Cook County Health (CCH) Board of Directors Meeting - December 21, 2018
What did the Board Discuss?:
Items to Watch For in the Future Ongoing:
Observer - Diane Edmundson Meeting Length: 2 ½ Hours
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Cook County Health and Hospitals System Board Meeting - December 16, 2016
Significant Topics Discussed: Invited to provide a Federal Update, Wash. DC, Legislative Consultants, Susan White and Jonathan Sheiner, predicted the following to a somber Cook County Health and Hospitals System (CCHHS) Board:
CCHHS Board Chair Hammock concluded that if the ACA insurance mandate is eliminated and Medicaid curtailed, many would not purchase/afford insurance and CCHHS would see a massive increase in use of charity programs: CareLink, the newly introduced Direct Access and unreimbursed care. Director Richardson-Lowry called for an economic impact statement to be available as soon as possible for Board response to various potential fiscal outcomes. Observations: CCHHS metrics reported for Dec. 2016:
These are perilous times for an organization that depends on Federal and State Medicaid/other indigent care payments to stay afloat. Chair Hammock commented that Cook County government is not interested in reinstating the tax generated subsidies of the past to bail CCHHS out! Observer - Susan Kern, MD Meeting Length: 3 ½ hours Cook County Health and Hospitals System Board Meeting - October 28, 2016
Significant Topics Discussed:
Contract Concerns: Questions centered on amounts, number of bidders, and whether services contracted could be brought in-house. Examples:
Observer - Linda Christianson Meeting Length - 3 hours Cook County Health and Hospitals System Board Meeting - July 29, 2016
Significant Actions Taken: The Proposed 3 Year Strategic Plan was approved unanimously with commendations from board members for its
Board Election/Changes: The Board re-elected Hill Hammock as HHS Board Chairman and Jerry Butler as Vice-Chairman. Dr. Shannon commended outgoing board members Carmen Velasquez and Dorene Wiese for their dedication and leadership. Contract Awarded: Morrison Management Specialists were awarded a $13,900,000 contract to provide labor, supplies and software for food and nutritional services, replacing former contractor Sodexo. Significant Topics Discussed:
CCHHS Board funds renovations, lab equipment and CountyCare pharmacy benefits at December meeting.1/1/2016 CCHHS Board of Directors meeting, 12/18/15
Observer: Linda Christianson Contracts approved:
Discussed: Penalties for readmission of patients within 30 days of discharge. Even if the patient has a different diagnosis the second time, the penalty still applies. Rates of readmission higher in inner cities, and higher for Medicaid patients than for Medicare patients. Human Resources Director Gladys Lopez reported filling 1,267 vacancies in 2015, with 808 remaining vacancies. Average hiring time has been reduced from 181 days to 121 days. Items to Watch for: A public speaker representing the nurses’ union said 98 nurses are scheduled to be displaced or laid off. Deputy CEO Doug Elwell reported that the Government Accounting Standards Board will probably require CCHHS to recognize its pension funding, currently $60 million, now reflected in the County budget but not in the CCHHS budget. If/when this change occurs CCHHS pension liability will total $280 million including unfunded pension interest for prior years. Most pension costs are associated with staff in “Tier One”, with defined benefit, rather than “Tier Two”, with defined contribution. Chairman Hammock responded, “These are expenses any hospital would have to deal with. Historically the County has borne the burden of this.” |
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