Dear Cook County Health friends and partners,

Black History Month is a unique time to honor the contributions and sacrifices of African Americans who have helped shape our nation.

Last week, we gathered at Provident Hospital to celebrate, reflect, and plan for a future in healthcare that is built on innovation, equity, and justice.

One area of focus for our health system is working to educate and develop a representative health care workforce.

If we want to improve our patients’ health outcomes, we know that we need more care providers who look like and have the same cultural experiences as their patients.

It has been found that Black patients in counties with more Black primary care physicians live longer. They are more likely to receive the preventive care they need. And they are more likely to develop a long-term, trusting relationship with their provider.

Cook County Health is proud to serve a largely minority patient population. 31 percent of our patients are Black and 28 percent are Hispanic. I am proud that our care team is more representative than most other health systems: 59 percent of our staff are Black or Hispanic. But more work needs to be done.

We need to understand and address the barriers to health care education and career opportunities, including the daunting structural racism and discrimination students may face.

The Provident Scholarship Fund, a collaborative program with Cook County government and The Cook County Health Foundation, is just one of the ways we are working to address this. In the coming weeks, we will be opening applications for our third cohort of the scholarship, which has already given out nearly $2 million in scholarships since 2022.

At our Black History Month event, we also recognized the incredible work of organizations like I Am Able Foundation that are creating new ways to support students at an even earlier age and empower their pathway to medicine.

By coming together to support students and elevate the vast array of health care careers available to them, we hope to create a health care delivery system that is representative of the patients we serve and provides care that is both high-quality and equitable for all.

I am grateful to everyone who joined us in celebration of Black History Month as we commit to creating a stronger, more inclusive health care system.

Dr. Erik Mikaitis

Interim CEO, Cook County Health

On February 15, Cook County Health held its first Behavioral Health Summit, bringing together health care and social service providers, mental health advocates, community leaders and elected officials to discuss how to improve access and care in Cook County. More than 700 people from 300 organizations attended the event. Thanks to all who joined us!

The all-day summit, held at the UIC Dorin Forum, was led by the Cook County Health Office of Behavioral Health, which was established last year to support the transformation of the behavioral health ecosystem across Cook County through community partnerships, systems alignment, innovation, and equity-driven funding.

Learn more: https://cookcountyhealth.org/press_releases/cook-county-health-hosts-first-behavioral-health-summit/

On February 21, Cook County leaders gathered at Provident Hospital to celebrate Black History Month and discuss efforts to improve representation in medicine.

Provident Hospital was the first Black-owned and operated hospital in the U.S. To learn more about the hospital's rich history and ongoing innovation, click here.



To watch the event, click here.

Cook County Health recently earned the 2024 High Reliability Horizon Award from Press Ganey. The award was announced at the Press Ganey Human Experience (HX) Conference in Orlando, Florida this month.

The Horizon Award recognizes health care organizations that position safety as an uncompromisable value and are on a journey to methodically deploy high reliability organizing principles and practices in managing operations to prevent adverse events and optimize outcomes. Cook County Health was one of five recipients of the 2024 Horizon Award.

“It is an honor for Cook County Health to be recognized with this national award for our achievements in improving quality of care and patient outcomes leveraging high reliability principles,” said Dr. Erik Mikaitis, Interim CEO, Cook County Health. “This award acknowledges the tremendous efforts of our entire CCH team in creating a culture of safety and driving quality advancements across the system.”

Press Ganey is a nationally recognized healthcare performance improvement company that specializes in patient experience and supporting healthcare organizations identify areas where they can improve care quality, enhance caregiver resilience to improve the overall safety, quality, and experience of care.

In recognition of American Heart Month, Cook County Health’s cardiology team came together to hold two Facebook Live discussions on heart health, advancements in cardiac care, and the work CCH is doing to ensure patients have access to that care.

Click the links below to watch the discussions.

February 21, 2024

February 27, 2024

Cook County Health in the News

Fox News: Ask a doc: ‘What causes hiccups, and how can I get rid of them?'

Becker’s Hospital Review: 36 hospitals and health systems with great diabetes and endocrinology programs

U.S. Library of Congress: Provident Hospital’s Prominent Physicians

CBS 2 Chicago: Health experts concerned that falling measles vaccination rates in Illinois and Chicago area schools may be putting students at risk

Hyde Park Herald: Covid-19 and flu cases surge locally, RSV on the decline

If you would like to invite a representative from CCH to attend a community event, please send an email to events@cookcountyhhs.org.

To provide feedback on CCH Community News, please email Marcelino Garcia, Director of Community Affairs, at mgarcia6@cookcountyhhs.org.