ample experience lobbying both in Springfield and Washington, D.C., on statewide and national public health agendas," he said. "Her lobbying experience, knowledge of the community and her leadership/management skills, really prepare her well for this position and to take it to the next level."

Under Pierce's leadership, the number of patients served by primary care services has more than doubled.

Primary care services includes medical, dental, Women, Infants and Children nutrition, prenatal care, and case management for more than 45,000 patients at five community health centers.

She helped the department gain national recognition through reviews, accreditation and certification.

Pierce helped establish a test program providing increased access to specialty care for low-income patients. She built a relationship with a not-for-profit group that has donated more than $2 million to the health department's Highland Park health center.

In 2007, Pierce served as chair of the Illinois Primary Health Care Association, and on the board of the National Association of Community Health Centers.

"I have been dedicated to the advancement of public health, primary care, and behavioral health services for many years and am thrilled to further develop the services that the health department provides," Pierce said in a news release.

Pierce previously worked with Evanston Hospital Corp., a 600-bed, two hospital primary care system affiliated with the McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University. From 1977 to 1989, she served as associate chairman responsible for operation planning, developing and directing services for Evanston's Corporate Nursing Department.

Pierce earned a master of science in nursing degree, with a specialty in nursing administration, and a clinical concentration in chemical dependency from Loyola University of Chicago.