CCHHS Executive Director Dr. Jay Shannon justified the FY
2015 budget to a few assembled members of the Cook County board, explaining
that the 92,000 new members of CountyCare can now choose their health care
providers. As a result, CCHHS must
respond with high quality services to retain its new patient population that
have insurance. The plan is to upgrade
the 130 "medical homes" with Saturday appointments, mental health
services, and a patient portal allowing patients to access test results. CCHHS is developing a call center and
centralized scheduling. Investments are also planned for new equipment. Also CCHHS must now market itself to compete
with other providers. Five thousand jail
detainees enrolled in CountyCare will receive covered services once they depart
the jail.
CCHHS can now boast that more of its patients are insured
than uninsured, for the first time in its history. But many patients continue to be uninsured,
including jail detainees and undocumented immigrants. The proposed budget requires $164 million
from Cook County taxpayers to balance, as opposed to $175 million in 2014.
Cook County Department of Public Health Chairman Terry Mason
reported that CCHHS is working with all other Chicago hospitals in a
"robust coalition" to prepare for any ebola patients, using the
"Nebraska standard" involving lots of training, with new materials on
order. He reported that there is no
evidence that ebola is airborne. Nurses
are now being trained but did not know how many had received training. Dr. Mason also stressed that every year
37,000 people in the U.S. die from the flu, and urged everyone to get flu
shots.
Commissioner Jesus Garcia complained about the lack of
Latinos being hired, particularly in upper positions. Dr. Shannon responded that HR Director Gladys
Lopez (a Latina, he noted) is putting together a "hiring plan" that
should address this problem, with monthly reports on how many vacancies have
been filled.
Commissioner Jeff Tobolski complained about the salary increases for executive and director-level staff, as well as the level of salaries for new director hires, while lower level staff only received $1.25 step increases in pay - with applause by nurses attending the hearing. Dr. Shannon responded that executive salaries at CCHHS are lower than at private hospitals; many staff salaries are determined by labor negotiations; and CCHHS can't afford to be cheap in this competitive environment and must hire top quality executive leadership in order to fulfill its mission effectively. Chairman Daley pointed out that the ongoing contractual negotiations with the nurses and other employees fall under the responsibility of the President’s office, not HHS.
Commissioner Jeff Tobolski complained about the salary increases for executive and director-level staff, as well as the level of salaries for new director hires, while lower level staff only received $1.25 step increases in pay - with applause by nurses attending the hearing. Dr. Shannon responded that executive salaries at CCHHS are lower than at private hospitals; many staff salaries are determined by labor negotiations; and CCHHS can't afford to be cheap in this competitive environment and must hire top quality executive leadership in order to fulfill its mission effectively. Chairman Daley pointed out that the ongoing contractual negotiations with the nurses and other employees fall under the responsibility of the President’s office, not HHS.
Commissioner Deborah Sims commented that nurses were
excluded from conversations about the movement of their services when clinics
changed locations.
Commissioner Bridget Gainer asked about the bidding process for
the key contract of administering the managed care aspect of County Care -
length of time to bid, number of bidders, extent of advertising for bids. Departing CCHHS budget director John
Cookinham promised to respond to her questions.
Gainer also questioned the marketing plan, wondering what measures would
be used to evaluate the plan.
submitted by Linda Christianson
submitted by Linda Christianson
