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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION HONORING THE OUTSTANDING LEADERSHIP AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF JULIE HAMOS, DIRECTOR OF THE ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF HEALTHCARE AND FAMILY SERVICES AND THANKING HER FOR HELPING THE COOK COUNTY HEALTH AND HOSPITAL SYSTEM
WHEREAS, as director of the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, Julie Hamos has been an advocate and supporter of healthcare in Illinois. She worked tirelessly to insure that Illinois government was strong and smart enough to convert the noblest of aspirations into practical and sustainable realities that have immeasurably improved the delivery of healthcare to all in Illinois; and
WHEREAS, as director of the largest state agency in Illinois with a budget of nearly $20 billion and with over 2,400 employees, Julie Hamos was a leader who was known as a champion of the poor and disabled in the face of huge cutbacks, bureaucratic hurdles and constricting deadlines; as a thoughtful proponent of programs to address social injustices and as a principled and innovative thinker who recognized that good health policy did not have to be at odds with good government. Julie Hamos was so frequently ahead of her time she came to be understood more as a statesman than a politician; and
WHEREAS, as director of the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services she was responsible for implementing Medicaid expansion under national healthcare reform and she worked in partnership with the Cook County Health and Hospital System to improve Cook County. Because of that successful expansion nearly one-hundred-thousand previously uninsured Cook County residents had early access to preventive and emergency services, mental health care and prescription drugs under national health care reform. Her term will inevitably be remembered for its launching of a major redesign of Medicaid with care coordination for Medicaid clients that has led to the financial stability of the Cook County Health and Hospital ...
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