chicago department of public health

chicago department of public health

Chicago Department of Public Health

1. Introduction

By making these changes, Chicago would be a more pleasant and healthier place to live. To do this, it addresses the social, economic, cultural, and physical environment that affects our health. To help make Chicago a healthier place to live, each of us has to be mindful of these lifestyle changes and do our part in making it happen.

The community and worksite wellness is the first public health action plan of Chicago by the Department of Public Health. This has been introduced to assist in making Chicago a healthier and easier place to reside. It is a long-term goal for a healthier Chicago. The mission is to make healthy choices easier in homes, schools, neighborhoods, and workplaces. This framework is set out to make large-scale changes and improvements for the health of individuals. The plan contains four main goals: tackling obesity and unhealthy eating, preventing and controlling tobacco use, promoting and supporting breastfeeding, and finally promoting physical activity.

Chicago Department of Public Health is located in Chicago, Illinois within Cook County. The department has over 1,200 public health professionals. The Mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel, is committed to building a healthier Chicago by protecting residents and ensuring better health outcomes for the entire city. The commissioner, Bechara Choucair, MD, stresses that efficient partnerships and supporting community organization and development are essential to building a healthy Chicago.

2. Services provided by the Chicago Department of Public Health

Sexually transmitted infection (STI) and HIV prevention – CDPH funds a variety of organizations to provide STI prevention services and testing. Additionally, there are dedicated clinics providing testing, vaccines for Hepatitis A and B, and treatment for STIs. City residents can access testing and treatment for STIs at the Specialty Clinic located at CDPH’s Woodlawn headquarters or through a number of contracted clinical and community-based organizations. High-quality care and prevention services are also available for HIV-positive residents at several clinics around the city.

Mental health – CDPH provides mental health services at three clinic locations. Services include psychiatric treatment and medication management, individual and group therapy, and case management. CDPH contracts with community mental health providers to ensure residents receive the mental health care they need.

Medical services – Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) operates three clinics providing tuberculosis (TB) testing and treatment, STI testing and treatment, and immunizations. STI and TB services are available at the clinic located at CDPH’s Woodlawn headquarters, and immunizations are available at clinics in Woodlawn and Englewood. CDPH also partners with federally qualified health centers and other healthcare providers to connect residents with affordable primary care and medical homes.

3. Initiatives and programs for public health improvement

Healthy Chicago Hospitals Collaborative is an effort by the Chicago Department of Public Health and 15 plus local hospitals to leverage their collective impact to improve health outcomes for communities served and accelerate health system transformation. This initiative takes a leap into creating healthier communities via hospitals addressing societal conditions that they cannot control within their walls but have a substantial impact on the health of the communities they serve. They include alignment to improve the health of targeted populations, data sharing on community health priorities, collaboration on quality and disparities measures, and advocacy for policy and system changes that will lead to better health for all residents. This agreement is an offshoot from Illinois hospital assessment and a state plan to better integrate the health and social services infrastructures to improve the quality of care and life for the state’s most vulnerable residents. This collaborative supportive activity and policy change could improve the quality and length of thousands of lives. One hospital on the southwest side of Chicago has used its local assessment and other local data to accompany the closure of an indigent care clinic and allocate resources to find medical homes for impacted residents.

The Chicago Department of Public Health has adopted the city’s comprehensive public health agenda designed both to quantitatively measure improvements in the city’s health status and to qualitatively improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the Department. Healthy Chicago is an innovative and ambitious public health agenda that seeks to measurably improve health in Chicago by 2016. This plan was developed with a myriad of community and city health leaders and with the consultation of national and local public health experts. This plan serves as a strategic blueprint to improve the health of all Chicago communities in measurable ways. In achieving this goal, public awareness of the health repercussions of social policy is increased and better integration of public health with other sectors is a catalyst for rising health status. This plan has the task of not just improving the health of citizens, but the entire social climate in which health is possible. Expert consensus, consideration of national trends in health, community input, data analysis, and inter-departmental collaboration were the guiding forces in crafting this plan and it remains to be the yardstick and guide for the department’s initiatives. Elected officials have been active in championing for the plan and the department has reported steady progress and achievements over the years.

Include initiatives and programs designed to improve the city’s health. It will discuss the Healthy Chicago plan and Healthy Chicago Hospitals Collaborative. A summary of the impact of the Chicago Department of Public Health on the health status of the city comes next. Finally, ongoing data collection on public health indicators and evaluation of public health initiatives will be discussed. The initiatives in place to improve the city’s health are evidence-based practices that show the department’s aim to improve Chicago health in a systematic and comprehensive way.

4. Collaborations and partnerships

This work has allowed for a meaningful reduction in HIV transmission among gay and bisexual men in Chicago. From 2000-2007, there has been a 22% reduction in new diagnoses of HIV among gay and bisexual men. In our most recent efforts, we evaluated a CDPH and HMPG-led initiative to increase HIV testing among younger gay men at community-based venues. This evaluation served as an example of how research should drive data collection and the building of health promotion interventions, and also highlighted the necessity of evaluative study.

The work of the partnership is focused around convening per annum planning sessions to create an overall HIV prevention plan for gay and bisexual men in Chicago, and to judge the CDPH’s annual HIV prevention budget as it relates to the plan for gay men. This effort is supported by lesser planning meetings throughout the year. A National Institutes of Health study section paradigm has been adapted to ground these meetings in the newest research and to vet community interventions and objectives. An executive group provides guidance and ensures that activities are data-driven and coordinated.

The Division of HIV/STD Services, HIV Prevention Planning Group, and the Office of Lesbian & Gay Health in the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) have developed a formal partnership for the purpose of developing and implementing initiatives to prevent and reduce HIV transmission among gay and bisexual men. Relying on the empowerment theory of health promotion, our joint efforts are aimed at directly affecting the best practice approaches to HIV prevention among communities of gay men.

5. Future goals and vision

There is no doubt that the Chicago Department of Public Health has undergone a magnificent remodeling since its birth. Despite its apparent success, the Department recognizes that epidemics and issues of health disparities will likely never be completely eradicated. It can only hope to meet these challenges in a manner which continues to build and maintain the public’s trust. To work towards restoring that trust, the Department must swing its focus back to basics. This means promoting essential public health services and disease prevention efforts at the community and individual levels. While some services may not be as politically appeasing, they are necessary and supporting them financially will be a battle worth fighting. A similar strategy must be taken to eliminate health disparities. It is understood that this issue too is a complex one with no single solution. However, with the proper tools and resources targeted toward high-risk communities, steady progress can be ensured. At the administrative and operational level, a huge area of improvement lies in building the Department’s informatics infrastructure. If public health practice can progress into the age of electronic health records and data sharing, the potential for system-wide improvements in health surveillance and interventions is quite remarkable. Building partnerships and creating a school of public health might also do much to secure a brighter future for the city of Chicago.