Improving the Healthcare of Chicago:
A Community-Based Approach to
Reducing Asthma Disparities 

2009 SPRING QUARTERLY MEETING & ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING

          Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Join us for a Workshop to Develop a 
Communications-Based Plan of Action
Supported by all Asthma Stakeholders that will
Reduce the Impact of Asthma on the Communites in Chicagoland!!

Meeting Outcomes: Short-term and Long-Term Action Items

Funding for this program was made possible through monies received from the
llinois Department of Public Health
and
    

This educational activity is co-provided with
Oakton Community College and the Chicago Asthma Consortium

UNIVERSITY CENTER
525 S. STATE STREET, CHICAGO

8:00 A.M. TO 12:00 NOON
Registration and Breakfast 7:30 to 8:00 a.m.

Meeting Objectives

• Provide attendees with a thorough understanding of barriers to good healthcare faced by the communities of Chicagoland (CAC collected community data that that you can view below).
  
  
• Provide attendees with a thorough understanding of communication-focused methods to reduce barriers to good healthcare.
  
  
• Organize and develop these methods to reduce barriers to good healthcare into a plan of action to address asthma from the grassroots up.
  
  
• Engage attendees in an effort to implement goals contained within the plan of action.
  

Meeting Overview

WE NEED TO REDUCE ASTHMA DISPARITIES NOW! We all recognize that asthma disparities exist and have been working to combat them for the past 10 years. But, despite our efforts, asthma disparities in Chicago continue to climb.

THE COMMUNITY HAS SPOKEN! It is only through meaningful, community-engaged interventions, developed on a foundation of respect that we can improve these alarming disparities. The CAC conducted town meetings in Albany Park, Englewood and Humboldt Park (Meeting 1; Meeting 2) and collected community-focused surveys throughout Chicagoland. We identified a broad array of barriers to good care including lack of basic healthcare information, difficulties identifying quality medical providers, and a poor understanding of patient's rights. We also learned that the vast majority of these barriers can be overcome through improved communication.

For notes from each community meeting, click on the community name, above
For Town Meeting Community Bios, click here
For a summary of all Town Meetings, click here.
A story on the Town Meetings was featured in the Chi*Town Daily News

WHAT IS THE SOLUTION? COMMUNICATION IS THE KEY! If we can communicate, collaborate and coordinate our activities we will benefit all participants and their constituencies. We are convening this historic meeting by a process that will bring together all stakeholders - health professionals, advocates, and members of the communities so hard hit by these health disparities - to develop a plan of action to reduce these barriers. We will generate a community-wide action plan that can be used for changes in public policy and delivery of health care and social supportive services in Chicago.

COMMIT TO THE PLAN! Following the meeting all participants will be invited to participate in the implementation of the action plan. Let's show the rest of the country the collaborative power of the Chicagoland asthma community!

Featuring a Charge to Participants by:
James M. Galloway, MD, FACP, FACC, FAHA
Admiral, United States Public Health Service; Assistant Surgeon General, Regional Health Administrator, Region V

Assistant Surgeon General James Galloway is the principle federal public health representative and senior USPHS officer for HHS Region V: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Oho and Wisconsin. As Administrator, HHS Region V, Dr. Galloway's leadership responsibility includes disease prevention, health promotion, women's and minority health, and reduction of health disparities. He is actively involved in the push for enhanced access to quality health care. Dr. Galloway is board-certified in both internal medicine and cardiology. He is a fellow of the American College of Physicians, the American College of Chest Surgeons, and the American College of Cardiology and has been a guest lecturer at Harvard, interviewed on CNN and has written numerous articles for medical journals as well as the general press.

2009 Annual Meeting

Introduction and election of new CAC Board members, program updates, and more...

Quarterly Meeting Agenda

A Charge to Participants
Jim Galloway, MD, FACP, FACC, Regional Health Administrator, Region V
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

Review of Fall Meeting: Where Are We Going Next and How to Get There
Michael Diamond, President
World Resources Chicago

Community Engagement
Maureen Damitz, Senior Director of Programs
Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago

Workshops to Create Community-Based Action Plan, Part 1-Small Groups  

Networking Break

Asthma Friendly School Award Presentations

Workshops to Create Community-Based Action Plan, Part 2-Small Groups

Action Plan Project Prioritization and Engagement - All Attendees

Faculty Disclosure Statements

CMES/CNES/CEUS

Doctors
The American College of Chest Physicians designates this educational activity for a maximum of 4.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)TM  ACCP Accreditation Statement 

Nurses
Oakton Community College/Alliance for Lifetime Learning Continuing Education for Health Professionals designates this educational activity for a maximum of 3.3 ANCC Contact Hours. ANCC RN CNE Statement

Respiratory Therapists
The Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago is an approved continuing education sponsor by the State of Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. 4.0 continuing education hours of credit will be awarded upon completion of the seminar.