February 11, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information, contact Ibis Antongiorgi, Press Secretary to Cook County Board President Todd H. Stroger, at 312-603-0396 or by email at iantongiorgi@cookcountygov.com. 

Stroger Hospital Wins Full Accreditation from Joint Commission

Management reforms in last year helped remedy issues identified by Joint Commission in March 2007 site visit; turnaround verified by surprise Commission inspection last week.

Public health care system also releases annual report documenting dozens of improvements despite ongoing struggles with budget shortfall. Click HERE for full report in PDF format.

CHICAGO, February 11, 2008 – Cook County Board President Todd H. Stroger was joined today by County Bureau of Health Services Interim Chief Dr. Robert Simon; Amjad Ali, the Bureau’s Deputy Hospital Director for Professional Affairs; Antoinette Williams, RN, Associate Director of Stroger Hospital’s Department of Nursing; Donald O’Connell, Interim Deputy Stroger Hospital Director for Support Services; Elizabeth Houston, RN, Director of Nursing for Stroger Hospital; and Bradley Langer, MD, Stroger Hospital’s Interim Medical Director, to announce the hospital’s recent full accreditation by JCAHO – the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, which serves as the nation’s premier accrediting body for U.S. hospitals and medical facilities.

On January 31, JCAHO members made a surprise visit to Stroger Hospital to follow up on a March 2007 survey that had cited the hospital in 16 areas requiring correction – and verified that those corrections had been fully made.

“Thanks to the efforts of our management in the last year, we have been able to make important improvements in operations at Stroger Hospital in the last year, despite significant cuts in the budget and ongoing pressure from staff shortages and funding shortfalls,” said County Board President Todd Stroger, whose office oversees the Bureau of Health Services, which includes Stroger Hospital. “While we’re all delighted at JCAHO’s acknowledgment of the efforts of our management team, the reality is that the volume and quality of health care could be seriously impacted at County facilities in the coming year if the Board of Commissioners does not pass a budget that adequately funds the Bureau.”

The President also released the Health Bureau’s 2007 Progress Report, which identifies a range of significant improvements in various areas throughout the bureau that have enhanced the delivery of healthcare services and helped the system preserve its reputation as the ‘Mayo Clinic’ of public health care systems in the United States.

Both President Stroger and Dr. Simon renewed their appeal to the Cook County Board of Commissioners to support the administration’s plan for new revenue for the Cook County Bureau of Health Services to address a revenue shortfall that undercuts the Bureau’s ability to retain and restore critical healthcare services to families and individuals in need.

The Cook County Board of Commissioners must pass a balanced 2008 budget by February 29. Last fall, President Stroger submitted 2008 executive budget recommendations to the Board that included a sales tax increase designed to offset a $238 million deficit driven by flat revenues and Board-approved cost-of-living increases and new union contracts. The deficit includes a shortfall of more than $100 million in funding for health care.

While President Stroger has urged Commissioners to submit revenue-generating proposals to balance the budget, only a handful have done so – and those proposals have failed to win majority support from the Board. Without new revenue, the Bureau of Health Services will be forced to cut an additional 10% from its budget. Those cuts would come on the heels of nearly $100 million in health care cuts for 2007 that reduced employee positions and healthcare services while maintaining essential services. A 10% additional cut in services would force the closure of County hospitals and clinics, including the popular Logan Square Clinic and possibly Provident Hospital, and endanger the provision of core services at a time that demand for public health care is growing in Cook County. Dr. Simon has refused to submit such a plan to the Board, and has said he would resign rather than further cripple the County’s healthcare system.

For more information about County initiatives and issues, contact Ibis Antongiorgi, Press Secretary to Cook County Board President Todd H. Stroger, at 312-603-0396 or iantongiorgi@cookcountygov.com. 

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