EHAC

Evanston Health Advisory Council (EHAC)

Mission: To assess, encourage, evaluate and advocate for community health goals.

The Evanston Health Advisory Council (EHAC) is a collection of professionals from academia, medicine, public health, social services and mental health fields whose main focus is to work with Evanston Health and Human Services Department (HHS) to improve community health. They help provide counsel and recommend health priorities using the best methodologies and expertise to prevent diseases and promote health among Evanston residents.

Membership of EHAC consists primarily of representatives of the general Evanston public as well as members of the medical community. It also includes providers of agencies, institutions and others involved with medical care and disease prevention, or those working in the promotion and education of public health.

The role of EHAC are as follows: 

• Recommend community health priorities

• Collaborate with HHS Director for strategic plans

• Collaborate with HHS Director to establish priorities

• Informed discussions with the HHS Director on best public health practices, methodologies and trends

• Provide input on community health assessments (Evanston Project for Local Needs Assessment - EPLAN)

In recent years, EHAC, has been instrumental in a  number of significant public health efforts such as:

• Engaging and supporting the establishment of the Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC-Erie) in Evanston after clinics were closed due to budget cuts. The FQHC now serves and addresses the unmet health needs in the Evanston community. 

• Evanston Tobacco 21 which is a successful initiative implemented in 2014 to decrease tobacco use in teenagers and to protect youth from a lifetime of addiction and health issues associated with tobacco use. 

• Rethink Your Drink campaign which raises awareness of sugar in sugar-sweetened beverages and promotes drinking water. 

• Providing valuable input in previous and the current EPLAN.  

Members of EHAC