Full Text of HR0851 101st General Assembly
HR0851 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, COVID-19 is an infectious disease, caused by a | 3 | | newly discovered coronavirus, that has resulted in a world-wide | 4 | | pandemic, infecting almost three million people across the | 5 | | globe and resulting in over 200,000 fatalities; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, the COVID-19 virus is not racist, but the | 7 | | underlying healthcare and social policies in the United States | 8 | | are, leading to COVID-19 mortality rates in the United States | 9 | | that are five times greater for people of color than mortality | 10 | | rates for whites, including in Cook County, where black | 11 | | residents account for 23% of the population and 58% of COVID-19 | 12 | | fatalities; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Due to years of chronic disinvestment and a lack | 14 | | of access to resources that have resulted in shamefully high | 15 | | COVID-19-related death rates among black communities in | 16 | | Illinois, COVID-19 has exposed healthcare disparities that | 17 | | have long existed in low-income, minority communities in | 18 | | Illinois; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Under the leadership of President and CEO Tim Egan | 20 | | and using only resources obtained by him, the New Roseland | 21 | | Community Hospital, located on the far South Side of Chicago in | 22 | | one of the poorest communities in Illinois, has mounted a |
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| 1 | | defense against the vicious attacks of COVID-19; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, Rather than accept the lack of response for | 3 | | minority communities, Tim Egan sought and procured | 4 | | cutting-edge serological tests for COVID-19 exposure as well as | 5 | | polymerase chain reaction (PCR) screenings for COVID-19 | 6 | | infections, in order to flatten the curve for South Side | 7 | | communities that did not have access to COVID-19 tests or | 8 | | resources; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, Tim Egan was able to assemble a team of | 10 | | physicians, scientists, and laboratory and medical experts to | 11 | | build the new Roseland COVID-19 Care Center, led by Dr. Terrill | 12 | | Applewhite, Chairman of the New RCH COVID-19 Task Force; he and | 13 | | Dr. Applewhite have been assisted by Northwestern University | 14 | | Hospital's Dr. Victoria Brander (Associate Professor) and the | 15 | | American Medical Laboratory; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, The New Roseland Community Hospital has tested | 17 | | over 10,000 residents on the South Side of Chicago for | 18 | | COVID-19, regardless of their ability to pay, and has also | 19 | | tested over 2,000 Chicago police officers, Chicago | 20 | | firefighters, and employees of the Cook County Sheriff's | 21 | | Office; and | 22 | | WHEREAS, Tim Egan created Chicago's first mobile COVID-19 |
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| 1 | | Mobile Testing Unit, which has been dispatched to test nursing | 2 | | homes, first responders, and essential businesses in an effort | 3 | | to protect the elderly, strengthen community safety, and | 4 | | support reopening the economy; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, Due to the lack of COVID-19 testing kits and | 6 | | personal protective equipment (PPE) available to community | 7 | | safety-net hospitals, Tim Egan needed to secure PPE through his | 8 | | network of professional contacts, friends, and colleagues and | 9 | | obtained so many that he was able to donate over 1,000 masks to | 10 | | the Chicago Police Department in recognition of the valuable | 11 | | work they do in keeping communities safe; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, When the New Roseland Community Hospital | 13 | | cafeteria closed, Tim Egan was able to feed patients and staff | 14 | | with donated and prepared meals from friends, family, and other | 15 | | associates, and he used his contacts as Chairman of the Old | 16 | | Town Merchants Association and the Chicago Irish Brotherhood to | 17 | | ensure patients and staff were well-fed, despite the temporary | 18 | | cafeteria shutdown; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Understanding the difficult working conditions of | 20 | | front-line staff due to the COVID-19 exposure, Tim Egan was | 21 | | among the first Illinois hospital CEOs to institute "hazard | 22 | | pay" for employees, despite being a community safety-net | 23 | | hospital serving low-income residents on Medicaid and the |
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| 1 | | uninsured; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, The New Roseland Community Hospital believes that | 3 | | all people deserve access to quality healthcare and health | 4 | | resources, regardless of their race or ability to pay, and that | 5 | | no person in Illinois should die because they are served by | 6 | | Medicaid or lack insurance coverage, which is far too often the | 7 | | case in Illinois; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, This is a teachable moment, revealing the need to | 9 | | fully appreciate the healthcare disparities that COVID-19 has | 10 | | exposed in minority communities in Illinois and to strive to | 11 | | invest, rather than disinvest, in these communities moving | 12 | | forward; therefore, be it
| 13 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 14 | | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 15 | | we commend New Roseland Community Hospital President and CEO | 16 | | Tim Egan and the New Roseland Community Hospital for their | 17 | | unwillingness to accept the disproportionate effects of | 18 | | COVID-19 on poor, minority communities and for the countless | 19 | | lives that have been saved by their efforts; and be it further
| 20 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 21 | | presented to Tim Egan and the New Roseland Community Hospital | 22 | | as a symbol of our respect and esteem.
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