Letter from the IOMC President  Cheryl Rucker- Whitaker 

A MESSAGE TO OUR FELLOWS, MEMBERS and COLLEAGUES

Dear Fellows, Members and Colleagues, 

My First 100 Days!  We have been busy!

It is my pleasure to invite you to the State of Health of Chicago! The Institute of Medicine of Chicago launched our educational pursuit for 2020-2021, "Collaboration for Systemic Change in the Time of a Pandemic—We Can Do Better."

We have a prestigious group of speakers who will stimulate and challenge our thinking as we develop innovative change-maker opportunities for Chicago and our great State. From early September to the Grand Convening on October 23rd, through June 2021, over 15 virtual learning sessions are designed for members and colleagues. With keen optics on scoring a pre-election to a post-election constructive report card on how we are doing in population health and community health issues, we want you to be part of this effort. 

Besides our close attention to developing a robust convening, your Board of Governors is reassessing how to revitalize IOMC. Our accomplishments over the past 105 years are significant; however, financial challenges occurred over the past few years that require an intensive look at where we are now and where we want to be in 2021 and the next millennium. An environmental scan requires tough choices and actions to respond to our membership and mission while taking corrective actions. We are constructing a strategic plan that aligns IOMC financially for a more secure future so that we can continue to address the disparities and gaps in Chicago, our collar counties, and the State of Illinois.

Our actions include to revitalizing IOMC include:

Financial actions:

• Eliminating the executive director's role
• Changing our administrative support structure
• Review dues structure and member options

Program actions:

• Expanding our learning opportunities and the ways we provide them to our members and colleagues
• Designing vital programs and change-maker initiatives that have measurable outcomes and benefits to whom we serve and advocate for in Chicago and Illinois
• Upgrading our social media presence
• Evaluating our infrastructure and makeup of our leadership

We ask for your continued support during this revitalization.   Your leadership team is a diverse group of professionals creating a sustainable future for IOMC, its members, and the community we proudly advocate for and serve together.  IOMC wants you to be an integral part of it. The time for annual dues is coming soon. We need your dues to help continue support of the Institute. Your dues support is critical to supporting the administrative functions of the IOMC as we seek to revitalize the programming and profile of the organization.

We ask you to participate in the upcoming convenings and provide feedback this fall and throughout the year. IOMC’s membership is representative of who we are and includes academia, business, civic, government, science, technology, nonprofits, foundations and interdisciplinary professionals. Help us represent the best that Medicine and Public Health Scholarship has to offer.

Sincerely yours,

Cheryl Rucker-Whitaker, MD, MPH, FACP

President and Chair Board of Governors

Institute of Medicine of Chicago