The Chicago Board of Health met Sept. 21 to receive $500,000 in new funding from the CDC to increase Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine coverage.
Here is the meeting's agenda, as provided by the board:
Chicago Board of Health
Meeting Summary: September 21, 2016
DePaul Center, 333 South State Street
Roll Call
Board Members Present
Steven Rothschild, M.D.
Adele Joy Cobbs, M.D.
Horace E. Smith, M.D.
Joseph B. Starshak
Board Members Absent
Julie Morita, M.D., Commissioner
Carolyn C. Lopez, M.D., President
Carl C. Bell, M.D.
Melanie Dreher, RN, PhD.
Caswell A. Evans, Jr., DDS, MPH
Victor M. Gonzalez
For the Department
Fikirte Wagaw, 1st Deputy Commissioner
Chicago Board of Health
Meeting Summary: September 21, 2016
DePaul Center, 333 South State Street
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 9:09 a.m. by Steven Rothschild, M.D.
Approval of Minutes: No quorum, August 2016 minutes are pending approval until the next
Board of Health meeting.
Commissioner’s Update: Fikirte Wagaw, 1st Deputy Commissioner provided the following
updates:
ReCAST Grant
• CDPH was recently awarded a ReCAST (Resiliency in Communities After Stress and
Trauma) grant from HHS, providing $5 million over five years to implement evidencebased
violence prevention strategies including trauma-informed training for front-line
city staff. We’re very optimistic about the grant as it will help us turn Chicago into a
trauma-informed city, which is not only a key component of Healthy Chicago 2.0 and an
evidenced-based strategy to prevent violence, but also a key opportunity for other
agencies to integrate public health practices into their work.
Youth HPV Vaccinations
• CDPH received $500,000 in new funding from the CDC to increase Human
Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine coverage in Chicago over the next two years. As a result,
we will increase site visits and technical assistance to healthcare providers, conduct
clinician-to-clinician, medical assistant and webinar education sessions and enhance
immunization report cards; all strategies that will help increase provider understanding
and ability to promote and provide the HPV vaccine.
Illinois Vaccines for Children Update
• IDPH and HFS have made a change to the VFC program in Illinois. As of October 1,
2016, children enrolled in the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (not Medicaid
or Medicaid expansion) will no longer are eligible for vaccines through the VFC
program. Healthcare providers serving these children will need to purchase private stock
vaccine and submit claims to their patients’ insurance companies for reimbursement.
CDPH has been in close communication with professional organizations and Chicago
healthcare providers to assure that they are aware of this change and to identify
challenges associated with the transition. CDPH has also been in close communication
with IDPH and HFS to make recommendations to facilitate a smooth transition.
West Nile Virus
• On September 7th our mosquito abatement program sprayed insecticide in parts of North
Park on the North Side to reduce mosquitoes that may cause West Nile Virus. Most
recently, we sprayed Monday evening in parts of the Garfield Ridge, Clearing, Chicago
Lawn and West Lawn on the communities on the Southwest Side. Decisions to spray are
based on the results from CDPH’s citywide mosquito surveillance program, and follow
the spring CDPH citywide application of larviciding agents in catch basins to kill
mosquito larva.
Enroll Chicago
• City of Chicago efforts to enroll residents in quality, affordable health coverage continues
with coordination from CDPH’s Enroll Chicago initiative. The 4th open enrollment
Chicago Board of Health
Meeting Summary: September 21, 2016
DePaul Center, 333 South State Street
period for the private insurance Marketplace under the Affordable Care Act (ACA)
begins on November 1 and ends on January 31. Enrollment in Illinois Medicaid, for low
and moderate income residents, is all year around. CDPH is closely coordinating with
City Departments, Sister Agencies, and community stakeholders on resident engagement,
education and enrollment. These efforts align with the Health Chicago 2.0 strategic
priorities. One of the enrollment marketing pieces was placed in your Board packet and is
available for visitors on the sign-in table. Note that there is English on one side and
Spanish on the other.
Expanded Medicaid for CPS Students
• Chicago Public Schools received $900,000 to implement the Healthy Schools, Healthy
Cities Medicaid Enrollment Project under the Connecting Kids to Coverage Agreement
Award. CPS will use data-driven approaches to identify uninsured students, particularly
those from Latino communities and provide Medicaid and CHIP application assistance in
coordination with community based organizations.
Behavioral Health Medical Director
• Lastly, Fikirte announced that CDPH has a new Behavioral Health Medical Director,
Elizabeth Salisbury-Afshar, M.D. Dr. Salisbury joined us on Monday. In this role, she
will be based at our North River location and charged with supporting a wide range of
initiatives that involve behavioral health and violence prevention programming, Healthy
Chicago 2.0 and supporting psychiatry within the mental health clinics. As an expert on
substance use disorders, Dr. Salisbury will be playing a leading role in implementing the
recommendations of the Heroin and Other Opioids Task Force report, once it's released.
She comes to us with a wealth of clinical and administrative leadership that will serve
CDPH well, and we are excited to have her join the team! She is hitting the ground
running, and is actually seeing clients, as we speak, during clinical hours. She’ll be
joining us at a future Board of Health meeting.
Comments by the Board President:
Steven Rothschild, M.D. welcomed the visitors and college students and provided an overview
of the board’s history dating back in the 1860’s and explained the board’s advisory role in
matters of infectious disease and health issues affecting public health.
Policy/Legislative Updates: Jesse Lava, Director of Policy provided the following updates:
Health Initiative Policies
• A city council task force is working on a list of health initiative recommendations to be
announced in July 2017.
New Policy Staff Member
• A new Senior Policy Analyst is joining the Policy & Legislative Affairs Program.
1115 Medicaid Wavier Proposal
• Governor Rauner released the 1115 Medicaid waiver proposal that addresses health
disparities and changes in the Medicaid system. The proposal addresses the framework
of 1.2 billion dollars disbursed over a 5 year period.
Chicago Board of Health
Meeting Summary: September 21, 2016
DePaul Center, 333 South State Street
Presentations: “2016 Nobody Quits Smoking Like Chicagoland” – Jennifer Herd, Senior Policy
Analyst
Old Business: None
New Business: None
Public Comment: None
Adjourn: The meeting adjourned at 9:42 a.m.
Next Board Meeting: October 19, 2016, 9:00 a.m.
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