Message From The Commissioner

Last week, I had the honor of presenting our work to nearly 1000 public health leaders during the opening session of the National Association of County & City Health Officials (NACCHO). During the presentation, I stressed how our success depends directly on partnership with other agencies, businesses, non-profit groups and private residents. One example I discussed is our ongoing efforts around Access to Care – one of the 12 priorities in our Healthy Chicago agenda. Over the next several months, key components of the Affordable Care Act will be implemented, providing new opportunities for more than 500,000 Chicago residents to have access to the care they deserve. To make sure Chicago is ready, we have been working with partners across the state on advocacy, outreach and information sharing. We worked with our partners in Springfield to support the Medicaid Expansion bill, ensuring Illinois was willing and ready to provide access to Medicaid for those in need. For outreach, we are working with our partners at the County level to help identify and enroll Chicagoans in CountyCare, so they will access to insurance even before ACA implementation. For information sharing, we are working with a number of partners to collect and analyze data on Chicago’s residents as part of our plans to publish a report that will help other organizations target their outreach efforts and ensure appropriate campaigns. Together, we have been able to strengthen policy and share information more effectively which will in turn help us reach more residents directly, allowing them to take advantage of the benefits provided in this historic new law. Together, we can make Chicago the healthiest city in the nation.

Sincerely,

Bechara Choucair, M.D.

Implementation Update

July 2013

HEALTHY CHICAGO PRIORITIES

www.CityofChicago.org/Health

The Chicago Health Atlas, a website providing citywide health data, was launched in June. Aggregate health information is presented on a map to show the prevalence of health conditions in different communities. The Chicago Health Atlas was developed by informatics researchers and staff at University of Illinois at Chicago, Stroger Hospital, University of Chicago, Northwestern University, Rush University, and CDPH. The project is funded by the Otho S.A. Sprague Memorial Institute. To view the site, go to www.chicagohealthatlas.org.

Public Health Infrastructure Chicago’s Step Up, Get Tested Collaborative hosted a

town hall on June 27, National HIV Testing Day, in order to raise awareness of HIV prevention resources. Over 45 participants attended the event, which included a panel discussion. The Step Up, Get Tested Collaborative also hosted HIV testing events throughout the month of June. HIV Prevention

On June 28, Chicago launched the Divvy bike share system. Over 4,000 trips were taken during its first weekend of operation. The program is designed to provide residents and visitors a transportation al-ternative for short trips. Bikes can be accessed at hundreds of stations across the city, each with a touchscreen kiosk, station map, and docking sys-tem that releases bikes using a Member key or ride code. To learn more about the Divvy system, go to www.facebook.com/DivvyBikes. Obesity Preven-tion

The Chicago Dating Matters Initiative (CDMI), a

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-funded program to address teen dating violence, held a culminating community event on June 28 at Fuller Park. The event celebrated the students, educa-tors, community members and stakeholders that participated in the program during the first year of the program’s implementation. Schools, parents, and Community Advisory Board members were acknowledged for their efforts in promoting healthy relationships. Adolescent Health, Violence Prevention

The first West Nile virus positive mosquito batch

was confirmed by CDPH in late June as part of the comprehensive West Nile virus surveillance and prevention program. Activities include dropping larvacide in catch basins to help limit the number of mosquitos that can carry the virus, and regularly testing mosquitos that are caught in traps located throughout the city. CDPH will increase traps and monitoring in the area where the positive mosqui-tos were found. To learn more about preventing West Nile virus, go to http://tinyurl.com/PreventWestNileVirus Communicable Disease Control and Prevention

www.CityofChicago.org/Health

Healthy Chicago Implementation

Implementation Update - July 2013

Step Up, Get Tested panel discusses HIV and prevention resources at June 27 town hall.

On July 9, health administrators, city officials and restaurant owners gathered at Midway Airport to celebrate a new partnership aimed at improving healthy food options for travelers. For the more than nine million passengers that fly through Midway Airport every year, fresh, innovative, and tasty or “F.I.T.” menu options will now be available at 12 F.I.T. City-designated restaurants. A public health initiative sponsored by Building a Healthier Chicago (BHC), F.I.T. City ensures that all participating restaurants achieve its five criteria. Speakers at the event included Dr. James M. Galloway, former Assistant U.S. Surgeon, Rear Admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service and Regional Health Administrator for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; CDPH Commissioner Dr. Bechara Choucair; and Rosemarie S. Andolino, Commissioner, Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA). To view F.I.T. criteria and for more information, visit www.healthierchicago.org/fitcity. Obesity Prevention, Heart Disease and Stroke

Healthy Chicago Policy Highlights

Federal regulations, released in late June, require that snacks sold in U.S. schools during the school day limit calories, fat, sugar and salt. For example, vending machine snacks are limited to 200 calo-ries per item, and 12-ounce drinks must not ex-ceed 60 calories. The standards were created to improve students’ food choices, providing more nutritious options and helping to address child-hood obesity. Schools have until July 1, 2014 to implement the rules. Obesity Prevention

On June 12, the Illinois Department of Public Health amended the State administrative code per-taining to the treatment of minors for sexually transmitted infections (Section 693.130), now per-mitting minors age 12 and older to consent to vac-cinations for HPV. Prior to the amendment, minors age 12 and over were already able to consent to STI treatment. This change came in response to input provided by CDPH and other stakeholders in the Fall of 2012. Adolescent Health

www.CityofChicago.org/Health

Implementation Update - July 2013

CDPH staff celebrate Pride 2013.

The 44th annual Pride Parade took place on June 30. The City of Chicago celebrated the Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage. In addition, CDPH staff distrib-uted anti-tobacco materials to attendees. Surveys from the American Lung Association show that LGBT persons are significantly more likely to smoke. Tobac-co Use

Getting The Word Out

The Office of Violence Prevention is accepting appli-

cations for its Ambassador Program, an initiative to increase the community capacity of civic leaders and other professionals who advocate for violence pre-vention and intervention across the city. Ambassa-dors will work with CDPH to conduct community out-reach to provide support and guidance to community members on violence prevention and intervention initiatives. Ambassadors serve at least a six-month term and are required to attend a 90-minute orienta-tion and training session. To fill out an application, go to http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VPAI, and for more information, email Joseluis Avalos at Joseluis.Avalos@cityofchicago.org. Violence Prevention

The Department of Housing and Economic Develop-ment (HED) will solicit public comments on the next five-year housing plan for Chicago from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 24 at the Harold Washing-ton Public Library, 400 S. State Street, in the lower-level multi-purpose room. The housing plan will es-tablish priorities and objectives involving citywide housing needs for 2014-2018. HED representatives will provide information regarding the current plan, after which the public will be invited to provide com-ments and suggestions. Speakers must register in per-son. For more information, call (312) 744-4190.

Healthy Chicago Grant News

CDPH released a Request for Proposal (RFP) to

identify an organization that can provide assistance in making grants to income-eligible property own-ers for the identification and control of lead-based paint hazards. Organizations submitting a proposal must (1) be a State of Illinois licensed non-profit mortgage lender with at least five years of experi-ence processing loan applications and making loans for home purchase, refinancing or improvement; 2) administer all fiscal responsibilities identified in the scope of work (i.e., cannot subcontract the fiscal responsibilities ); and 3) submit proof of insurance with the completed proposal. Proposals are due on July 22, 2013. To obtain a copy of the RFP, go to www.cityofchicago.org/health (alerts) or contact Cynthia Gardner at 312-746-7834. Healthy Homes

In June, Sinai Health System and Sinai Urban Health Institute were awarded $250,000 from the Avon Foundation for another year of the Helping Her Live program. The funding is used to recruit, educate, empower and navigate uninsured and underin-sured women in North Lawndale, Humboldt Park, East and West Garfield Park and Austin through the mammography process. Community Health Educa-tors (Navigators) work with women and healthcare facilities to obtain annual screenings, eliminate de-lays in obtaining test results, and ensure appropri-ate follow-up. Breast Cancer Disparities

CDPH received the following grant awards: $50,000 from the Illinois Department of Public

Health (IDPH) for the dental sealant program. A total of $8.3 million from the Illinois Department

of Human Services (IDHS) for mental health, sub-stance abuse, Healthy Families, WIC, and Chicago Case Management programs.

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Implementation Update - July 2013