County Commissioner Jerry Butler attended the Committee meeting for the first time in this reporter’s tenure. Chairman Collens characterized him as CCHHS’s strongest champion on the County Board and expressed concern about who would step into that role upon Butler’s retirement. Committee members attending: Luis Munoz and Wayne Lerner.
The Committee seemed to be getting a bit impatient with the reports it receives, with Collens cautioning the Stroger medical director to report on safety initiatives and not routine business. QA chief Dr. Das will not be able to satisfy this group with reams of data, though she’s still trying; these people want results.
The Committee asked the Department of Public Health to report on its plans for dealing with emergencies like a terrorist attack. Dr. Das reviewed inpatient results of the Culture of Safety survey, which revealed a fear of reporting errors. Collens suggested she figure out how many errors are never reported. She plans to encourage reporters by protecting them from punishment but was vague about how. Lerner urged a strategic approach to safety with supervisors, staff and unions all at the table. Dr. Murray described the strategic plan of the Department of Public Health, which is governed by the CCHHS Board but receives its police powers (e.g. to shut down restaurants) from the County Board.
The Department handles communicable diseases, environmental protection, clinical programs and preventive services. In response to concerns expressed by Munoz about preparation for a national emergency, Murray volunteered to have the Department report on emergency planning. Public Health has Quality Assurance teams addressing lead, environmental health, communicable diseases and high-risk infants. Murray gives her department a C-plus/B-minus for Quality Assurance, though its own clinical programs would be graded higher.
With respect to specific diseases, Murray reported south suburban Cook County is now the state’s epicenter of HIV infection and that the department’s contact-tracing is insufficient even for control of syphilis. Chicago now has only 1.5 times as many TB cases as the suburbs, down from 4 times, though whether this reflects progress in the city or problems in the suburbs is unclear.
Dr. Ukoha reported that Stroger’s burn unit was not re-accredited after a site visit; it has 6 months to correct problems. Asked about progress in safety, he said things are changing under Das’s leadership but there are no substantial results yet.
Submitted by Kelly Kleiman
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