HR0883 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0883 LRB103 42337 LAW 75561 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to congratulate Mark A. Pfister on the occasion of his retirement as executive director of the Lake County Health Department and Community Health Center (LCHD/CHC); and

WHEREAS, Mark Pfister received his Bachelor of Arts in Biology, Environmental Science, and Psychology from Augustana College in May 1986 and his Master of Science in Energy and Sustainability, specializing in Limnology and Environmental Science, from Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs in August 1991; he is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Public Health; and

WHEREAS, Mark Pfister has served as a public health professional and ecologist for LCHD/CHC since 1991, initially working as an aquatic biologist and the coordinator of the Lakes Management Program under the LCHD/CHC's Environmental Health Services (EHS) until 2005; he proceeded to serve as associate director of EHS from 2005 to 2009 and then as its interim director from 2009 to 2010; he became director of Prevention and Population Health Services in 2010, holding that position until he was named interim executive director of LCHD/CHC in 2016; and

WHEREAS, Mark Pfister has served as executive director of LCHD/CHC since January 2017; during his tenure, he led over 60 separately funded public health, behavioral health, and medical programs performed by approximately 1,000 employees at over 20 locations in Lake County while maintaining fiscal responsibility over several multimillion-dollar budgets; he reorganized and centralized quality improvement, organizational development, finance, grant management, and public health informatics, and he restructured the agency quality management system; he revamped the LCHD/CHC strategic planning process and required alignment to the Lake County community health improvement plan and proposed changes to the agency vision and mission to address the social determinants of health and promote a health equity lens; he also worked tirelessly during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure the safety and care of all residents of Lake County; and

WHEREAS, Mark Pfister belongs to several organizations, including as the policy and legislative chair and a past executive council member of the Illinois Public Health Association and as a board member of the Illinois Primary Healthcare Association and the Northern Illinois Public Health Consortium; he is also a member of the American Public Health Association; and

WHEREAS, Mark Pfister will retire from LCHD/CHC after more than 30 years of service on September 1, 2024; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Mark Pfister on his retirement as executive director of the Lake County Health Department and Community Health Center, and we thank him for his commitment and dedication to the community and the State of Illinois; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Mark Pfister as an expression of our esteem and respect.