Health

Chicago, IL (Directions)

This is a remote assignment. As of this writing, meeting access details have not yet been posted but a teleconference call-in number should be listed when the agenda is posted at https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/cdph/supp_info/boh/2021-board-of-health-meetings.html.

Check the source website for additional information

Reporting

Edited and summarized by the Chicago - IL Documenters Team

Note-taking by Al Walker

Racism as a public health crisis, Healthy Chicago 2025, Infant mortality

Live reporting by Audrey Sides

Racism as a public health crisis, Healthy Chicago 2025, Infant mortality

audrey @hapahaole__ 2/49

@CHIdocumenters Had a few technical difficulties getting into the meeting but I got in at 7:04 and things are just getting started

audrey @hapahaole__ 4/49

Allison Arwady MD is currently giving an update and says that Chicago is actually doing pretty good in terms of COVID right now, positivity is at 1.5% positivity which is good since we want to stay below 2% but iffy since its up from 0.4%

audrey @hapahaole__ 5/49

We don’t have parts of the city that are dramatically unvaccinated, the lowest areas of vaccination of the city are around 30-40% and 90% of hospitalizations and deaths are among the unvaccinated

audrey @hapahaole__ 6/49

Anyone over 12 can call 312 746 4835 to schedule at home vaccinations! @DrArwady says more resources are moving into these at-home vax appointments as the mass vaccination sites are starting to close down. Take advantage of this if you haven’t yet!

audrey @hapahaole__ 7/49

Teens (12-17) have the lowest numbers of vaccination, though this is the group with the highest growth in vaccinations

audrey @hapahaole__ 8/49

Last meeting @chicagosmayor and Chicago Department of Public Health declared racism a public health emergency which is manifesting in community contact tracers who are engaging in communities of color and helping to slow the spread of COVID in these medically underserved spots

audrey @hapahaole__ 12/49

Board Member Joel Johnson asks “what’s the plan” for the declaration of racism as a public health crisis? How are we going to use the declaration as a mechanism for change?

audrey @hapahaole__ 13/49

@DrArwady answers that Healthy Chicago 2025 is the main operational response, Healthy Chicago Equity Zones where community organizations will be receiving funding and a good amount of agency in how to utilize and distribute those resources

audrey @hapahaole__ 14/49

Janet Lin asks 3 questions: one about how mental health initiatives are involved in the Narcotics Arrest Diversion, one about the investigation of sequencing of repeat COVID patients, and one about preparations for Lollapalooza and ensuing COVID mayhem

audrey @hapahaole__ 15/49

Regional Innovative Public Health Laboratory (RIPHL) is a partnership with Rush and is the main force that is collecting information on the sequencing of repeat covid patients

audrey @hapahaole__ 16/49

Lolla is always a cause of emergency visits, but this year they’re requiring vaccinations and negative COVID tests. The parties/indoor gatherings around Lolla is the most dangerous, but @DrArwady feels like Chi is in a good enough place in terms of COVID that it’ll be ok

audrey @hapahaole__ 17/49

Dr. Arwady also assured that the Narcotics Diversion program will be closely intertwined with existing mental health initiatives

audrey @hapahaole__ 18/49

Last question asks how race will be addressed in the Narcotics Diversion program because Black men are historically the most affected but the most neglected by the city, so many are currently in prison in Chicago from minor narcotics offenses

audrey @hapahaole__ 19/49

Arwady answers that it’s an issue that has to be addressed from many angles and one of the main ones is making sure that people have access to mental health resources. The Department of Public Health can’t help with the more justice related issues but hopes to support

audrey @hapahaole__ 20/49

Board member Matthew Davis asks about the low level of teen vaccinations and how to deal with the children of anti vax parents

audrey @hapahaole__ 21/49

Dr. Arwady answers that in this part of the state there isn’t much of an anti vax parent issue as much as it is that parents are supportive of vaccines but they need to be present or sign consent forms for their child to get vaccinated which can be prohibitive for vaxs at school

audrey @hapahaole__ 22/49

Board president Carolyn Lopez thanks Dr. Arwady and says that next meeting will be in person

audrey @hapahaole__ 23/49

Legislation and Policy Update from Jesse Lava is up next

audrey @hapahaole__ 24/49

Have been moving kind of fast, here is more info on Healthy Chicago 2025 from earlier https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/cdph/provdrs/healthy_communities/svcs/healthy-chicago-2025.html

audrey @hapahaole__ 25/49

Food Equity Council will be established and is dovetailed from Healthy Chicago 2025 and will limit barriers to food pantry access, limit barriers to urban farming, and the city is hiring a food equity policy lead

audrey @hapahaole__ 26/49

The city will be split into 6 Equity Zones which will focus on hyper local public health initiatives to close the life expectancy gap. Right now they’re focusing on COVID but are projected to expand more to violence prevention and narcotics

audrey @hapahaole__ 27/49

These zones will also distribute resources to existing community organizations

audrey @hapahaole__ 28/49

Paid sick leave must include personal care for family members, day care providers must be trained in mental health, medicaid will now cover doulas, and mothers can stay on medicare for up to a year postpartum (IL is the first state to do this)

audrey @hapahaole__ 29/49

988 is a mental health/suicide prevention hotline that they’re trying out and seeing how it will interact with 911 and mental health responder initiatives https://abc7chicago.com/suicide-hotline-number-988-fcc-prevention/6320466/

audrey @hapahaole__ 30/49

No questions, moving on to Jennifer Vidas’ presentation from the Bureau of Maternal, Infant, Child and Adolescent Health (MICAH)

audrey @hapahaole__ 31/49

Technical difficulties ensue! Also her name is Jennifer *Vidis oops

audrey @hapahaole__ 32/49

Infant mortality is one of the top drivers of the racial life expectancy gap, contributing 0.65 years

audrey @hapahaole__ 34/49

Severe maternal morbidity rate is 2.5x higher and pregnancy associated mortality ratio is 6x higher for Black women. Expanded postpartum care, resources to communities of color and access to mental health resources are all a part of the solution

audrey @hapahaole__ 35/49

WIC provides access to healthy food, health screenings, nutrition education, etc. and CDPH is the largest provider in Chicago and is known to be successful at reducing infant death, obesity, food insecurity, etc. Plus they operated through COVID!

audrey @hapahaole__ 36/49

CPS is one of the biggest partners, specifically a vision program that provides free vision exams and glasses, an oral health program that contracts with dentists to go into schools, and CHAT (sex-ed) which provides free testing + condoms

audrey @hapahaole__ 37/49

Lead poisoning prevention is a newer initiative with inspections and nurse case management https://t.co/H6uTUE8yFR

audrey @hapahaole__ 38/49

Family Connects Chicago is an attempt to better meet the needs of families with newborns and parents/pregnant people. https://www.healthychicagobabies.org/family-connects/

audrey @hapahaole__ 39/49

Most families express a wish for some kind of support or education in the weeks after going home with a newborn and Family Connects hopes to provide that. Nurses connects w families in home then help connect families to resources in community

audrey @hapahaole__ 40/49

This is the guidelines for where Family Connects will be providing support for these families. https://t.co/9mgu92b9bf

audrey @hapahaole__ 41/49

It’s an “evidence based program” that decreases maternal anxiety, emergency medical care, increases home safety, and helps close the racial health gap

audrey @hapahaole__ 42/49

Current partners for pilot program are Mount Sinai, Humboldt Park, Rush University Medical Center, and UChicago Medicine

audrey @hapahaole__ 43/49

Board member Matthew Davis notes that the data on lead poisoning is from 2017 and is wondering if there are plans on updating these stats

audrey @hapahaole__ 44/49

Vidis says that in the last year the number of children getting tested has fallen dramatically (unsurprising because pandemic). There’s a new data report that should be coming out but probably not this year.

audrey @hapahaole__ 45/49

Debra Wesley asks about how the racism as a public health crisis declaration is being addressed through Family Connect

audrey @hapahaole__ 46/49

Family Connect is giving new insights that can inform how the larger public health system can target resources effectively to decrease racial disparities. It is through the universality of the program that they can better see how to serve families that “fall through the cracks”

audrey @hapahaole__ 47/49

Janet Lin says that the program seems very hospital-centric, how can Family Connect be more community centric and serve families who choose to not go to hospitals? And how can Family Connect interact with WIC to bring information and support to a community?

audrey @hapahaole__ 48/49

98% of births are happening in a hospital so Vidis feels that this is the most effective way to achieve universality. They had conversations about if they should be doing prenatal care but they don’t have the capacity currently to tackle something that big outside the hospitals

audrey @hapahaole__ 49/49

President Carolyn Lopez cuts off the questions and answers at 10:30 and says that any further questions will have to be emailed and there are no public comments this time. Meeting is adjourned at 10:32!

Agency Information

Chicago Department of Public Health

The Chicago Board of Health formulates health policies and advises the Mayor and the Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner on all health issues. The board consists of nine members, including the president of the board. The president of the board is a licensed physician and, along with other members of the board, is appoined by the Mayor of the city of Chicago.

Many of CDPH’s public hearings are livestreamed on Facebook. Check here for past recordings: https://www.facebook.com/ChiPublicHealth/live_videos

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