“I will be doing something, but I don’t know yet what that will be. “I’m going to relax for a while, but I have to be of use,” Corona said. Last month we identified three health priorities for the course of the next four years, which are mental health, substance use and access to care.”Ĭorona’s plans for the future, after a few months of downtime, are uncertain. Our community health plan was approved by the County Board (on Wednesday night). “We do a lot of immunizations and prevention programs such as cancer screenings. “We have environmental programs but there is also the communicable disease aspect. “The mission of a local health department is to ensure that folks have what they need within a population of community health,” Corona said. “By then, the Madison County Health Department was starting to form, and I left the IDPH to come here.”Ĭorona leaves her job with high hopes for the future of public health in Madison County. Clair County and went to the Illinois Department of Public Health and did a lot of post-flood recovery work with wells and private sewage systems,” Corona said. Clair County Health Department for several years. Her first job in public health was in LaSalle County and she also worked in the St. She attended Illinois State University, where she earned a degree in environmental health. State law defines the minimum qualifications for the job and there is a process to make sure that individual has the correct experience and knowledge of public health.”Īn Alton native, Corona is a 1985 graduate of Marquette High School.
“I know that the job has been posted, and they will begin a search for a director of public health. That should happen next week,” Corona said. “It’s up to the county administration, but they will name an interim director internally to keep things going. My career is very much my vocation and to be of use is very important to me.”Ĭorona said that her successor as director of the health department has not yet been named.
#Madison county health department full
It’s been a full circle and a fantastic ride. “I’m born and raised in Madison County, and I wanted to be a part of that. In 1995, the County Board voted to start a health department and it was up and running in 1996. “My degree is in environmental health and part of that was an internship, but at that time there was no local health department in Madison County. “I absolutely love public health,” Corona said. While the pandemic resulted in longer hours and a heavier workload for Corona and her staff, it also reminded her of why she chose to become a public health professional. But compared to where we were, I think it’s in a good spot.” “I don’t want to indicate that COVID is over – it’s still present and we need people to be aware and stay up to date with their vaccinations. We led a mass vaccination clinic for a period of months and provided about 116,000 vaccines to individuals, not to mention all of the contact tracing and consultations we did with long-term care facilities and hospitals. “The last two and a half years have been a blur, but we were so successful in the pandemic response. “We have 40 employees now, but at the height of the pandemic, we had 70.
“I’ve had a 33-year career in this field, and never did I imagine what this would be like,” Corona said of dealing with the pandemic. The timing (to retire now) just seemed right.”Ĭorona admits that the past two-plus years of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the added stress that was placed on public health professionals, played a role in her decision to retire this summer. “I wanted to evaluate and access where we are at, and the state fiscal year starts on July 1, when you’re starting grant applications and doing those types of things. “It was probably mid-May when I started thinking about it,” Corona said. It’s time for me to do something different and I’m going to take some time off.”Ĭorona said her decision to retire wasn’t made that long ago, although it had been in the back of her mind for a while. “This job has been easy for me because of the passion and professionalism of our staff.
“The dedicated people here, from the division directors to the coordinators to all of the staff, do a tremendous job. “It’s sinking in right now, for sure, but the health department is in a really good spot,” said Corona, who was the environmental health services manager for MCHD before becoming the director.
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