Evanston Health & Human Services Recertified as Local Public Health Department

Department adopts five-year strategic plan to meet community health needs, priorities

EVANSTON, IL - The City of Evanston’s Health and Human Services Department (HHS) is proud to announce its recertification as a local public health department by the Illinois Department of Public Health’s Office of Policy, Planning and Statistics.

As part of the recertification process, the department adopted a community-driven, five-year strategic plan, called the Evanston Process for the Local Assessment of Needs (EPLAN), which identifies community public health priorities that will guide the department’s efforts and resources over the next half decade.

“The Health and Human Services Department is proud to be recertified as one of only a few municipal health departments in Illinois,” said Evanston Health and Human Services Director Ike Ogbo. “The monthslong recertification process is a collaborative effort helping the City and its community partners better understand and support the health and wellbeing of all residents.”

The top three health priorities identified by EPLAN include:

-Advancing health and racial equity
-Improving mental health and emotional wellbeing
-Strengthening climate resilience

The EPLAN was coordinated by the Evanston Health and Human Services Department over the course of 18 months with direct involvement of community members, health professionals, social service providers, and researchers, and included analysis of public health data, indicators, trends, assessments and outcomes to determine community health priorities.

The EPLAN was subject to final review and approval by the Evanston Health Advisory Council (EHAC), a collection of professionals from academia, medical, public health, social services and mental health fields whose main focus is to work with HHS to improve community health.

The State of Illinois uses the findings from local health departments to conduct its own statewide needs assessment and plan.

To learn more about the EPLAN, please visit cityofevanston.org/eplan or call/text 847-448-4311. For convenience, residents may simply dial 311 in Evanston.