Health Dept. executive director appointed to regional posts

Irene Pierce's leadership as executive director of the Lake County Health Department/Community Health Center is expanding as she was recently selected for two posts overseeing regional efforts to manage and improve public health care.

On June 3, Pierce was selected vice president of the Northern Illinois Public Health Consortium, Inc., composed of public health departments in the city of Chicago, and the counties of Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, Will and Winnebago counties.

The organization is a point of collaboration and exchange of information for the northern Illinois region to promote health, prevent disease and protect communities. The consortium also works to raise public awareness, build constituencies and shape legislation and policies that effect public health in the region which makes up more than two-thirds of the state's population.

Recently, she was one of 13 health industry leaders chosen to be on the MetroChicago Health Information Exchange Advisory Council. The council members chosen will help guide what is expected to be the largest unified metropolitan health information exchange system in the nation. The system, expected to be implemented this year, will allow authorized health care providers to exchange patient information across a secure network and therefore help healthcare providers make better decisions about patient care and improve patient outcomes. While the new network is expected to provide comprehensive information about each patient, it should also avoid duplicating unnecessary tests, lab work and scans, to ensure efficient, cost-effective care.

“With more than 700,000 residents in Lake County, the public health of our communities is of ongoing concern and that means working collaboratively with other public health organizations as well as the private sector to provide thoughtful, efficient care,” Pierce said.