October 1, 2008
 

Thank you to everyone who attended and/or contributed to the Illinois Maternal and Child Health Coalition’s 20th Anniversary Benefit Gala on September 10th! We had a record number of attendees who helped us celebrate the many accomplishments that IMCHC and our partners have achieved over the past 20 years.

A sincere thank you also goes out to the IMCHC board, host committee members, sponsors, silent auction donors and ad book purchasers who helped us raise a record amount of money at this event.

To view pictures from the event, visit IMCHC’s home page; contact Lilah Hander if you are interested in obtaining a copy of a picture.  

If you were unable to attend, you can still support IMCHC by making a contribution through our secure donation page or by contacting Kathy Chan at 312-491-8161x24.

Voter Registration Deadline

The Illinois voter registration deadline is 30 days prior to the election or Tuesday, October 7th. If you are not yet registered, you can visit the Illinois State Board of Elections’ website to find out more information on how to register.

Cook County residents can visit the County Clerk’s website for local registration information.

Upcoming Candidate Forums on Health Care

IMCHC, the Campaign for Better Health Care and Working Families Win have partnered to put together three health care forums featuring several North suburban legislators and their opponents.

On Sunday, October 5th, Representative Kathy Ryg and her challenger, Dan Sugrue will address the health care concerns of the 59th District from 2pm-4pm at the Vernon Township Community Service Building, 2900 N. Main Street in Buffalo Grove.

Representative Eddie Washington and his challenger, Bill Anderson will address the health care concerns of the 60th Illinois State House District on Wednesday, October 15th from 7pm-8:45pm at the Waukegan Public Library in the Ray Bradbury Room at 128 N. County Street in Waukegan.

Senator Dan Kotowski will hold a public hearing on health care on Thursday, October 16th from 7pm-9pm at the Des Plaines Public Library at 1501 Ellinwood Avenue.

Email Eric Quamme or contact him at 312-491-8161x25 to RSVP for any of these events or for more information.



Upcoming Voter Education Event

IMCHC is co-sponsoring a voter education event with the Younger Women ’s Task Force on September 25th at Roosevelt University, 430 S. Michigan Avenue at 6pm. A panel discussion featuring state legislative candidates will be moderated by Silvia Rivera of Radio Arte, which will be followed by a networking reception. Voter registration will also be available at the event.

Questions for the panelists should be sent to ywtf-chicago@hotmail.com in advance of the September 25th event.



Congratulations to Arden Handler!

A special congratulations to Arden Handler, DrPH, professor and researcher at the University of Illinois – Chicago, School of Public Health and IMCHC founding board member, for receiving an award for her public and community health work from the March of Dimes. She will be honored at the 11th Annual Jonas Salk Health Leadership Awards luncheon on Wednesday, September 24th at Galleria Marchetti, 825 W. Erie in Chicago.

Archived Topics

Visit our newsletter archive to read about recently listed articles from past issues. Past topics include:

• Legislative Updates
• Former Staff Update

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Urge Your Congressman to Support Paid Family Leave

In a Harvard-led study of the maternity leave policies of 170 countries, the United States was found to be one of only four countries that do not offer some form of paid leave for new mothers.

The Family Leave Insurance Act of 2008 (HR5873) would create a system to provide all workers with 12 weeks of paid leave over a 12-month period to care for a new child, care for their own illness or help another family member who was sick. It would also provide paid time off for family members dealing with an exigency caused by the deployment of a member of the military. Paid leave will provide families with the support and flexibility they need, as well as help with employee retention, productivity and overall morale.

The Federal Employee Paid Parental Leave Act of 2007 provides that 8 of 12 weeks of parental leave made to a federal employee be paid leave. This bill passed the House in June 2008 and awaits action in the Senate.

A handful of states, including California, Washington, New Jersey, have taken it into their own hands by passing some form of family and/or medical leave laws. Oregon, New York and Maryland are looking into similar legislation. Paid leave is also a policy priority of IMCHC’s newest project, the Campaign to Save Our Babies.

Visit IMCHC’s e-advocacy center to take action today by urging your Congressman to take action on paid leave legislation.

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Stronger Roots, Stronger Branches Conference – September 18th and 19th

The 5th Annual Stronger Roots, Stronger Branches Conference: Giving Voice to Multicultural Communities will take place on September 18th and 19th at the Holiday Inn Select in Naperville. This two-day conference is designed to closely examine the role of cultural customs, traditions and rituals in prevention, intervention, treatment and recovery strategies; and how each promote and strengthen the health and well-being of individuals and multicultural communities.
 
Visit the Prevention First website for more information and to register for this event. 

9th Annual Unity Walk and Peace Rally

The 9th Annual Unity Walk and Peace Rally will take place on Saturday, September 27th. Registration will begin at 8am and the event will start at 9am at the Great Lawn on Museum Campus Drive, across from Gate 14 at Chicago’s Soldier Field.

This three-mile walk will include a rally and entertainment to raise awareness for all citizens to become active in the effort to make Chicago a bias-free city. For more information, please call Iris Archilla at 312-744-4101 or visit the City of Chicago’s Special Events website.


Save the Date! Improving the Healthcare of Chicago Seminar – October 7th

The Chicago Asthma Consortium and partners are hosting “Improving the Healthcare of Chicago: An Interactive Approach to Reducing Healthcare Disparities” on Tuesday, October 7th. Registration and breakfast will take place from 7:30am – 8am and the seminar portion will take place from 8:30am – 11:30am at the Illinois Institute of Technology, Hermann Union Building, 3241 S. Federal Street in Chicago.

Meeting goals include:
• Provide a solid understanding of healthcare disparities and its three components, cultural competency, health literacy, and language specificity.
• Provide participants with new information and ideas to reduce healthcare disparities which can be implemented within their own organizations.
• Begin development of a plan of action to address asthma healthcare disparities from the grassroots up.

Visit the Chicago Asthma Consortium’s website for more information about the seminar and to register.


Illinois Children’s Mental Health Partnership Community Planning Assembly

The Illinois Children’s Mental Health Partnership would like to invite you to attend a Community Planning Assembly in Mt. Vernon on October 8th, in Springfield on October 29th or in DeKalb on November 13th. We will focus of on building children’s mental health community partnerships. Each Assembly will include a panel of regional leaders in children’s mental health, including representatives from schools, Department of Human Services Division of Mental Health Regional Offices, early childhood, juvenile justice and families.
There is a registration fee of $20 that includes lunch. The fee will be waived for family members, who are encourage to attend. Space is limited.
To register, please email Ashleigh Kirk or contact her at 312-516-5567.
    
Easy-to-Read Diabetes Resource in English and Spanish
Learning About Diabetes, Inc. is a non-profit, charitable, educational corporation dedicated to providing patients, caregivers, and health care professionals with:

• Easy-to-read, low literacy, and very low literacy health education programs
• Culturally sensitive foreign-language programs for those in need of health care information in their native language
• Research on the role of art and design in creating effective health care communications.
Visit their website to learn more and to download materials.

New Study on the Costs of the Uninsured
 
A new study found uninsured US residents will spend about $30 billion in out-of-pocket costs on health care this year. The study also found that about $56 billion will be spent on uncompensated care for the uninsured, with $42.9 billion spent by the Medicaid, Medicare and state and local governments. 

In 2007, health care spending accounted for 16.3% of GDP and according to federal data, this amount could nearly double in just one decade. 
 
Source: Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report – August 25, 2008



Nearly 60% of US Companies Plan to Increase Workers’ Health Care Costs

A national survey of 3,000 companies shows that 59% of US businesses plan to increase employees’ health insurance deductibles, co-pays or out-of-pocket spending limits. Costs are expected to rise by 5.7% in 2009, which was the same rate of growth in 2008, but is still higher than the rate of inflation or workers’ wages.

Survey results also found that 47% of the companies are encouraging enrollment in health plans with lower premiums and higher deductibles and nearly 20% plan to offer consumer-directed health plans.

Source: Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report – September 4, 2008

Massachusetts Health Care Reform Updates

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick recently signed a bill that will strengthen children’s mental health treatment. The measures include: 

• Encouraging physicians to screen children for mental illnesses during visits;
• Providing training to help teachers, guidance counselors and nurses identify the mental illnesses in students;
• Requiring the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care to provide consultation services in early education and care programs to help identify children with mental illnesses earlier; and
• Establishing a behavioral health research and evaluation council that will promote collaboration among state agencies to ensure that children with mental illnesses receive appropriate services.

Additionally, Massachusetts’ health insurance reforms have earned praise from newspapers around the country, several of which have noted that it “could become a model for universal health coverage for other states or the nation.”

Source: Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report – August 25, 2008, September 2, 2008

US Census Data Shows Number of Uninsured Decreased in 2007

The US Census Bureau’s most recent report showed that the number and percentage of uninsured US residents fell in 2007 to 45.7 million people or 15.3% of the total population. The drop in the number of uninsured has been attributed to the increase in the number of individuals, particularly children, enrolled in public programs such as Medicaid, Medicare and SCHIP. Despite the overall increase, the number of uninsured was still 7.2 million higher than in 2000.

Massachusetts ranked number one overall with 92.1% of state residents with health coverage; Texas ranked last with 75.6% of residents covered.

Child health advocates were encouraged by the coverage rates for children, but concerned that poor economic times and the failure to expand SCHIP will lead to more children who become uninsured.

Source: Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report – August 27, 2008



New Analysis Finds Whistle-Blower Lawsuits Helped Recover At Least $9.3B from Health Care Providers Accused of Defrauding States

A new report finds that at least $9.3 billion was recovered from whistle-blower lawsuits filed against health care providers and drug companies that defrauded state and federal government.

In order to fight health care fraud, whistle-blowers were used first by the Department of Justice in the 1990s and they currently initiate 90% of these cases. Whistle-blowers usually receive between 15-25% of the total amount recovered. 

Source: Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report – September 2, 2008

New C-Section Procedure Uses a More “Women Centered” Approach

Physicians in the United Kingdom have developed a caesarean-section procedure that tries to closely mimic aspects of a vaginal birth.
 
For example, surgical drapes are used to block the incision area from view until delivery of the baby’s head and the area is then cleaned so the woman’s partner can view the birth. At this point, the delivery is slowed so uterine contractions can help clear the infant’s lungs and so the shoulders can be eased out, allowing the remaining portion of the delivery to be viewed by the new mother. Immediately after birth, the newborn is placed on the woman’s chest to increase the bonding process.

Evaluations of this new procedure are taking place to justify the practice.

Source: National Partnership for Women and Families Daily Women’s Health Policy Report – September 2, 2008

Survey Finds Strong Support for Paid Sick Days

A study conducted by the University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Center found that over 75% of surveyed employees consider paid sick days as a basic right of employment and 86% thought that sick days should be guaranteed by the government.

The survey also found that one in six workers reported that they or a family member had been fired, threatened with being fired or suffered a negative consequence as a result of taking time off for a personal illness or to care for a sick family member.

Approximately 40% of private sector workers and 75% of low-wage workers DO NOT receive paid sick days. The poll indicated that people are more likely to vote for a candidate who supports paid sick days for all workers.

San Francisco and Washington, D.C. are the only two cities with legislation mandating sick days, but there is no state or federal legislation. A dozen states, including Illinois, proposed sick leave legislation this year. Congress is also considering S910, the Healthy Families Act, which would provide seven paid sick days to workers in businesses with 15 or more employees.

In Illinois, IMCHC is part of Women Employed’s Illinois Paid Leave Coalition which is working to pass legislation that will allow employees to earn up to seven paid sick days a year. Take action through Women Employed’s website and sign on as an organizational supporter by contacting Melissa Josephs.

Source: National Partnership for Women and Families Daily Women’s Health Policy Report – September 4, 2008

California Breastfeeding Study and East Coast Hospital Survey

A report by the University of California-Davis and the California WIC Association has found that women who give birth at hospitals in California with mostly non-white and low-income patients are less likely to breastfeed than women who give birth at other hospitals around the state. African-Americans had the lowest breastfeeding rates across all hospitals.

Eighty-seven percent of women in California begin breastfeeding at hospitals, but less than 43% of women continue to breastfeed when they leave the hospital. The report finds that more needs to be done to bridge cultural gaps about breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding has been shown to reduce the likelihood of childhood obesity, ear infections and boost children's immune systems.

Despite these findings, a separate study published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine found that 94% of surveyed hospitals on the East Coast and D.C. distribute formula samples or coupons to new mothers. Formula samples have been linked to decreased rates of breastfeeding. Only 11% of infants are exclusively breastfed for the first six months of their lives, which is the timeline recommend by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Source: National Partnership for Women and Families Daily Women’s Health Policy Report – September 4, September 5, 2008

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IMCHC Chicago Area Chapter Meeting
Wednesday, September 17th
1pm-3pm
Metropolitan Family Services
1 N. Dearborn, 10th Floor in Chicago
We will screen a segment of Unnatural Causes, the PBS documentary that illustrates the connections between race, wealth and health.
RSVP to Lilah Handler

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Chicago Area Immunization Campaign’s Fall General Meeting
Friday, October 10th
8:30am – 12pm
Sinai Community Institute, 2653 W. Ogden Ave in Chicago
Dr. James Conway from the University of Wisconsin and Dr. Kenzie Cameron from Northwestern University will present timely topics about influenza. A full breakfast will be provided.
RSVP to Melissa Ponce

Southern Area School Health Center Fall Regional Meeting
Tuesday, October 21st
12:30pm-4:30pm
Adolescent Health Center Multipurpose Room
101 S. Wall Street
Carbondale, IL  62902
Lunch will be served – please RSVP to Megan Erskine


IMCHC Southern Illinois Chapter Meeting and Legislative Luncheon
Co-hosted by the Southern Illinois Perinatal Program and others from the Southern Illinois region
Wednesday, October 22nd
9am – 2pm*
Rend Lake Resort
11712 East Windy Lane in Whittington
RSVP to Lilah Handler
*Chapter and program updates will take place from 9am-11am. Legislators will be attending the luncheon, which will start at 11:30am.

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