GPH Board Learns about the Department’s Rapid Response with Vaccine Clinics to Combat Measles Outbreak; No Rabies Found in Geauga County
Geauga Public Health (GPH) Special Meeting – August 13, 2026
Meeting Details: The GPH Board met in Special Session at the Geauga County Administration Building, 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Suite B167-168 (first floor), Chardon, OH, on July 15, 2026. The meeting began at 5:00 pm. This meeting was in person with no virtual viewing or video. The agenda is posted on the GPH Facebook page a few days prior to the meeting and then typically is posted on the GPH website. The agenda for this meeting can be found here.
Public Comment Policy: There is no separate written policy, but in practice “Citizens’ Remarks” are listed on the agenda and are permitted as detailed there.
Board Attendance:
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Dr. Mark Hendrickson, President
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Christine Sutter, President Pro Tempore
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Melissa DeBoth
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Daniel Green, Jr.
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Lynn Roman
Staff Attendance:
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Adam Litke, Health Commissioner
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Dan Lark, Administrator/Director of Environmental Health
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Katie Taylor, Finance Director
Others Present: Geauga Maple Leaf Reporter Allison Wilson and this LWVG Observer were present.
Call to Order: Called to order at 5:00 pm.
Opening of Meeting - The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. A quorum was declared, as was a
Certification of the Delivery of Official notices of meeting. The meeting was open to the public.
Minutes - The Board approved the Minutes from the Regular Meeting, July 15, 2026.
Health District Staff Reports
Observer Note: These reports are available with the agenda on the GPH website. See August agenda here. Scroll through the agenda to see the written reports.
Population Health Report - Mr. Litke reported that they have hosted many measles clinics and that the Amish have been especially interested in receiving vaccines, citing two clinics that dispensed shots to almost 150 individuals. Mr. Litke said the Amish are asking a lot of questions about measles in an effort to protect their families and noted they have always been good about getting the MMR and polio vaccines. He praised GPH nurse Melissa Kimbrough for her efforts and University Hospitals for providing extra staff. Mr. Litke said that they have many more requests for vaccinations coming in daily, “so it’s safe to say that the measles alert has caused people to rethink vaccination.” GPH plans to schedule another clinic.
Mrs. Roman asked for clarification about the Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) and Perry Nuclear Power Plant emergency plans. Mr. Litke explained that GPH had received a grant that supports a new PHEP Readiness Initiative that began July 1. Per the report in the agenda, the team will be focusing on a collaborative project to improve preparedness, including redundant communications drills and epidemiology training. Mr. Litke said that although the critical impact area from Perry Nuclear Plant is in only a small section of Geauga County, GPH is still required to go through preparedness training in case of an emergency, including evacuation and decontamination procedures. There was a brief discussion about evacuation locations, including schools. Observer Note: See agenda section 4.01.05 and the LWV Geauga Observer Report on the June 17, 2026 GPH Meeting for more detailed PHEP information.
Environmental Health Report – Mr. Lark reported that residents have been bringing in 5 or 6 bats a week to be tested for rabies. All have tested negative. He and Mr. Litke believe the increase is the result of greater community awareness and concern created by newspaper and television reports about 5 rabid bats in Cuyahoga County and a single rabid bat found in Lake County. Both stressed the concern was overblown. Mr. Lark said they “almost expect to find rabies in bats every year.” He noted that the rabies variant in skunks and racoons is almost completely gone from this part of Ohio. Mr. Lark warned that bat fangs are like hypodermic needles which would not necessarily cause pain if a bat were to bite. He said a rabies test is recommended if a bat is found in a “sleeping room” as it is considered a potential exposure.
Mr. Lark said that the Iron Horse Saloon has cleaned up their food and other violations and has reopened their food service. He noted that Hunan by the Falls, previously cited for violations, is also open and following protocols.
Finance Report – Ms. Taylor reported she had reached out to the state auditors about the status of their 2023-24 audits. The state said they had everything they needed and materials are still under review, with completion expected by the end of the month. Mr. Litke explained that because GPH receives less than $775,000 in federal awards and expenditures, they are audited biannually instead of annually “which saves a ton of money given how little we have coming in and going out.” The 2023-24 audit began in 2025 and was expected to be completed at the end of 2025.
Ms. Taylor also noted that expenses are high due a substantial number of invoices being paid to Lake County. Per the agenda report, GPH “continues to work with outside legal counsel and the Geauga County Auditor’s Office to process outstanding payments to the Lake County General Health District.” Observer Note: See the LWV Geauga Observer Report on the June 17, 2026 GPH Meeting for more information and the Finance Report in the agenda for the list of invoices.
Mrs. Roman asked what the payments to McDonald Hopkins LLC were for. Ms. Taylor explained that McDonald Hopkins receives a monthly retainer for legal services. Mr. Kostura, their legal counsel, is with the firm and has been working with GPH to resolve the Lake County invoice issue and advise the Board in discussions about accreditation.
Mrs. Roman noted a payment to the Public Health Accreditation Board. Mr. Litke explained that the annual accreditation fee was overdue and since a decision on whether to re-accredit had not yet been made, they chose to process the payment. He said he is hearing more conversation among boards of health about letting their accreditation lapse.
Mrs. Roman inquired about the payment to the State of Ohio for Vital Statistics Technology Fees and was informed that the $21,000 payment was the state’s share of vital statistics (birth and death certificates) fees for the second quarter.
Mr. Litke commented that their fee receipts are way up because the GPH staff has a reputation for being easy to work with, which draws more requests resulting in more revenue. Reviewer Note: Individuals can request records from anywhere in Ohio. See more information here.
In response to a question about payments to Preston Ford, Mr. Litke said they replaced two vehicles that were part of the Food Program and passed the other cars down to other staff. Later in the meeting, Ms. Taylor noted they had traded in 3 vehicles and replaced them with two.
There was a discussion about the higher than usual (18) number of permit refunds. Mr. Lark noted that the refunds were for such things as double payment, payment for unnecessary permits and recordkeeping errors. No explanation about the large number was given.
Health Commissioner’s Report – Mr. Litke reported he’d spoken with local media who had reached out about the measles outbreak and rabid bat cases. He said Geauga had had no cases of rabid bats.
Mr. Litke stated the contract with Lake County will have to be amended to address the significant nursing resources they are pulling to Geauga to help with the measles vaccine clinics and contact tracing. He praised the Amish community’s support and the work of Dr. Sanniti, a family physician from UH. Mr. Litke again commented on the large number of individuals coming to the clinics, many without appointments, and the large number of vaccines given. As an example, he said at one location, 57 people had signed up and 109 got vaccinated. The Board agreed the large number of people getting vaccinated is encouraging. Mr. Litke mentioned the difficulty of no internet access at some of their clinic locations, which makes access to patient records and other necessary information very difficult. The Board discussed the need for a solution and decided to have Mr. Litke investigate mobile unit options with Starlink, AT&T or other companies.
Mr. Green suggested reaching out to Kent State in Burton about using their nursing students at the clinics. Mr. Litke said they had successfully used the nursing students in the past and would consider it again as they schedule future clinics. He said that the initial rush to make vaccines available precluded their use since GPH couldn’t give the students advance notice. Mr. Litke emphasized the urgency in the community, noting that their nursing director had 300 missed calls about vaccines in a single day.
Mrs. Roman asked Mr. Litke about his hour-long appearance on Walter “Skip” Claypool’s Voice of Geauga radio program on August 6 to discuss hoarding. He said he thought the interview went well and Ms. Sutter agreed. He referred the Board to the Voice of Geauga Facebook page, saying that “I know a lot of people steer away from those things, but it’s one more way to talk to the community.” He also said, “I think hopefully (it) counteracted the perception that we were trying to tell Gramma she can’t collect figurines.” He said he emphasized that GPH wanted to put up guardrails to curtail what they can do, not to expand their power.
Old Business -
Discussion on Housing - Mr. Lark pointed out that there’s no good definition of what a public nuisance is. Mrs. Roman agreed that GPH needs to define where their boundaries are. Mr. Litke said that establishing guardrails was exactly the goal of the HDAC meeting scheduled later that evening. Dr. Hendrickson suggested it would be worthwhile to look at Cuyahoga’s public health guidelines for managing hoarding to help them develop their own.
Discussion on Accreditation - Mr. Litke did not present any new information from last month’s meeting. Earlier in the meeting, he had said he’d learned that other Boards of Health are thinking about letting their accreditations lapse. He noted last month Lake County’s Board had discussed the issue. Observer Note: See the LWV Geauga Observer Report on the July 15, 2026 GPH Meeting for more details.
He repeated that the federal grants promised as an incentive never materialized. The State has provided a lump sum payment $50,000 for accreditation fees as another incentive to stay accredited.
Mr. Litke’s other arguments against accreditation included:
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They would be required to hire an accreditation coordinator at an annual cost estimated at $90,000.
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The staff and administrators would be required to process a lot of paperwork for which they are not currently set up.
Mr. Litke expressed uncertainty about the State’s response to an accreditation lapse, guessing they might be put on probation “for a couple of years” and then the State would send a representative to talk to them and then a “slap on the wrist with something, if they do anything at all, which I don’t even know if they will.”
The Board suggested contacting state legislators to meet with them to discuss the pros and cons, including repercussions for non-accreditation. Mr. Litke said when he asked state representatives for a list of pros and cons “they said they do not have any.”
Board members requested that Mr. Litke provide a cost breakdown for accreditation, including employing an accreditation coordinator, fees, and staff time. Mr. Litke estimates the overall annual cost at approximately $200,000.
Dr. Hendrickson asked if their accreditation is analogous to medical and nursing boards that are designed to maintain a level of expertise and care. Mr. Lark noted the state health departments evaluate local health departments every 3 years to ensure the organization’s quality. He said accreditation has to do with maintaining policies.
Mr. Litke said he would ask local legislators to come and speak to the Board.
New Business -
Resolutions – Approved unanimously without discussion.
Financial Reports, Resolution 26-08-06-01-01 – The Board approved payment of bills as listed in the agenda.
Citizen’s Remarks -
This Observer asked for clarification about Mr. Litke’s interview on the Voice of Geauga radio show. He said that Walter “Skip” Claypool and Jonathan Broadbent co-hosted the program.
Maple Leaf reporter Allison Wilson asked about an original press release about initial measles cases that mentioned a specific social gathering and if subsequent cases had been linked to that gathering. Mr. Litke said he wasn’t sure and would have to check if the rules for sharing medical information applied in this case.
This Observer asked about cyclospora cases in the county, noting 11 new cases were reported in Geauga according to the Communicable Diseases report in the agenda. Mr. Lark said that complaints and other reporting to GPH have essentially dropped to zero over the last couple of weeks.
Mr. Litke talked about the big difference between the number of confirmed cases of an illness and the much larger actual number of cases in a community. He says they are going to do a press release about confirmed and nonconfirmed cases to combat this misconception.
Next Meeting - The next Regular Meeting will be September 16, 2026, at 5:00 pm at the Geauga County Administration Building, 12611 Ravenwood Drive, Suite B167-168 (first floor), Chardon, OH.
Adjournment – The meeting adjourned at 5:49 pm
More Information and Board minutes can be found here: Geauga Public Health
Observer: Rooney Moy
Editor: Gail Roussey
Reviewer: Sarah McGlone
Submission Date: August 31, 2026
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