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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
HONORING ISRAEL ROCHA
WHERAS, Israel Rocha, Jr. joined Cook County Health (CCH) as Chief Executive Officer in December 2020; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Rocha took the helm of CCH, a storied public health system, during the global COVID-19 pandemic; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Rocha provided exceptional guidance to CCH as the health system responded on the front lines of the pandemic; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Rocha set an institutional goal to develop a mass community vaccination program to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccinations across the County of Cook; and
WHEREAS, As a result, CCH established six mass vaccination sites throughout Cook County and expanded access to vaccines at CCH facilities. In all, CCH has administered more than one million doses of COVID-19 vaccine, making it one of the first health systems in the country to achieve this milestone; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Rocha has made health equity and access to care a cornerstone of his tenure at CCH; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Rocha led the establishment of The Change Institute of Cook County Health. The Change Institute is a change agent and convener of internal and external stakeholders, designed to address the social risk factors of health and inequitable health outcomes among the most vulnerable populations; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Rocha has developed and provided executive leadership to a multitude of CCH quality and high-reliability organization initiatives to enhance the care and services provided across CCH; and
WHEREAS, This year Stroger Hospital has received its highest quality scores from Leapfrog and the US Centers for Medicaid and Medicare star ratings, while CountyCare earned the highest quality rating achieved by any Medicaid plan in the State of Illinois; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Rocha has been a good fiscal steward of CCH, ensuring that the health system managed its annual budgets with a positive variance, and prioritizing the hiring of staff; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Rocha has uplifted CCH’s historic legacy and its mission to provide access to the world’s best health care and services, regardless of ability to pay, so all may live their healthiest life; and
WHEREAS, the Cook County Board of Commissioners and the residents of Cook County are grateful to Mr. Rocha for his three years of exceptional leadership and service; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Cook County Board of Commissioners does hereby gratefully acknowledge Israel Rocha, Jr. for his remarkable contributions to CCH and the health of communities across Cook County.
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