Covid-19 Vaccinations - A Cook County Health Priority

Cook County Health (CCH) Board of Directors Meeting
​March 26, 2021

The 2020 five “ICARE” (Integrity, Collaboration, Accountability, Respect, Excellence) Employees of the Year were congratulated at the board meeting by Joseph Flanagan, Chairman of the Cook County Health Foundation. 

Committee Reports to the Board:
Human Resources:

• CCH labor union contracts are being negotiated with CC Bureau of Human Resources. 
• As of 2/28/2021, 290 Contract Tracers have been hired, 79% by CCH and 21% by Hektoen and 137 positions are in the CCH hiring process. 
• FY2021 Quarter 1 filled positions is greatly increased over FY2020 Q1 due to Contract Tracing hires.

Quality and Patient Safety:

• The Joint Commission, which accredits healthcare facilities after an inspection reviewing facilities, was recently at Provident Hospital.  The end of survey meeting was very positive and CCH is awaiting the official report.
• The 30-Day Stroger Readmission Rate (unplanned admission to Stroger within 30 days after being discharged from an earlier Stroger hospital stay) for Nov 2020 was 9.05% and was closer to the target of 8.56% as previous 2020 monthly readmission rates trended high. 
• he Medical and Surgical Case Mix Index for December 2020 was higher than target which is favorable for reimbursement.

Finance Committee:

• Two grants were received and filed for CC Board/CC Budget Director approval.  A grant from the Dept of Health & Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Admin, will support acupuncture use in the Emergency Dept as a pain reliever in order to reduce admissions.  A second grant from the IL Health & Hosp Assoc is for training/updating staff working with Covid-19 patients and preparing for future disease outbreaks. 
• The finance committee will hold a special future meeting to review all care management contracts. 
• On an accrual basis, CCH is ending January 2021 $3.35M ahead of budget.  The Net Patient Service Revenue was lower than expected due to lower volumes in Jan.  The Jan 2021 Medicare health plan membership is lower than budget, lowering revenue. 
• The Board approved purchase of “Syntellis Performance Solutions”- financial analysis software designed for the complexities of hospitals.  This software will help with future financial planning, the budget process, and decision making because the software will provide a more detailed financial look into CCH’s services and departments.

Managed Care:

• As of 3/4/21, CountyCare has 392,417 members (a 6,600 increase over 2/4/21) with 40,721 enrolled in CCH clinics. 
• CountyCare members increased their use of CCH health services. 
• CountyCare enrollment is expected to increase due to the temporary stopping of state Medicaid eligibility redetermination through 2021 and the 50% auto-assignment increase to CountyCare beginning Feb 2021.

Board Action:

• Mildred Williamson’s appointment to the CORE Foundation Board
• Provident Hospital Emergency Dept Triage & Triage Intervention Guidelines were approved

CEO Rocha Report:

• As of 3/22/21, from all tests conducted at CCH (119,237), the positive rate is 8%.  At Cermak (CC Jail Health Center) testing is done on site with rapid test, then confirmed at CCH.  There is robust testing at Cermak of all detainees to determine health care and housing.  At Cermak, the rolling 7 day positivity rate as of 3/24/21 is 0.4% with a jail census of 5,613.  Testing is important to respond to Covid-19 clusters.
• Monoclonal Antibody treatment is available in the ER when a patient is identified as Covid-19 pos in order to prevent hospitalization.  
• Vaccinations:  As of 3/19/21 Total Doses (1st & 2nd) given to Dept of Corrections & JTDC Employees & Contractors = 4,434 and given to Cermak Health Services Patients = 2,600.
• As of 2/28/21 CCH staff vaccinated = 74% and CCH employees vaccinated = 58%.  As of 2/28/21 there are 5,196 union employees-55% are vaccinated and 896 non-union employees-73% are vaccinated.  
• Vaccination sites:  On 3/22/21, Cook County moved into Phase 1b+. - CCH has five Mega PODs (points of distribution)- open to general public who meet current eligibility criteria. Sites continue to be added for varying populations.
• CCDPH Vaccine Equity Strategy prioritizes communities most disadvantaged and socially vulnerable.  32 suburban communities have been prioritized.
• Since Jan 25, 2021, CCH has administered more than 290,000 doses of Covid vaccine as of 3/26/21.
• Education: March 15 “My Shot” public awareness campaign launched.  Residents of CC share their reason to be vaccinated using billboards, bus shelters, transit, digital, social media and radio.  CCH is working with community based organizations to spread the word in areas most impacted by Covid.  Next phase will focus on 18-34 year olds.
• CCDPH Contact Tracing in suburban CC has more than 180 contact tracers and 60 case investigators.  In February 2021, there were 9,400 actionable Covid pos cases (92% called and 65.4% interviewed) and 91.2% close contacts called and 76% interviewed.  176 cases needed special resources from the Complex Care Coordination Team in order to quarantine or stay in isolation- 32% needed food, 28% needed income assistance, 11% needed medical assistance and 11% needed cleaning supplies.
• CEO Rocha stated Covid variants are in Illinois.  (Check the Illinois Dept of Public Health website for information on variants)

What to look for in the future: 

• The financial impact of the “American Rescue Plan Act of 2021” for CCH

Observed by:  Michele Niccolai                                                 Virtual Meeting length:  2 ½ hours