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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
REQUESTING A HEARING IN THE COOK COUNTY HEALTH COMMITTEE TO DISCUSS THE REPORTING TIMES OF HEALTH DATA RECEIVED BY COOK COUNTY
WHEREAS, Cook County Health and Hospitals System (CCHHS) is one of the largest public health system in the United States, serving more than 600,00 unique individuals annually; and
WHEREAS, the Cook County Board’s initiatives are data-driven, and programs and resources are distributed based on where the evidence supports increased intervention; and
WHEREAS, CCHHS is and must continue to be a leader in delivering equitable health outcomes; and
WHEREAS, the Cook County Board of Commissioners knows it is critical to have up-to-date data regarding fluctuations in diseases, viruses, and other illnesses; and
WHEREAS, the importance of having up to date information allows for Cook County’s public health officials to address emerging illnesses early on and avoid exceeding the capacity of Cook County’s health system; and
WHEREAS, Cook County has demonstrated success through targeted health campaigns, such as reducing HIV cases in suburban Cook County and addressing the COVID-19 pandemic; and
WHEREAS, Cook County has finite resources to address needs in our population, and thus requires medical data to be frequently reported to make informed decisions on prevention and treatment; and
WHEREAS, Cook County and the State of Illinois share the same values of protecting residents and helping them live healthy lives; and
WHEREAS, in 2023, the Illinois House of Representatives introduced HB4903, which provides that a regulated entity shall disclose and maintain a health data privacy policy that clearly and conspicuously discloses specified information; sets forth provisions concerning health data privacy policies, and provides that a regulated entity shall not collect, share, or store health data, except in specified circumstances; and
WHEREAS, IL HB4903, does not prohibit the general sharing of health data to government agencies as long as the individual’s information is kept confidential; and
WHEREAS, the general sharing of medical data for the purposes of Cook County’s data collection is defined as number of cases of a particular illness and the municipalities where they are located, with no sharing of personal data, addresses, occupations, and family history; and
WHEREAS, in 2023, the Illinois House of Representatives introduced HB2309, the Access to Health Data Act, which provides that the Department of Public Health, the Department of Human Services, and the Department of Children and Family Services shall, at the request of a local health department in Illinois, make any and all public health data related to residents of that local health department's jurisdiction available to that local health department for the purposes of preventing or controlling disease, injury, or disability; and
WHEREAS, IL HB2309 recognizes that the two-year reporting requirement of medical data often renders health treatment and other actions too late, as cases spike and preventive care can no longer be utilized to curb the spread of illnesses; and
WHEREAS, Cook County is a national leader on many issues, such as Guaranteed Income, Medical Debt Relief, an increased minimum wage, and thus is a credible vehicle to lead improvements in health data reporting in Illinois and the United States; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that we, the Cook County Board of Commissioners, on behalf of the residents of Cook County, do hereby request a convening of the Cook County Health Committee to conduct a hearing regarding the reporting frequency of health data Cook County receives; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the following Cook County offices appear at the hearing to report to the Board regarding this topic:
• Cook County Health Committee
• Cook County Health and Hospitals System
• Cook County Department of Public Health
• Cook County Medical Examiners’ Office
• Illinois Department of Public Health
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the reports, updates, and strategies will detail the separately elected officials’, or County departments’, offices’, and/or bureaus’ individual and collaborative efforts to address this important and serious issue. end