Board of Health
The St. Clair County Health Department was established in October 1985, by Resolution of the St. Clair County Board. This Resolution provided for the establishment of a local health department for the 18 townships not served by East Side Public Health District and provided for the utilization of the tuberculosis tax as a new public health tax.
In January 1986, the Board of Health members, under the direction of Congressman Jerry Costello, former County Board Chairman, organized and elected officers. In February 1986, the Mission Statement was developed to guide the functions of the St. Clair County Health Department. The Board of Health proceeded with recruitment of a Public Health Administrator, Kevin Hutchison, who assumed duties on May 12, 1986. Mr. Hutchison served until 2015 when Barbara Hohlt took over the Exectutive Director position until May 2020 when Myla Oliver-Blandford assumed the role of Executive Director upon the retirement of Director Barb Hohlt.
The operating budget for 1986 was $485,161 with a minimal amount of services offered: food sanitation, potable water, maternal and child health, solid waste and nuisance monitoring and chronic and communicable disease control. There were a total of 21 employees at the St. Clair County Health Department.
Currently, the same levels of government are governing the St. Clair County Health Department. The County Board and the Board of Health provide guidance and leadership to the St. Clair County Health Department under the direction of the Honorable Mark Kern, Chairman of the Board.