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So long, farewell, goodbye

We're officially wrapped up on this blog site, and moving operations to Chicago Health Matters' new home on the Chi-Town Daily News site.

We've already posted a few items about the Cook County Health and Hospital System and dangerous porches in Chicago.

Thanks for reading, and we hope you'll check us out at our new home!

Friday news round up

Here it is, our final news round up before moving to our new site:

Chicago Public Schools and CDPH team up for STD treatment and education (Trib) (Daily News story from last month HERE)

Baxter hits limit on swine flu vaccine orders (Crain's)


U.S. News & World Report picks University of Chicago Medical Center as one of the nation's best (Chicago Press Release)
Here's the U.S. News & World Report study and a New York Times look at the country's top 10 (no Chicago hospitals are on it, though)

UCMC still moving to close women's clinic (Chicago Defender)

Lesbian files discrimination suit against former employer, United Health Care (Windy City Times)

State federal appeals court rules teens must inform parents of abortion plans (Trib)

Hormones, drugs found in Chicago water (Trib)

A new home for Chicago Health Matters

While we've enjoyed our time with Blogger, our boss has finally given us a home on the Chi-Town Daily News site(!).

Friday will be the last day I post entries at this site, but please continue reading the blog on the Daily News site.

There, you'll also be able to check out new beat blogs as well roll them out. We've got an education blog, On Campus, written by reporter Peter Sachs. Adrian Uribarri, who covers everything under the sun, including labor and housing, will have a blog. There will be a blog for our reporters to report other news not included in beat blogs. And you can keep up with the musings of our editor, Geoff Dougherty, on his blog, Ravings from the Editor.

There are also a few blogs that feature a slice of Chicago life. You can see them HERE, and you can read about the Cubs, Hawks and Wolves, and media matters in the city, courtesy of the mysterious Lou Grant..

Oh, and we also cover public affairs in Chicago that no one else is touching.

Thanks for reading, and we hope to see you on the site!

-Alex

County health board moves to shore up Provident budget

The Cook County Health and Hospitals System’s board of directors is seeking to shift $4.9 million to Provident Hospital in an effort to shore up the nursing staff there.

Provident began cutting beds last month because it had exhausted its available funding for temporary nurses.

The board today voted to request approval from the Cook County Board of Commissioners to pay for more temporary nurses at Provident with money that had been budgeted to fill open positions across the system.

“We have the money; it’s in our budget,” Chairman Warren Batts said. “We want to keep the beds open. We want good people taking care of our patients.”

Because of a nursing shortage, Provident has filled many vacancies with temporary nurses, which are more expensive than in-house employees.

Provident COO Sidney Thomas said last month the hospital is short 25 nurses. Nurses are less likely to apply for jobs at Provident, he said, because of media attention on the possibility of the hospital closing due to county budget cuts.

The $4.9 million would allow Provident to go back to its normal 119-bed capacity, says Thomas.

Many more details about today's meeting can be found HERE.

Mental health centers on chopping block -- again

In a familiar move, the Chicago Department of Public Health is poised to shutter at least four city-run mental health centers within 45 days, as the city grapples with an unclear budget picture.

CDPH spokesman Tim Hadac confirmed that department commissioner Dr. Terry Mason met with the city’s Board of Health yesterday to outline plans to close the centers, which could become victims of the state’s budget crisis.

Earlier this month, Mason said Gov. Pat Quinn’s “doomsday” budget could prompt the city to cut mental health services, as well as many other services.

Lawmakers in Springfield are stilling hashing out a budget, which does not appear to include provisions for the income tax hike Quinn desires. The state faces a $9.2 billion deficit, and Quinn has said funding for local agencies like CDPH would have to be cut in the absence of a tax hike.

The four South Side centers nearly closed their doors in April after city officials said cuts in state money would make it impossible to keep them open.

A Daily News report subsequently revealed the city had, against state advice, installed a billing system that didn't work. The city was unable to bill the state for mental health services for several months, which created a budget shortfall and led to the plan to close the clinics.

Read the full story HERE.

Report: Charity care rising at Illinois hospitals

Non-profit Illinois hospitals contributed nearly $4.7 billion in community benefits in fiscal year 2007-2008, a three-year high, according a report released yesterday by the Illinois Hospital Association.

The annual report, now in its third year, shows the 109 hospital filing community benefit reports with the state increased their charity care nearly 70 percent over the last four years. Hospitals provided $94 million in donations and other services, $365 million to educate health workers, $78 million on research and $14 million in translation services.

“As this report shows, the true worth of hospitals cannot be measured by a spreadsheet. Our hospitals’ programs and services reach out into their communities to those in need,” says IHA president Ken Robbins.

Twenty four hospitals in Chicago are included in the report, and some reported a boost in their community benefits output, which includes charity care, education, subsidization of money-losing ventures like trauma and emergency room services, and research.

Read the full story HERE.