In reviewing its success in bringing a diverse group together through the Chicago Asthma Initiative, the Board recognized the utility of brokering introductions and creating networks. Once established, these networks leverage other resources and identify new grantmaking opportunities for The Institute and other funders. It was determined that this would be the template for new initiatives. The following collaboratives are illustrative of this approach: OBESITY INITIATIVE Chicagoans, like others around the globe, are showing alarming increases in obesity and overweight. The costs to individuals, to healthcare systems and to the society at large are significant. Unlike asthma, there are fewer agreed upon “best practices” for the diagnosis and treatment of this condition. Before the American public became bombarded with information on this topic, The Institute created CLOCC, the Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children. Since the 2002 pilot, The Institute has provided cash and technical assistance to the leadership of this network. Formally launched in January 2003, this initiative has attracted more than 1,900 individual and institutional members. It is widely recognized as the largest grassroots initiative of its type. The group acknowledges the complexity of this issue. It goes beyond caloric intake and expenditure to incorporate issues of an active and healthy lifestyle. Members reflect that complexity and include pediatricians; nutritionists; recreation and physical education specialists; urban planners; transportation professionals; community advocates; individuals; food and beverage, exercise, restaurant and vending company representatives; government; and nonprofit representatives. The group recognizes that prevention is currently the best approach and early childhood is the period of life that holds the most promise for this strategy. Its 5-4-3-2-1 Go! messaging has reached thousands of Chicagoans since 2007. Now celebrated as a national model, CLOCC is headed by Medical Director, Katherine Kaufer Christoffel, MD MPH and Executive Director, Adam B. Becker, PhD MPH. It is based at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago. www.clocc.net. With continued support from The Institute and several other foundations, CLOCC has targeted and tailored its programs in 10 different Chicago neighborhoods. An Institute grant to the Sinai Urban Health Institute piloted this neighborhood approach through the creation of CO-OP Humboldt Park. This community-based collaboration now forms the template for CLOCC’s ten community-centered programs. As a supplement to its direct support to CLOCC, The Institute has supported other obesity related grants: Nourish for Knowledge, a supplemental food and nutrition program of The Greater Chicago Food Depository www.gcfd.org Residency Training Program designed to develop and test better ways for physicians to diagnose and treat childhood obesity. Contact stahlc@uic.edu Healthy Hearts based at the Rauner Family YMCA combines medical, nutritional and fitness counseling to reduce childhood obesity. Contact kidsdoc@dr.com A combined Biomedical/Psychosocial Approach to Weight Management supports an innovative interdisciplinary healthcare team to help children and families prevent childhood obesity. Contact Cathy_L_Joyce@rush.edu To advance clinical practice techniques in diagnosing and treating childhood obesity, The Institute is supporting a two year grant to the Illinois Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics to refine and disseminate practices that better align providers with community resources. Contact: salllen@illinoisaap.com PATIENT SAFETY A renewable grant has been awarded to the Institute of Medicine of Chicago as the fiscal agent for the Chicago Patient Safety Forum. www.chicagopatientsafety.org. The Forum’s 350 diverse members are dedicated to reducing medical errors and promoting education and awareness among professionals and patients, alike. The Forum has convened several conferences, hosted work groups concerned with data and research, pediatric safety, pharmaceutical error, examining the protections afforded through the Illinois Medical Studies Act. In 2008, the group was renamed CQPS, the Coalition for Quality and Patient Safety. In collaboration with the Chicago Medical Society Foundation it has launched a simulation center where providers can learn best practices in a controlled setting. Contact tkanellakis@cmsdocs.org To promote consumer involvement in patient safety initiatives a grant to Northwestern University has forged models to facilitate engagement. Contact: cbarnard@nmh.org Mediation holds promise as a tool to adjudicate damages resulting from medical errors. Rush University Medical Center is a leader in developing models that balance the rights of injured patients with the institutional goals of eliminating the causes of those errors in a cost-effective, non-confrontational environment. Contact: < href="mailto:robert_mcnutt@rush.edu">robert_mcnutt@rush.edu MOBILE HEALTH PROVIDERS COALITION Mobile C.A.R.E. serves as fiscal agent to an Institute developed network of mobile medical units targeting healthcare issues such as asthma, HIV/AIDS, dental, pediatric and other services. While medical specialties differ, common concerns on vehicle design and maintenance, staffing, marketing and outreach provide a basis for sharing and collaboration. Contact: ssamuelson@mobilecarefoundation.org MEDACCESS CHICAGO The underserved patients using Chicago’s free clinics receive care, but frequently cannot afford the medications that are prescribed to sustain or maintain their health. Using the partnership model established between the food industry and community-based organizations, The Institute studied the feasibility of creating a pharmaceutical “bank.” Through a multi-year grant CommunityHealth has forged a partnership between local healthcare clinics, pharmaceutical companies and the University of Illinois College of Pharmacy. Through a licensed pharmacy MedAccess Chicago provides participating clinics with frequently prescribed pharmaceuticals donated to the program. In its first few months more than $2.6 million in pharmaceuticals have been distributed to needy patients. Contact: JHaasis@communityhealth.org SCHOOL BASED HEALTH INITIATIVES There are hundreds s of nonprofit health organizations working in Chicago schools. The services, materials and volunteers they provide are important to the health and education of Chicago’s children. In a time of diminishing resources, finding ways to enhance the cost-effect delivery of such programs is essential. The Institute has designed the Stakeholders Collaboration to Improve Student Health to convene health-oriented nonprofits and to better link them with the schools. Its second objective is to work with leadership of the Chicago Public Schools to coordinate programs with extant school-based clinics and health curricula, avoid duplication and promote enhanced access to the children and families they are mandated to serve. The program is based on a successful pilot conducted in 2003 under the auspices of the Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago (formerly the American Lung Association of Metropolitan Chicago). This grant continues The Institute’s on-going commitment to promoting comprehensive school-based health education. For additional information: www.stakeholderschicago.org. Improved collaboration between the Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Department of Public Health is being facilitated through the Chicago School Health Collaborative, a new administrative entity to be headed by an Officer of Health Policy and Medical Affairs. This senior level position will coordinate health and wellness activities within the system, serve as a liaison between the schools and other public health and education organizations and oversee the federally mandated School Wellness Policy. Contact salem_erica@cdph.org To support school nurses a pilot using School Health Assistants is being tested in a dozen public schools in Humboldt Park. Contact: kgpapineau@cps.k12.il.us ORAL HEALTH Oral health is a major concern for many Chicagoans. The need for more coordination and planning will be addressed through a new network titled the Chicago Community Oral Health Forum CCOHF. Contact mvankanegan@heartlandalliance.org Additionally, the oral health work of the Advocate Illinois Masonic Dental Van is being enhanced with a technical assistance grant plus a challenge grant enabling the purchase of a new mobile unit. Contact: Barbara.giloth@advocatehealth.com IMMUNIZATION INITIATIVE While immunization rates have improved, public health requires ongoing effort to provide and expand education about the benefits of these lifesaving medicines. To enhance this work, two grants have been made to the Illinois Maternal and Child Health Coalition. Contact: rgabel@ilmaternal.org A two year grant to support the launch of I-CARE, an online immunization registry developed by The State of IL, and a multi-agency education and evaluation program. To better educate the public about the benefits of HPV immunizations now available to prevent certain cancers and to provide vaccine to those unable to afford it, The Institute is piloting an initiative with the Chicago Area Immunization Campaign. In addition to its network initiatives, The Institute continues its support other grantees: PUBLIC HEALTH AND PREPAREDNESS Following the bio-terrorism threats facing the nation, in 2001 The Institute responded to the Chicago Department of Public Health’s (CDPH) stated concerns for enhanced data systems to better track and coordinate information on health conditions and facilities. This two part grant supported 1) Enhancement to the Population based Epidemiological Surveillance System and 2) Health Systems Tracking and Capacity Enhancement study. Data collected through this project was used to design an enhanced information system now available on the City of Chicago website at www.cityofchicago.org/health/profiles. The program’s “data warehouse” has analyzed and made information more readily comparable, so as to construct a more complete picture of Chicago’s healthcare environment. Similarly, epidemiological surveys are supplemented with other data to provide individuals, public health officials, aldermen, community groups and policy makers with user friendly information about community health patterns. The well used website is maintained and updated by the CDPH. A special grant complements this on-line information resource with The MRSA Education Project to explain methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureas and may be expanded to other topics of public health concern. To provide the “Building a Healthier Chicago” network a central data repository, The Institute has funded the “Healthy Chicago Workshop” Contact: Martha_C_Morris@rush.edu The personal volunteer involvement of the Sprague Family has been the basis for a longstanding grant relationship with the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago. In recent years, the Chapter has prepared English and Spanish language materials and programs on asthma awareness and management; creation and enhancements to the Patient Connection Program to provide a computer-based system to assist families in contacting loved-ones, who have been hospitalized after a large scale emergency. Additional information is available from: www.chicagoredcross.org then click Get Help and Patient Connection Program. Changes in federal and state programs supporting the healthcare safety net are threatening the continued viability of the community’s network of public and private providers. The Institute commissioned The Institute for Healthcare Studies at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine to prepare an assessment of the assets and challenges facing this network with special focus its hub - the Cook County Bureau of Health. The Report and its recommendations may be found at: www.northwestern.edu/ihs . The key concepts were echoed in other reports and now form the core of the County’s newly empowered Board governing these programs. To better organize and empower communities concerned about good health and healthcare, a Community Centered Health Network Project is being piloted through a grant to the Public Health Institute of Metropolitan Chicago. Contact: phimccoalitioin@gmail.com A grant to the Public Health Institute of Metropolitan Chicago is facilitating innovations in the treatment of patients with chronic conditions. Fitness and nutrition counseling for patients enrolled at a public health department clinic will be piloted with a goal of improving their health, reducing cost and promoting innovation in the delivery of wellness services. rivera_nancy@cdph.org Community-based health promotion is taking on new importance. While several Institute grants focus on strengthening such approaches, The Community of Wellness in Greater Humboldt Park has designed an inclusive model that links community agencies in Task Forces targeting specific conditions such as diabetes, asthma, active lifestyles and HIV/AIDS. Contact: juana@ghpcommunityofwellness.org As the NIH expands its support of translational research, academic medical centers are becoming more active and visible in Chicago neighborhoods. To facilitate inter-institutional collaboration between institutions and communities, The Institute is supporting a pilot program to merge resources, train researchers and empower neighborhoods. Contact: j-kauper-brown@northwestern.edu In response to the economic downturn, The Institute has made two grants to enhance access to food. A grant to the Greater Chicago Food Depository will help support three new Food Stamp Coordinators, who will work in food pantries to assist those qualified to apply for food stamps. Contact: kmaehr@gcfd.com . A second grant to the Children’s First Foundation supports the expansion of the Universal Breakfast Program, which provides free breakfast to every child in a participating school building. Contact: lesaian@cps.k12.il.us The Institute’s Board will continue to monitor and refine its programs and priorities honoring Mr. Sprague’s intent, while being responsive to the City’s changing health needs.