Report
of the Commit
The
Honorable,
The Board
of Commissioners of
Attendance
|
Present: |
Chairman Daley, Vice Chairman Sims, Commissioners Beavers,
|
|
Absent: |
President Stroger and Commissioners Goslin and |
|
Also
Present: |
Randy Johnston – Supervisor, Transactions & Health Law
Section, State’s Attorney’s Office; Warren L. Batts – Chairman, Cook County
Health and Hospitals System Board; William T. Foley – Chief Executive
Officer, Cook County Health and Hospitals System; Pitt Calkin – Interim Chief
Financial Officer, Cook County Health and Hospitals System; and David
Carvalho – Finance Chairman, Cook County Health and Hospitals System |
Ladies and
Gentlemen:
Your Committee
on Finance of the Board of Commissioners of Cook County met pursuant to notice
on
Your Committee has considered the following
item and upon adoption of this report, the recommendation is as follows:
|
302414 |
COOK Please accept the Cook County Health and Hospitals System
Board's budget recommendation for the Cook County Health and Hospitals System
for the Fiscal Year 2010. The budget
recommendation was approved by the System Board on * Referred to the
Committee on Finance on |
Chairman Daley called on Warren Batts, Chairman of the Cook
County Health and Hospitals System Board, to present their Preliminary Budget.
Mr. Batts stated that the Cook County Health and Hospitals
System Board will present their annual report to the Cook County Board of
Commissioners at the
Mr. Batts then introduced Mr. William T. Foley, Chief
Executive Officer of the Cook County Health and Hospitals System.
Mr. Foley gave a presentation summarizing the 2009 accomplishments
and 2010 goals of the Cook County Health and Hospitals System. (See Attachment #1)
Commissioner Schneider asked if the System Board has a
position regarding a new union agreement of physicians at
Mr. Foley responded that there are mixed feelings, but as
Chief Executive Officer his recommendation to the System Board was to recognize
the physicians union at Stroger Hospital. The System Board is already dealing with a
physicians union at other locations. Mr.
Foley further stated that System Board needs to have both the physicians and their
union as our partners to effectively implement change. He doesn’t feel that this is the time to be
fighting with the unions, and the System Board agreed.
Commissioner Beavers inquired as to the types of services that
are being expanded at
Mr. Foley responded that service expansions are under
consideration as part of the strategic planning process. The System Board has been in discussion with
the
Commissioner Beavers stated that he would like to see
Mr. Batts stated that trauma center designation is under the
jurisdiction of the State of
Commissioner Murphy inquired about making
Mr. Foley responded that the cost of building a new trauma
center would be a huge expense.
David Carvalho, Finance Chairman of the Cook
County Health and Hospitals System Board, stated that he intends to convene a
meeting for System Board members to be briefed on the procedure for attaining
designation as a trauma center. The time
and date of this meeting has not been determined, but the Board of Commissioners
will be notified and invited to attend when the date has been set.
Chairman Daley inquired about the current
rejection rate for reimbursement claims from Medicare.
Pitt Calkin, Interim Chief Financial Officer,
Cook County Health and Hospitals System Board, said that he would provide an
answer to Chairman Daley’s question. He estimates
that the rejection rate is lower today than it was at this time last year, but
the actual rate will be provided later.
Chairman Daley requested that Mr. Calkin’s response
include an analysis of the performance of MedAssets compared to one year ago.
Vice Chairman Sims asked how many of our
employees are currently working with MedAssets?
Mr. Calkin responded that there are in excess of
200 county employees working with MedAssets.
Chairman Daley asked for the number of employees
in the coding section who have been terminated for failure to meet minimum
performance standards.
Mr. Calkin indicated there has been zero
performance-based terminations since May 2008.
Chairman Daley asked if there are benchmarks for
performance established by MedAssets.
Mr. Calkin responded performance analysis is
ongoing. Currently, 60% of the medical
records are coded incorrectly.
Chairman Daley responded that this figure was
unacceptably high.
Mr. Calkin agreed, and expressed his hope that the
System Board will be able to work with the unions to improve performance.
Mr. Foley stated that employees need support if
they are to improve. MedAssets is also
charged with retraining staff and assisting them in reducing error rates.
Commissioner Gainer asked if there is a plan to
reactivate the mammography van.
Mr. Foley stated the mammography van is under
consideration as part of the strategic plan.
Commissioner Peraica asked for an explanation
regarding apparent spending increases in various budgetary lines.
Mr. Calkin clarified that an accurate comparison
requires examining the prior year’s appropriation, compared to the request for
next year.
Chairman Daley explained that, once approved,
the Preliminary Budget will be incorporated in the President’s Executive Budget
Recommendation for Fiscal Year 2010. After
the President submits his budget recommendations to the Board, the budget for
the Health and Hospitals System will be subject to amendment, just as any other
section of the proposed 2010 budget.
Commissioner Suffredin,
seconded by Commissioner Collins, moved approval of the Fiscal Year 2010
Preliminary Budget for the Cook County Health and Hospitals System
(Communication No. 302414). Commissioner
Peraica called for a Roll Call, the vote of yeas and nays being as follows:
ROLL
CALL ON MOTION TO APPROVE
the
FISCAL YEAR 2010 PRELIMINARY BUDGET FOR
THE COOK
|
Yeas: |
Commissioners Beavers, |
|
Nays: |
None (0) |
|
Absent: |
Commissioners Goslin and |
The motion to approve the
Fiscal Year 2010 Preliminary Budget for the
Chairman Daley asked the Secretary
to the Board to call upon the registered public speaker, in accordance with
Cook County Code, Sec. 2-108(dd):
1.
George Blakemore, Concerned Citizen
Commissioner Murphy, seconded by Commissioner Peraica, moved to
adjourn. The motion carried and the
meeting was adjourned.
YOUR COMMITTEE
RECOMMENDS THE FOLLOWING ACTION
WITH REGARD TO THE
MATTER NAMED HEREIN:
Communication Number 302414 Approved
|
|
Respectfully submitted, Committee on Finance xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx John P. Daley, Chairman |
Attest:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Matthew B. DeLeon, Secretary
The audio recording for this meeting is available from the
Office of the Secretary to the Board,