Cook County Health to Host Housing Summit in May

Cook County Health Board Meeting -  February 28, 2019 

What did the Board Discuss:

• The first Cook County Health (CCH) Research and Innovation Summit was held February 20, 2019 on the topic of opioids. More than 120 individuals attended. This summit was designed to share CCH's efforts and plans to address the opioid epidemic with other established interest groups and included action planning with health and community leaders.
• County Care managed care members as of February 7, 2019: 320,994 of which 13.7% are using CCH services. These latest numbers are down 10% from the same time last year. The target for 2019 membership is 345,000. Annual redetermination of Medicaid members is a review of their eligibility for Medicaid and requires submission of redetermination forms in a timely manner. Now an automated system drops individuals from Medicaid rolls if the forms are not completed on time. If dropped, the individual looses continuity with their Primary Care Provider and case managers. In order to keep its members, County Care offers to help with the redetermination process. County Care has raised concerns about this process with Governor Pritzker.
• FY 2019 CCH system wide uninsured numbers captured by visit is 44%. The FY 2018 uninsured numbers were 42%. There is a need to get details of these uninsured to see if some are eligible for Medicaid, then assist them in enrollment.
• Governor Pritzker announced that Dr Ngozi Ezike was appointed Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health (requires state Senate approval). She served for more than 15 years at CCH and most recently served as a physician at the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center.
• The Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH) has a tobacco prevention and control unit and its goal is to eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke, promote quitting, and prevention of youth smoking. In Suburban Cook County, 16.7% of adults are current smokers. E-cigarettes are currently the most used tobacco product among youths and its use in this group has increased last year. E-cigarette liquid contains chemicals and carcinogens and this liquid can poison children through ingestion or skin absorption.
• It was announced that there would be no election of the CCH Board Vice-Chairman at this meeting.

Board Decision:

• A contract with the Bobby E. Wright Comprehensive Behavioral Health for mobile crisis outreach team. This is a nonprofit on Chicago's Westside that provides mental healthcare, addiction treatment and developmental disability services.

​Items to watch for:

• The final audit of FY2018 in May 2019
• The second CCH Research and Innovation Summit to be held May 22, 2019 on the topic of housing.

 Observed by: Michele Niccolai                                                     Meeting Length: 2 hours 30 minutes