After about three years in the position, Oak Park’s Public Health Director Theresa Chapple will be officially leaving her role July 12.
Chapple is taking a couple weeks of vacation now, according to village officials, and is not expected back by the time her official tenure concludes. For now, Deputy Village Manager Lisa Shelley will oversee the public health department, which celebrated its 75th anniversary this year.
Dan Yopchick, the village’s chief communications officer, did not know if Chapple left for a new position, but she hinted to that on X, formerly known as Twitter. Chapple has about 43,000 followers on the app.
“I’m humbled by my next opportunity which will allow my [sic] to make an impact at both the local and national level,” she wrote.
Chapple did not respond immediately to a Wednesday Journal request for comment.
A search is underway to fill the vacancy, according to village officials.
Chapple, a governmental and applied epidemiologist, according to the village, began her role in May 2021, while Oak Park and the United States dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic. According to village officials, she supported the community’s safety during that time, overseeing one of only four certified public health departments in suburban Cook County.
The Oak Park Department of Public Health helps protect the community from preventable death, disease, illness and injury, according to a village statement. Services provided include health assessments, education, prevention care, case management and counseling.
Chapple has worked at local, state and federal health agencies. Prior to her move to Oak Park, she led the Women’s Health Data and Evaluation team at the Health Resources and Services Administration in Rockville, Md., Wednesday Journal reported.
In the village’s statement, Village Manager Kevin Jackson said Oak Park is thankful for her contributions to the village’s public health efforts.
“From working with the community on our pandemic response, to developing a wide-ranging immunization program, to heightening our response to opioid overdose prevention, providing unwavering support for asylum-seeking families in Oak Park and more, Dr. Chapple’s impact here was nothing short of significant,” Jackson said in the statement. “We wish her well as she steps back from this role in order to spend more time with her loving family.”
