Cook County Health Human Resources Report Indicates Employment Metrics Continue To Improve

Cook County Health Board of Directors Meeting
October 27, 2023     Virtual and in person meeting- observed virtually

Human Resources Committee Report
Carrie Pramuk-Volk, now the Interim Chief Human Resources Officer, reported on the continued positive hiring and retention metrics. For fiscal year 2023 there have been 1146 hires who have started. In 2022 there were 497 and in 2021 there were 562. Turnover rate continues to drop from a high of 11.4% in 2022 to the current rate of 8.4%, which is well under the national benchmark. The accelerated nursing hiring program has resulted in 195 job offers with 120 of them being accepted.

Cook County Department of Public Health Report
Amy O’Rourke and Dr Hasbrouk from Cook County Department of Public Health reported on the Good Food Purchasing Program (GFPP). The GFPP was started to address food disparity in health and wealth. Cook County is the third local government to sign on to this program. Los Angeles did in 2012, Chicago in 2017 and Cook County in 2018. Currently there are 57 institutions and 24 cities participating nationally. GFPP encourages County-run institutions to shift their food spend toward five core values: local, healthy, humane, sustainable, and equitably-produced food.
GFPP implementation is underway and initial investments have been made in local food producers. The 2023 Good Food Purchasing Initiative (GFPI) Community Fund awardees will be announced by the beginning of FY24.
The 19th Annual Chicago Food Justice Summit will be held in early FY24.
GFPP Program Update

• ●  Completed Baseline Assessments for:
  • ○  Juvenile Temporary Detention Center (2020)
  • ○  Cook County Sheriff's Office (2021)
  • ○  Cook County Health (2022)
• ●  Created action plans in development or implementation phases at all County Departments
• ●  Integrated GFPP goals & compliance into food services contracts and solicitations (JTDC and CCSO)
• ●  Implemented menu changes (plant-based proteins, soliciting vendors for organic, sustainable items)
  The program was started with 4.5 million dollars in ARPA funding which is being leveraged to accelerate County’s GFPP implementation, while also developing a more equitable supply chain and good food culture. So far, $234,000 has been dispersed in microgrants to six farms/small-meal-providers located in suburban Cook County.

The program and presentation were well received, and Amy O’Rourke was complimented by several Directors for her enthusiasm and for the breadth of the program.

Other Committee Reports:
The Audit and Compliance, Finance, Managed Care, QPC committees met in October and their minutes were approved with minimal discussion. The CEO reported on the strategic initiative results and the numerous awards won by employees.
The meeting went into closed session and reconvened on October 31 to give the news that CEO Rocha has resigned as of Dec 1, 2023.
Items to Watch for in the Future:    New CEO search

​Observed By: Lisa Slankard