Erie Family Health Center

For anyone who has lived or worked in Chicago in the last 21 years, this has been quite the week. The news that long-time Mayor Richard M. Daley will not seek re-election has been a jolting surprise for nearly everyone. For most Chicagoans like myself, the thought that we would hear the following words this week, “Today, I’m announcing that I will not seek a seventh term as mayor of the City of Chicago,” was completely unexpected. Some felt Mayor Daley would serve this role until he died, others hoped he would be ousted during an election and still others assumed he was simply waiting for his son to be experienced enough to take the reins. Either way, most people felt that Richard Daley would continue to be an ever-present, consistent force in Chicago politics. The story has even gone beyond the city limits of Chicago and has been reported on in the Washington Post, LA Times, Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. We might be as bold to go ahead and say that the whole nation was taken by surprise this past week.

His Legacy

As the shock has begun to wear off, the process of looking back on Mayor Daley’s 21 years of service to Chicago is inevitable. Most articles in the papers this week center on a few key themes: his common, but rarely spoken about verbal gaffes, the raging deficit in Chicago and the observation that whenever Mayor Daley wanted to get something done, it got done (example: Meigs Field).  As we move forward as a city there is no doubt that Mayor Daley’s impact on our everyday lives will go on. Whenever we stride through Millennium Park, admire the beautiful Michigan Avenue Tulips or celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, many will fondly remember his service to Chicago. And yes, many will also remember the grave financial position the city was in when he left office and his sometimes dictator-like style of getting things done. Mayor Daley’s legacy today is one of mixed feelings and the future view of that legacy will likely be determined by the strides or shortfalls of our next Mayor.

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Beats this week:

1) A report released today from the American Heart Association analyzed the amount of physical education required in schools across the United States. The report, which was released in partnership with the National Association for Sport and Physical Education found that while more states are requiring students to take physical education, few actually require students to exercise for a specific amount of time.

2) Attention all community health data enthusiasts: this week Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius revealed further details about the new Community Health Data Initiative. Under this initiative HHS health data will be made freely available so that software developers can create innovative applications and make the data more useful for consumers and communities.

3) The Illinois legislature has spoken: budget cuts for Illinois will be decided by Governor Quinn. As such, Quinn is now facing the tough challenge of determining what gets slashed in the FY2011 budget for Illinois. On the chopping block: social services, education and health care. Quinn is keeping mum on what he plans to cut but stated that he hoped to release further details within the month and through the summer. Again, stay tuned!

4) This week, the Chicago Dental Society’s blog, Open Wide, wrote about two Illinois programs that provide orthodontia care to patients whose parents are unable to afford the expensive care. Way to go to the Illinois Society of Orthodontists and Smiles Change Lives for their amazing work!

5) The Swiss company, Novartis, announced disappointing news this week: its new ovarian cancer drug will not be moving to the market. The company had hoped the medication, called patupilone, would be more effective than other drugs for advanced cervical cancer patients, however, the late-stage trial proved that it did not.

Beats this week:

1) This week has been a busy week for health care reform. On Sunday, the House passed health care reform and sent the bill to President Obama’s desk. On Tuesday, the President signed the bill, which will provide up to 32 million individuals with health insurance.

2) The health care reform bill is over 2,400 pages and contains a few lesser known provisions. Some highlights include: chain restaurants and vending machines will have to post nutritional information and companies with at least 50 employees will have to set aside “reasonable” break times for nursing mothers and create private spaces for breastfeeding. To read more about the bill, check out Beats Per Minutes post this week.

3) It was reported this week that Chicago Public School officials are moving to revamp the school lunch program. Starting in June, schools will eliminate or reduce the availability of unhealthy food options, such as nachos, doughnuts and Pop-Tarts.

4) The Illinois Supreme Court handed down a decision this week that was met with great disappointment for many nonprofit hospitals in the state: hospitals that are designated nonprofit must provide certain levels of charitable giving to their patients in order to maintain their nonprofit status.

5) Who are we kidding?! The only thing being talked about this week is health care reform! Let’s skip the back and forth politics, though, and check out the video of President Obama signing this historic legislation.

California.  The Golden State.  Hollywood.  Movie Stars.  Disneyland.  The Redwood Forest.  If the United States was a class of fifty high school kids, California would be the Prom Queen, class president and valedictorian.  It’s a place where stars are born, the surf is always high and the sun always shines.

So even when the news coming out of this sparkling gem out West isn’t positive, it certainly still remains center stage.  We’ve read, seen and listened to all the reports that have covered the California budget crisis.  As legislation continues to pass hands between Governor Schwarzenegger and Californian lawmakers, the press continues to write all about it.

Meanwhile, the state of Illinois sits at the back of the class, averting its eyes and twiddling its thumbs.  Us Illinoisans don’t want to brag (really, we don’t) but Illinois has its very own budget crisis – one that rivals the state of California. This comes as shocking to many, but by the time the Times Magazine article, “The Great California Fiscal Earthquake” hit the presses, Illinois was staring down the barrel of its own financial meltdown.

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Last night we sat around our television screens, anxiously waiting for an historic moment to occur and we were not disappointed. With members of the House chanting “Yes we can!” millions around our country felt relief: comprehensive health care reform had finally passed. This was a truly historical moment for the entire country and particularly for the millions of uninsured individuals who will now be afforded access to health insurance.  

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will make its way to the President’s desk on Tuesday for his signature of this momentous legislation. The Reconciliation Act of 2010 will also move to the Senate this week for approval. After both of these steps are completed, health care reform can begin to be enacted.

But what happens then? The full text of the bill is around 2,400 pages so it is doubtful that many Americans have read the bill from cover to cover (Who has that kind of time?). Look no further! Now that change has come to America, here is a summary of what changes will actually occur for everyday Americans.

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Beats this week:

1)  Today, the Chicago Tribune covered health care reform and its potential impact on low-income individuals in Chicago. Erie Family Health Center and other community health agencies were featured in the story by Judith Graham.

2) Four community health centers in Milwaukee received $1 million from GE to increase primary care services to uninsured and underinsured individuals. This is the second city to receive GE Developing Health funding – a three-year program providing funding to health centers.

3) According to a new report, one in four Californians under the age of 65 are without health insurance.  In the last two years, the state’s number of uninsured individuals has increased by nearly 2 million. Despite these alarming statistics, California does not actually have the highest rate of uninsured but follows closely behind Texas.

4) The story of health care reform continues to unfold. Currently, the Obama administration is putting the pressure on for House Democrats to give the green light on health care. Rep. Dennis Kucinich is the most recent Democrat to ‘flip’ their vote from ‘no’ to ‘yes.’

5) Public Health Officials in Lake County (northern Illinois) have partnered with local churches to make a final push for H1N1 vaccination. Read Beats Per Minute’s coverage on why it is still important to get vaccinated this late in the flu season.

Beats this week:

1) This week President Obama released the final details on the health care reform bill and urged Congress to give an up or down vote on the legislation. In remarks to a group of medical professionals, President Obama asked Congress to put aside politics and take action on behalf of the American people.

2) Politico confirmed from Senator Tom Harkin that Senate Dems have decided to use reconciliation as a means to pass health care reform.

3) Meanwhile, at the local level, big Chicago hospitals saw huge profit gains in 2009 while smaller hospitals continued to struggle.

4) Recent research published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that certain segments of the U.S. population have a higher prevalence of HIV than exists in parts of Africa. For example: “More than 1 in 30 adults in Washington, D.C., are HIV-infected—a prevalence higher than that reported in Ethiopia, Nigeria, or Rwanda.”

5) Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation released a report this month that provides a breakdown by state of the federal dollars spent on public health. The report found that spending for public health has been flat and steady for the last five years and that the Midwest received the least amount of funding for disease prevention.

The health care summit has started up again after a short break. Erie took a little bit of a longer break but now we are back in the mix!

1:14 – After the break the group came back and is still discussing health insurance regulation.

1:18 – We are back to talking about pre-existing conditions. President Obama is discussing why he disagrees with setting up high risk pools for those who have more pre-existing conditions (‘older, sicker people’).

1:26 – Senator Jay Rockefeller (D) does not really care for health insurance companies: ‘they are in it for the money.’ Then he referred to them as sharks. He feels this way because of lack of oversight, anti-trust rules, etc. Senator Rockefeller believes that they need more restrictions in order to make them more accountable (or ‘clip their wings’ as Senator Rockefeller said).

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Good morning everyone! We are getting ready here to start the live blog thread here in a few minutes. If you are at a computer and want to watch the health care summit on a live stream you can do so at the White House website for live videos. Otherwise C-SPAN is offering great coverage on all of their tv and radio outlets.

8:52 – The room at Blair House looks quite full. Speaker Pelosi is also present. Everyone is beginning to sit – looks like things will be starting soon!

8:58 - Kathleen Sebelius was sitting in Harry Reid’s seat. He definitely did not look happy when he asked her to move! A nice bit of humor for the morning.

8:59 – President Obama is walking to the Blair House right now.

9:04 – After walking across the street to Blair House, President Obama has just arrived! He is currently making the rounds and shaking hands with everyone. After, he is beginning a quick opening statement.

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Would you pay $1.94 per day in health insurance for the privilege of unlimited access to comprehensive preventive and primary care services at the level of quality provided by Erie Family Health Center?  It sounds like a pretty good deal.

They way I look at it, the health care “pie” is divided into three slices.  The first slice is primary and preventive care like Erie provides, a good deal as you’ll read about below.  The second is both basic and sophisticated outpatient testing such as x-rays, mammograms, CT scans and MRIs, to which Erie arranges affordable and deeply discounted linkages with partners.  The third is the most expensive—hospitalization, surgery, rehabilitation—and Erie provides linkages as well.  And I’m not even going to touch the issue of long term care (a whole other pie).

Health care reform pie is on a lifeline in Washington, DC, and cost is of high concern.  Meanwhile, around the country, at over 1,200 health centers like Erie, data staffers hit the send button this week and uploaded information for 2009 on the 20 million medically disadvantaged people cared for at community health centers.  The fix is in, and the data show that health centers provide very cost effective primary care and preventive services. 

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