Kenosha County Public Health unveils 2025 annual report, new dashboard and plans for STD outreach and staffing

Kenosha County Health Officer Ricky Ferreira presented the department’s 2025 annual report and debuted a new online health dashboard at the Kenosha County Board of Health meeting on May 5, 2026. Ferreira said the dashboard will be updated monthly and will feed into the annual report the department submits to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services each May.

"I'm Ricky Ferreira, trainer, health officer for Kenosha County, as you all know," Ferreira said while introducing the dashboard and annual report materials. He highlighted core programs including communicable disease control, maternal and child health and environmental health, and praised the Bright Family Beginnings home-visiting program.

Board members pressed staff for details about clinical linkages and screening. Ferreira said the department has been in ongoing discussions with local clinics and partners on rural health transformation and collaboration but has not established formalized linkages yet. Ferreira asked clinical staff to outline infection trends and prevention work.

A clinical services representative described sexually transmitted infection trends and prevention work: "Chlamydia has been in the top 5 of our infectious diseases for a while now, and Southeastern Wisconsin is going upward in some of those trends," the staff member said, adding the department launched a social-media education campaign in January and distributed dual-protection kits (male and female condoms) alongside education and screening referrals.

The board critiqued the campaign’s tone and targeting, asking staff to circulate the 45-second video and the campaign’s targeting data. Staff said the video was produced by Duly and Associates and that performance metrics (clicks, targeting) are pending. Members urged culturally relevant messaging and suggested staff collect focus-group feedback before wide distribution.

Ferreira also reported staffing changes and recruitment needs: the department has added six staff members (including sanitarians and a communicable-disease nurse) but lost three positions and is actively recruiting for a clinic supervisor and a full-time 'Hello Baby' home-visiting nurse. Materials indicated a 'Hello Baby' hourly range of $34.20–$38.86; the meeting referenced a clinic-supervisor salary range in the department materials but figures were unclear in the spoken record. Board members recommended outreach to local nursing programs and near-retirement nurses and discussed emphasizing the total compensation package in recruitment.

On facilities and planning, Ferreira said the department is nearing a move into a new building that will expand clinic and lab capacity, though an opening date was still to be determined. He outlined the Thrive initiative and a combined three- and five-year Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) approach and said action teams and a health advisory council will be convened in September–November to draft the CHIP with the goal of beginning implementation in 2027.

The department asked board members to participate in outreach and action teams and to provide feedback on communications materials before campaigns are released. The report concluded with an invitation for board members to help identify candidates for open positions and to participate in the CHIP process.

Next steps: staff will circulate the campaign video and targeting data to board members, continue hiring efforts for prioritized positions, convene action teams in the fall for CHIP drafting, and return with implementation timelines.