The Housing Authority of Cook County, in partnership with the community, is hosting the first-ever women’s resource expo on October 5th. The Expo will be a one-stop shop for women experiencing homelessness, women who have endured domestic abuse, and women who have experienced incarceration.
 
Resources available include counseling, transportation, food, clothing, shelter, child support services, primary health care referrals, screening for blood pressure, vision, HIV testing and care, veterans’ information, employment services, mock interviews, education/training services, and a variety of other social service agencies and you. 

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• About 63% of physicians surveyed experienced at least one manifestation of burnout in 2021, shooting up from 38% in 2020 and representing the highest amount in a decade of recurring survey findings, according to an article published this week in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

Photo credit Adeline Kon/Healthcare Dive [Healthcare Dive]

• Mean scores for emotional exhaustion and depersonalization were higher in 2021 while satisfaction with work-life balance dropped. Meanwhile, depression scores were relatively stable, “suggesting the increase in physician distress in this interval was primarily due to increased work-related distress,” the authors wrote.

The findings suggest that women have been more affected by burnout during COVID-19, the authors said, also noting the results come against a backdrop of other stressors like gun violence, economic concerns and child care hurdles.

Full article here>

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Racial mental health disparities cost the United States around $278 billion between 2016 and 2020, putting a price tag on a health equity issue that’s long plagued the nation, according to researchers from the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at Morehouse School of Medicine with support from Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. [Patient Engagement HIT]

The researchers looked at the national prevalence of mental health needs, care utilization, additional healthcare costs attributable to mental health disparities, and premature death across indigenous and racial or ethnic minorities. The analysis showed that, between 2016 and 2020, the US saw an excess of 117,000 premature deaths among indigenous and racial or ethnic minorities due to mental health needs.

All said, the excess cost due to these mental health disparities was $278 billion. That additional cost burden links back to mental illness, substance use disorder (SUD), and suicide, the researchers said.

These findings indicate that the healthcare industry needs to make more judicious investments in mental and behavioral healthcare, according to Daniel E. Dawes, JD, DHL (Hon).

“Investing in mental healthcare saves lives and dollars — we have known this for decades, but until now did not fully understand the monumental impacts of neglecting to act,” Dawes, a professor and the executive director of the Satcher Health Leadership Institute and author of the Political Determinants of Health, said in a statement.

Full article here> 

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The DuPage County Board on Tuesday approved a $5 million allocation for food pantries to help the County’s neediest residents experiencing food insecurity.

Members of the Board had received requests from local food pantries for funding, and at Tuesday’s Finance Committee meeting, they heard a presentation about the difficulties facing County food pantries, including a dramatic increase in the number of clients in need of food, increases in food costs, and a decrease in donations from food suppliers.

The Board agreed to provide:

• $1.75 million to Northern Illinois Food Bank to allow for the purchase of fresh produce, diapers, and personal hygiene and cleaning products for DuPage County food pantries.
• $1 million to Northern Illinois Food Bank’s 46 partner agencies in DuPage County. A cash assistance distribution will be created and approved by the County Board in October.
• $2.25 million for investments in distribution infrastructure, including refrigerated vehicles, distribution hub facilities, technology improvements, or future grant opportunities.

Funds for the proposal were provided through the federal American Rescue Plan Act, which provided DuPage County with more than $179 million to assist with recovery efforts and expenses related to COVID-19.

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The number of children under age 19 without health insurance fell to 3.9 million in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s annual report on health insurance coverage released today. That’s 475,000 fewer children without coverage than in 2020. [US Census Bureau]

The uninsured rate among children decreased 0.6 percentage points to 5.0% between 2020 and 2021, driven by an increase in public coverage such as Medicaid and CHIP.

Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2021 shows that children received coverage from a variety of sources. Most children (61.9%) had private coverage primarily through their parents’ plan (Figure 1) but a growing share above the poverty level were covered by public programs.

Many lower-income children qualify for public health assistance programs, such as Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

More>

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Time to review influencers - where they live, how they can get to work and school, whether they can easily access health and other essential services, how they socialize with family members and friends, and ultimately if they can thrive in a physical environment that supports healthy outcomes.

Some potential strategies and action steps include focusing on community design, street design and land use policies that make it easier for people to access physical activity, jobs and other essential services, and on the engagement of stakeholders in planning decisions.

More>Transportation_Health_Community_Driver.pdf 

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A coalition of law enforcement groups renewed calls Wednesday for policymakers to allocate some of the millions of dollars headed to Illinois from opioid settlements to support early childhood programs.  [Health News Illinois] 

Winnebago County State’s Attorney J. Hanley, speaking on behalf of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids Illinois, told reporters during a virtual press conference the best way funds can be used is for early interventions.
 
"The research is very clear that, whether it's in the education context or the context we're talking about here, the earlier the intervention, the better,” Hanley said.
 
Illinois officials earlier this summer laid out plans to spend the state’s roughly $760 million share of a nationwide opioid settlement with three drug distributors and a pharmaceutical company.
 
That includes the creation of an officer within the Department of Human Services to administer the funds and ensure they align with the state’s opioid overdose action plan.
 
Rock Island County State's Attorney Dora Villarreal said it's important to focus additional resources on programs that aid the most vulnerable residents.
 
"We strongly believe that more needs to be done to protect all the children affected by this epidemic," she said.
 
Law enforcement leaders issued a statement this spring calling for funds to be used to reduce the likelihood that children will grow up to abuse opioids and commit crimes.

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So much loss... Carol Schumacher of the Navajo Nation had grappled with untimely deaths; her mother died at 65 of pulmonary disease, and her father died at the same age in a car crash caused by a drunken driver. But she was not prepared for the devastation of Covid: Since it arrived in the U.S. more than two years ago, she has lost 42 family members to the virus.

Dealing with the massive death toll strained her own health, Schumacher told our colleagues. “I just wasn’t mentally prepared to deal with so much loss,” she said.

That loss has been tragically common among Native Americans, the C.D.C. revealed last week: From 2019 to 2021, their life expectancy fell from 71.8 years to 65.2. Covid was largely to blame. May need to open free account to read full article. Full article here>  ###

The first doses of COVID-19 vaccine boosters that provide extra protection against the omicron variants have arrived in Illinois. [Health News Illinois]

There are about 150,000 doses in Chicago, which are available at pharmacies and other healthcare sites, Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said during a press conference Tuesday.

“We need Chicago to get this updated vaccine,” she said. “It's new, it's different and it will give better protection than what we've had previously.”

The city will make the boosters available through its in-home vaccination program.

Arwady said they plan to host family vaccination clinics at City Colleges of Chicago through November and provide flu and COVID-19 vaccination clinics in all 50 Chicago wards this fall. 

About 36 percent of reinfections in the city are from residents initially infected with omicron, she added.

“So if you think you're counting on, ‘I've had COVID, I've had a prior vaccine, I don't really need this updated vaccine,’ please don't count on that,” Arwady said.

IDPH said it expects to receive 580,000 doses of the booster within the week, which will head to pharmacies, hospitals and other providers. The state agency urged residents to go online and search for booster availability and to receive it when possible.

As of Monday, 1,234 Illinoisans were in the hospital with COVID-19, up 72 from Sunday and down 106 from the prior week.

Of the patients in the hospital, 125 were in intensive care units, down 13 from Sunday and down 50 from the prior week. Twenty-two percent of Illinois’ ICU beds were available, up 1 percentage point from the prior week.

There were 38 patients on ventilators, down five from Sunday and down 18 from the prior week.

Thirty counties are now at a “high” community level of COVID-19, the level at which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends people mask indoors in public spaces. Sixty counties are at a “medium” risk level.

IDPH reported 1,990 new COVID-19 cases and no new deaths on Tuesday. The new cases bring the state total to 3,706,263, while the death toll is at 34,759.

The seven-day average for new cases on Tuesday was 3,341, down 245 from the prior week. The seven-day average for daily deaths is eight, down three from the prior week.

The seven-day case rate per 100,000 people is 26.2, down 1.9 from the prior week.

Illinois vaccinators have administered 23,253,568 COVID-19 vaccine doses, including 4,755,491 booster shots. The seven-day average for doses administered is 3,293.

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Illinois health officials are urging residents to receive the new COVID-19 boosters. [Health News Illinois ] "These new bivalent vaccines are designed to offer extra protection against the omicron variants, which are now the dominant strain of the virus,” Department of Public Health Director Dr. Sameer Vohra said in a Friday statement. IDPH expects an initial shipment of 580,000 doses within the week, while the city of Chicago expects to receive 150,000 initial doses. Meanwhile, Illinois is seeing a small uptick in COVID-19 cases. There were 26,127 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 reported last week, a 7.5 percent increase from the prior week. There were 70 deaths reported last week. The new cases bring the state’s total to 3,696,385. There have been 34,747 deaths. The seven-day average for new cases on Friday was 3,732, up 261 from the prior week. The seven-day average for daily deaths is 10, down two from the prior week. The seven-day rolling average case rate per 100,000 people is 29.3, up 2.1 from the prior week. As of Thursday, 1,263 Illinoisans were in the hospital with COVID-19, down 25 from Wednesday and down 47 from the prior week. Of the patients in the hospital, 154 were in intensive care units, down 14 from Wednesday and down four from the prior week. Twenty-two percent of Illinois’ ICU beds were available, up 1 percentage point from the prior week. There were 46 patients on ventilators, down eight from Wednesday and down 13 from the prior week. Thirty counties are now at a “high” community level of COVID-19, the level at which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends people mask indoors in public spaces. Sixty counties are at a “medium” risk level. Cook County continues to be at a “medium” level of community, with a week-to-week decline in both cases and hospitalizations, according to the Chicago Department of Public Health. It too requested residents receive booster vaccines once they arrive in the city this week. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, nearly all COVID-19 cases in the Midwest between Aug. 28 and Sept. 3 were BA.4, BA.4.6 and BA.5 omicron variants. The region includes Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin. Illinois vaccinators have administered 23,248,758 COVID-19 vaccines, including 4,754,536 booster doses. The seven-day average for doses administered is 5,397. About 60.7 percent of total doses administered went to white Illinoisans, while 15.1 went to Latinx residents, 11.3 percent to Black residents and 7.2 to Asian residents. About 2.9 percent went to those identified as “other races” while 2.2 percent are “unknown.” ###