Fifty-three organizations will receive $44 million from Cook County to support the region’s mental health infrastructure. [Health News Illinois]

The funding, announced this week, will head to healthcare and behavioral support providers for prevention, early intervention, treatment, recovery, support services and crisis care.

“This initiative highlights how government and other sectors of our community can work together to benefit the greater good and the health of our residents,” Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said at a press conference. “This is a historic opportunity to make meaningful change in Cook County for generations.” 

American Rescue Plan Act funds support the initiative.

Cook County Health Interim CEO Dr. Erik Mikaitis said the dollars will make a significant impact on the region’s “comprehensive, culturally appropriate behavioral health prevention, treatment and recovery services.”

“The needs before us are vast, as everyone knows," he said. "We have increasing demands for services across Cook County and a lack of mental health providers at times. It was critical that we invest in services that are equitable, effective and accessible for all."

See the full list of recipients here.

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Suicides Increase In US, With Guns Being Used Majority Of The Time | Moreover, gun suicides have consistently outpaced gun homicides, data show. The New York Times takes a closer look at Montana, a state struggling with the highest suicide rate in the nation. [KFF Health News]

Axios: Gun Suicides Account For Most Firearm-Related Deaths In U.S.
Gun suicides consistently outstrip gun homicides in the U.S., despite drawing less attention than other forms of gun violence. Suicide rates have increased in the U.S. over the past few decades and become a leading cause of death among young and middle-aged Americans. (Saric, 6/10)

The New York Times: Montana’s Suicide Rate Is Highest In The U.S., With Most Involving Guns
On a typical day, Ali Mullen races from her job at the county health department in Helena, Mont. ... a big pack of gummy bears keeps her going, stashed in her handbag next to a different sort of lifesaver: a gun lock that she carries almost everywhere she goes. In a sparsely populated state where many people own firearms, the small metal contraptions, which fit around a trigger and cost less than $10 on Amazon, are one way Montanans are trying to reduce the high rate of people who kill themselves. (Corkery, 6/10)

Texas Public Radio: Uvalde Families Sue UPS, FedEx For Shipping Gunman’s Weapon
Families of survivors of the Robb Elementary School shooting are suing the package shipping companies UPS and FedEx for allegedly violating state and federal law and their own corporate safety standards. The lawsuit was filed on the two-year mark of the shooting, which saw a gunman enter the school and murder 19 children and two teachers. The families said the shipping companies bear responsibility for the trauma and distress caused to the survivors of the massacre. (Padilla, 6/10)

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Arexvy now approved for people 50 years and older at increased risk of serious outcomes | The FDA expanded the approval of GSK's respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine (Arexvy) to include adults ages 50 to 59 at risk of RSV-related lower respiratory tract disease (LRTD) due to underlying conditions, the company announced on Friday. [MedPage Today]

Previously the adjuvanted RSV prefusion F protein-based vaccine had been approved only for adults 60 and older; it is currently recommended for use via shared decision-making by the CDC and Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

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Lawmakers signed off on sweeping changes to the insurance industry, boosted support for maternal health, increased provider rates and did more during the recently concluded spring session. [Health News Illinois} 

Below is a roundup of some of the proposals that could have the biggest impact on healthcare in the Land of Lincoln.

BUDGET

Gov. JB Pritzker signed into law this week a roughly $53.1 billion spending plan that includes hundreds of millions of dollars in investments for healthcare initiatives.

That includes $10 million to support a program within the Department of Healthcare and Family Services to relieve medical debt for more than 300,000 Illinoisans.

The package includes $182 million pledged by Pritzker earlier this spring to provide healthcare and other services to asylum seekers in the Chicago region.

And it allocates $440 million to two programs that provide Medicaid-like coverage for some undocumented adults. An additional $100 million will be brought in from a federal emergency services match, as well as $50 million from drug rebate payments and $40 million from managed care organization taxes.

Visit Health News Illinois website for for more information. 

We share some of  news report on Maternal Health and Behavioral Health here.

Lawmakers voted to boost pay for a variety of providers through the Medicaid omnibus this year.

MATERNAL HEALTH

Lawmakers followed through on Pritzker’s priority to address maternal health.

Along with funding various initiatives in the budget plan, the General Assembly approved a plan that will task insurers with covering all pregnancy, postpartum and newborn care provided by perinatal doulas or licensed certified professional midwives. That includes home births and home visits.

Coverage would also expand to home visits by board-certified lactation consultants and recommended products like breast pumps and feeding aids.

Another bill passed this spring would create a task force to design recovery plans for substance-exposed infants. The plans would include medical treatment, recovery services and referrals to community resources for infants and caregivers.

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH

Lawmakers green-lit a bill that would clarify existing law requiring the Department of Healthcare and Family Services to identify leading indicators for when a child is at an elevated behavioral health crisis risk.

The bill would create a workgroup with HFS, Medicaid managed care organizations and other stakeholders to determine what data to use to determine lead indicators. The workgroup would have to make its recommendations for leading indicator data elements by September, with that information to be used to ensure managed care organizations provide services and interventions to help children.

The proposal also tasks the State Board of Education to work with sister agencies and stakeholders to develop a readiness assessment for universal mental health screening of students, including a framework to support districts in a phased approach. The report would be due this fall, with a plan for a phased approach to be ready by next April.

Legislators also passed a bill to create a task force to investigate and develop a plan to help ease administrative burdens on behavioral health providers.

Another approved plan would require any mental health, substance use disorder treatment or developmental disabilities facility to attempt to provide a verbal and written notice of death of a patient to the individual's personal representative, if known.

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The recommendation would lead to the third remake of covid vaccines since 2022, CIDRAP notes, with new shots targeting ever-evolving variants. FDA officials say the timing for this type of decision "remains elusive." Also, a potential treatment is about to begin clinical trials in South Carolina. [KFF]

CIDRAP: FDA Panel Supports Switch To JN.1 For Fall COVID Vaccines Vaccine advisers to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today recommended switching the SARS-CoV-2 strain from the XBB.1.5 variant to JN.1 for fall vaccine formulations. The recommendation marks the third remake for the COVID vaccine since 2022. The measure unanimously passed, 16 to 0. FDA officials, concerned about further evolution of JN.1, also asked the group to discuss the possibility of recommending an offshoot of JN.1, such as KP.2, that may more closely match currently circulating strains. (Schnirring, 6/5)

The New York Times: F.D.A. Advisers Recommend a New Covid Vaccine Formula for the Fall“It’s becoming clear that the ideal timing for a vaccine composition decision remains elusive,” said Jerry Weir, an official with the F.D.A.’s vaccine division. ... Dr. Sarah Meyer, a senior vaccines official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said that aiming at JN.1 was more appropriate because it was “further up on the tree” in the evolution of the coronavirus, possibly allowing the vaccines to better cover mutations in the virus later this year. (Weiland and Jewett, 6/5)

Also —

WCSC: Clinical Trials To Begin For COVID-19 Treatment Developed In South CarolinaState lawmakers approved millions of dollars for research on a new COVID-19 treatment that will soon begin clinical trials, with every step of the research and development to take place completely in South Carolina. It’s a new way to treat COVID by inhaling medicine into the lungs to address respiratory inflammation, compared with the already-developed antiviral pill. (Rademaker, 6/5)

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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services signed off Tuesday on Illinois’s plan to establish a new behavioral health model in the state’s Medicaid program. [Health News Illinois]

Through the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics program, HHS will provide "sustainable funding" for facilities that provide comprehensive, around-the-clock behavioral healthcare and substance abuse treatment. Clinics are required to provide care coordination, 24/7 access to crisis services and serve all patients, regardless of their ability to pay.

“(CCBHCs) have significantly improved behavioral health treatment in our country, and today’s announcement will dramatically expand and improve access to equitable, quality care for Americans with serious mental health and substance use treatment needs,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement.

Illinois was one of 10 states added to the demonstration program after they established the “necessary state-level infrastructure and worked with providers” to develop their initiatives, according to HHS. Eight states are already part of the program.

Department of Healthcare and Family Services Director Lizzy Whitehorn said Tuesday’s announcement will have a “significant impact” on access.

“Behavioral healthcare faces major capacity challenges across the nation," she said in a statement. “This program will expand access in critical ways for people who have struggled in the past to find the services they need.”

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The Department of Public Health said Monday the measles outbreak reported earlier this spring in the northeastern region of Illinois is over. [Health News Illinois]

“I applaud all of the public health, healthcare, emergency management and social service staffers who worked so diligently to cooperate across jurisdictional lines to contain this measles outbreak,” Director Dr. Sameer Vohra said in a statement. “Public health is a team sport founded on partnership, and this was no better exemplified than during this recent outbreak.”

No new cases have been reported in the region in 42 days, or two full incubation periods.

A total of 67 cases were reported during the outbreak, with 57 of those cases connected to a shelter for asylum seekers in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood. Other cases were reported in suburban Cook County, as well as DuPage, Lake and Will counties.

IDPH’s announcement follows a similar one made last week by the Chicago Department of Public Health.

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CHICAGO-The Institute of Medicine of Chicago is hosting its 2024 Annual Leadership Awards and Annual Convening on June 20, 2024 from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM CT at Maggiano’s- Chicago. This is the Institute’s major fundraiser for the year. All are welcome. More details and to register>

Opening Guest Speaker- Dr. Erik Mikaitis, MD, MBA, FACP, CPE- He was appointed as the Interim Chief Executive Officer for Cook County Health in November 2023 by the Cook County Board of Commissioners. Dr. Mikaitis provides executive leadership to advance the health system's strategic imperatives and ensure the provision of high-quality care and services in collaboration with CCH's medical and business leaders.

Keynote Speaker- David T. Jones was named, by Gov. Pritzker, the Associate Secretary at the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS), where he serves as the statewide Chief Behavioral Health Officer (CBHO). Chief Jones joined IDHS as the Director of the Division of Substance Use Prevention and Recovery (SUPR) in October 2020.  

IOMC is honoring the 2024 Leadership Award Recipients, they are:

IOMC Outstanding Leadership & Compassion Award in Healthcare 

Richard Lieber, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer and Senior Vice President, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab 

IOMC Global Humanitarian Award

Damiano Rondelli, MD, Michael Reese Professor of Hematology, University of Illinois at Chicago    

                          

IOMC Innovation in Healthcare Delivery - Individual 

Arvind K. Goyal, MD, MPH, MBA, FAAFP, FACPM 

Medical Director, State of Illinois Medicaid, Dept. of Healthcare & Family Services, Clinical Associate Professor, Chicago Medical School 

IOMC Innovation in Healthcare Delivery – Organization 

Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science

The new class of Fellows will be announced and recognized at the event.

We wish to thank our sponsors for their support: Golden Square, Midwest Business Group on Health, and Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff LLP. Our tables sponsors are Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, University of Chicago Medicine,  Cook County Health, and The Portes Foundation.  

The Institute of Medicine of Chicago (IOMC), since 1915, is an independent non-profit organization of distinguished leaders in the health field who collaborate to improve the health of the public. Drawing upon the expertise of a diverse membership and other regional leaders, the IOMC addresses critical health issues through a range of interdisciplinary approaches, including education, research, communication of trusted information, and community engagement. With the public's health at its core, IOMC is building new programs and services to meet better the needs of its members and the Chicago, Counties and the State of Illinois community. 501c3 non-profit organization. Visit www.iomc.org.  

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If the benefits of exercise could be put into a pill form, it would be one of the most frequently prescribed medications. Regular walks can strengthen the heart, lower blood pressure, boost the immune system, and more.

Take a step toward better health! Cook County Health has started a local chapter of the community walking program, Walk with a Doc, to provide a fun and safe place to take a walk at your own pace, get health tips from CCH providers, and meet new people. The walks are free and all are welcome!

Our inaugural walk will be held during the 4 Men Health Fair on Saturday, June 8, at 10:30 am. Meet in front of Provident Hospital, 500 E 51^st,    Chicago. 

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The top U.S. health official said on Wednesday it would be "tragic" for the world to miss out on key reforms to the global pandemic response and that a treaty deal was within reach, with no major differences between negotiators. [Reuters and KFF]

Health officials are meeting in Geneva this week to try to wrap up more than two years of negotiations on a pandemic treaty and a series of updates to existing International Health Rules (IHR). However, countries have failed to finalise the treaty at this assembly and countries are considering an extension.

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