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1 MINUTES OF THE HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE November 10, 2025 COUNCIL CHAMBERS Call to Order: 6:00 p.m. Present: Chair Marx, Councilmembers Strebig, Hamilton Steiner Also Present: Planning Director Byington, Law Director Ernie Vargo, Cuyahoga County Board of Health ( CCBH) Director of External Affairs Suzanne Hrusch, CCBH General Council John Mills, CCBH Director of Environmental Health Matt Johnson, Council staff Approval of the minutes of the May 5, 2025 Health & Human Services Committee. Motion made by Chair Marx, seconded by Councilmember Strebig to approve the minutes of the May 5, 2025 Health & Human Services Committee Meeting. All members voted in favor. Minutes approved. Communication from Law Director Vargo regarding Public Health Services. referred to HHS 10/6/2025) RESOLUTION 2025-54 - A RESOLUTION to take effect immediately provided it receives the affirmative vote of at least five members of Council, or otherwise to take effect and be in force after the earliest period allowed by law, authorizing the Mayor to enter into a two-year agreement commencing January 1, 2026 with the District Advisory Council of Cuyahoga County, Ohio General Health District for the provision of public health services within the City of Lakewood in an amount not to exceed $ 456,440 for calendar year 2026 and $511,458 for calendar year 2027. referred to HHS 10/6/2025) 456 Law Director Vargo stated that the purpose of the communication is to inform Council of a renewal request for the Cuyahoga County Board of Health’ s (CCBH) contract for public health services in the City of Lakewood. Chair Marx provided background information on the role of the County Board of Health in Lakewood, explaining that after Lakewood’ s own Board of Health disbanded, the County’ s Board of Health stepped in to provide many of those services. Director Vargo added that working with Cuyahoga County Board of Health has served the best interests of Lakewood, and that the same is true for many cities of the same size. Councilmember Marx expressed agreement. Director of External Affairs Suzanne Hrusch introduced herself, General Council John Mills and Director of Environmental Health Matt Johnson. She explained that CCBH provides services for 58 cities, and that there are three full-time employees who work exclusively on Lakewood’ s needs. The three primary areas of service are food protection, watershed protection, and one Docusign Envelope ID: EF2D972E- 398E-408E-BD9B- 1988A74E7600 2 generalist responder for all other issues. Current projects include partnering with the YMCA on programs to provide children with healthy food and providing nursing and clinical services for STI testing and immunizations. Councilmember Marx inquired about the location of a County- run immunization clinic in Lakewood, to which Dir. Hrusch replied that she would find out that information, but noted that the CCBH’ s primary clinic is in Parma. Dir. Hrusch spoke about the Board of Health’ s plans for a new mobile medical unit for both chronic and acute disease prevention. Their accreditation through the Public Health Accreditation Board demonstrates the gold standard of health outcomes. Dir. Hrusch provided a brief explanation of the accreditation process. She explained that this accreditation compares health departments across the nation and serves as confirmation of CCBH’ s achievements in public health outcomes. Dir. Hrusch explained that the new contract includes a 12% increase in cost and she described several new initiatives that will benefit from the increase. She spoke about the challenges of serving a large service area and specific high-need areas that would benefit from additional support. She stated that CCBH created an External Affairs position to increase communication and engagement, as well as a Speakers Bureau to be sent out into communities for demonstrations and education. She also mentioned their efforts to bring public health support to communities by partnering with area chefs and grocery stores to teach skills from planting seeds and growing food to cooking and safe food preparation. Dir. Hrusch addressed several specific topics requested by Chair Marx, including bedbugs, Spotted Lantern Fly, and lead. She spoke about the progress made by the bedbug team, and emphasized the importance of bedbug identification, providing an example of a trap that can be used under bed legs and literature for identification of the bedbug life cycle. She spoke about the Spotted Lantern Fly, noting that while it is not harmful to humans, it is an invasive species, and provided a checklist for residents advising them on what to do. Dir. Hrusch also supplied a handout from a lead specialist that explains how to prevent lead exposure and emphasized the huge amount of progress made through CCBH’ s lead remediation efforts. She explained that investing money directly into residents’ homes for lead remediation is a one-time action that has lasting positive effects. Dir. Hrusch mentioned several other important services provided by CCBH, particularly their emergency phone number for events such as rabies transmission risks through contact with a bat or raccoon. She noted that CCBH is continually investigating disease cases, including communicable diseases such as hand foot and mouth disease, as well as foodborne diseases such as botulism, and has a disease reporting hotline available for residents to call. Dir. Hrusch also mentioned CCBH’ s increased investment in IT, including website and data collection expansions. Chair Marx expressed excitement for the new Speakers Bureau and inquired as to how residents could find information about immunizations provided by the CCBH. In response, Dir. Hrusch Docusign Envelope ID: EF2D972E- 398E-408E-BD9B- 1988A74E7600 3 explained that when residents call the main line for CCBH, they can provide their zip code and will be informed of their local options for immunization services. In response to a concern from Councilmember Marx regarding public knowledge of these services, Dir. Hrusch explained that part of the 12% increased cost will go toward CCBH’ s upcoming large media buy, which will be a big part of the push to invest in better communication with the many communities they serve. In response to a clarifying question from Councilmember Strebig, Dir. Hrusch explained that the District Advisory Council is the governing board for CCBH, which is why that is listed on the contract in Resolution 2025- 54. In response to a question from Councilmember Strebig, Director of Environmental Health Matt Johnson explained the expertise and duties of the three CCBH employees who focus on servicing Lakewood’ s district. He provided more details about their roles, explaining that the generalist, also known as a Senior Sanitarian, is a professional with the most experience and knowledge. He added that one employee is a stormwater expert, and the other works with food inspection and safety. Councilmember Strebig and Dir. Hrusch conversed about the new mobile health unit and potential community partners in Lakewood that could utilize its services. Dir. Hrusch noted that Lakewood has always been proactive in partnering with CCBH. In response to a question from Councilmember Hamilton Steiner about Lakewood health outcomes, Dir. Hrusch explained that the CCBH is working on a system to create “ report cards” for health outcomes by community, but that currently they are only able to collect and analyze data as an entire county. Councilmember Hamilton Steiner and Dir. Hrusch conversed about ways to connect on the project of racial equity in public health, and future opportunities for CCBH to be present at community events where they are most needed. RESOLUTION 2025- 54 - A RESOLUTION to take effect immediately provided it receives the affirmative vote of at least five members of Council, or otherwise to take effect and be in force after the earliest period allowed by law, authorizing the Mayor to enter into a two-year agreement commencing January 1, 2026 with the District Advisory Council of Cuyahoga County, Ohio General Health District for the provision of public health services within the City of Lakewood in an amount not to exceed $ 456,440 for calendar year 2026 and $511,458 for calendar year 2027. ( referred to HHS 10/6/2025) A motion was made to refer Resolution 2025-54 favorably back to Council. All members voted in favor. Motion passed. Health & Human Services Committee adjourned at 6:44pm. Docusign Envelope ID: EF2D972E- 398E-408E-BD9B- 1988A74E7600 4 Approved: Cindy Strebig, Chair Health & Human Services Committee Maureen M. Bach, Clerk of Council March 23, 2026 Docusign Envelope ID: EF2D972E- 398E-408E-BD9B- 1988A74E7600