Theresa Chapple

Theresa Chapple is an American epidemiologist who is the Health Director for Oak Park, Illinois. Her research considers health disparities and the health of underserved populations. She led the Oak Park village response to the COVID-19, for which she was voted "Oak Parker of the Year".

Theresa Chapple
Alma materUniversity of Illinois at Chicago
Clark Atlanta University
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Scientific career
InstitutionsHealth Resources and Services Administration
ThesisEffects of interpregnancy intervals immediately following a fetal death on maternal and perinatal health (2009)

Early life and education

Chapple earned a bachelor's degree in psychology at Clark Atlanta University.[1] She moved to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for graduate studies, focused on public health.[1] Chapple was a doctoral researcher at the University of Illinois Chicago.[2][3] Her research considers maternal mortality and the identification of strategies to prevent Black women from dying during childbirth.[4][5] After graduating, she joined the Health Resources and Services Administration as a health researcher.[6]

Career

Chapple worked on public health at the Shelby County Health Department during the 2009 swine flu pandemic. She moved to the Georgia Department of Public Health to help tackle the 2015–16 Zika virus epidemic. Influenza A virus subtype H1N1 (swine flu) and Zika virus both disproportionately impacted pregnant women and children.[2]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Chapple became concerned about outbreaks amongst children in schools, summer camps and daycares.[7] She maintained an up-to-date list of outbreaks on Twitter, and called on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to identify safe strategies to re-open schools.[8][9][10] She provided commentary to the media on public health protocols and the safety of vaccines.[11][12][13][14] In 2021, she was made responsible for public health in Oak Park. She developed safety protocols and strategies to protect her communities from COVID-19.[15] This included running vaccine clinics for young children in the Oak Park Elementary School District and implementing quarantine policies for COVID positive school children.[15] Over the summer, Chapple created a moving health van, which took vaccines, facts and information to communities around the district.[2]

In November 2021, members of the Oak Park community campaigned to keep Chapple in the post as their public health chief.[15][16] Her efforts to protect the Oak Park School District were honored with a certificate in December 2021.[17] She was named Oak Park Villager of the Year in 2022, by the local weekly newspaper.[2]

References
  1. Bialek, Ron; Beitsch, Leslie M.; Moran, John W. (March 27, 2017). Solving Population Health Problems through Collaboration. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-315-31810-3.
  2. Tugade, F. Amanda (January 5, 2022). "Hard decisions bring pushback and support". Oak Park. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  3. "Alumna named Oak Park Villager of the Year | School of Public Health | University of Illinois Chicago". publichealth.uic.edu. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  4. "Hospital CEO's response to Black doctor's COVID-19 death prompts backlash". ABC News. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  5. "Beyond The Preventing Maternal Deaths Act: Implementation And Further Policy Change | Health Affairs Forefront". Health Affairs Forefront. 2019. doi:10.1377/forefront.20190130.914004. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  6. "Chapple-McGruderSeminar2021". Department of Epidemiology& Population Health (in Samoan). Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  7. Johnson, Karen (July 31, 2020). "Epidemiologist's Twitter Log Highlights What Keeps Happening When Schools, Camps And Daycares Reopen". Scary Mommy. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  8. "Why reopening US schools is so complicated". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  9. Anderson, Melinda D. (October 28, 2020). "Opinion | 'You're Out of Your Mind if You Think I'm Ever Going Back to School'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  10. "Teachers face pressure to return even before COVID-19 vaccinations completed". Los Angeles Times. February 4, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  11. "The next phase of the U.S. pandemic? Pockets of localized outbreaks". Science. May 27, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  12. Gunn, Erik (January 11, 2021). "The science on COVID-19 and the classroom". Wisconsin Examiner. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  13. Gantz, Sarah. "How to create a pandemic pod for safe social interaction". inquirer.com. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  14. "Delta Concerns of U.S. School Reopenings and Reducing Airborne Transmission". Speak Up America. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  15. Tugade, F. Amanda (November 16, 2021). "Debate over extending public health chief's authority". Oak Park. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  16. Tugade, F. Amanda (November 23, 2021). "Trustees reinstate public health director's powers". Oak Park. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  17. Tugade, F. Amanda (December 21, 2021). "D97 honors Chapple-McGruder's safety efforts". Oak Park. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
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