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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
HONORING DR. RACHEL RUBIN AND DR. KIRAN JOSHI FOR THEIR PUBLIC SERVICE
WHERE AS; the Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH) is the state-certified local public health agency to 125 incorporated municipalities in 30 townships, covering a 700 square mile area, with a large urban population of approximately 2.3 million residents; and
WHERE AS; In late 2019, a new and significant outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) emerged in China; and
WHERE AS; On Jan. 21, 2020, the CDC confirmed the first U.S. case of novel coronavirus (now commonly known as COVID-19 or COVID) in a Washington resident; and
WHERE AS; On Jan. 24, 2020, the Cook County, Chicago, and Illinois departments of public health announced they were jointly investigating the second U.S. case in Cook County, Ill.;
WHERE AS; On Jan. 30, 2020, the Cook County, Chicago, and Illinois departments of public health announced the third U.S. COVID case was the husband of the first Cook County case and also the first known case of human-to-human transmission in the U.S.; and
WHERE AS; On Jan. 31, 2020, the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) declared a public health emergency on January 31, 2020, under section 319 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d), in response to COVID-19.
WHERE AS; In those first days and weeks of the COVID pandemic, Dr. Rachel Rubin and Dr. Kiran Joshi worked tirelessly around the clock, personally caring for and interviewing the first-known U.S. cases of COVID-19, at a north suburban Cook County hospital, on behalf of CCDPH and Cook County Government, in partnership with local, state, and federal partners; and
WHERE AS; On Mar. 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, and on Mar. 13, 2020, the U.S. president and Illinois governor declared national and state emergencies, respectively;
WHERE AS; Growing local, state, and national data began to show disparities in cases counts, and later, hospitalizations and deaths, between black and brown residents and their white counterparts, especially; particularly in the south and west suburbs of Cook County;
WHERE AS; In April 2020, CCDPH and Cook County Government declared they would be taking a health equity approach to the COVID response informed by CCDPH disease surveillance data and the Cook County Social Vulnerability Index; and
WHERE AS; On April 23, 2020, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle announced Dr. Rachel Rubin and Dr. Kiran Joshi (both CCDPH Senior Medical Officers and Stroger Hospital attending physicians) as the new co-leads of Cook County Department of Public Health; and
WHERE AS; Dr. Rachel Rubin and Dr. Kiran Joshi, in collaboration with Cook County Government and Cook County Emergency Management and Response: helped provide respite housing for healthcare workers, first responders and correctional officers; alternative housing for recovering patients, healthcare professionals and first responders; and housing assistance for people who were homeless or otherwise housing insecure; and
WHERE AS; Dr. Rachel Rubin and Dr. Kiran Joshi oversaw a $41 million COVID-19 Contact Tracing Initiative, rapidly expanding CCDPH’s contract tracing capacity from 15 to 200 contact tracing staff commensurate with the numbers of cases in suburban Cook County; and
WHEREAS; Under Dr. Rachel Rubin’s and Dr. Kiran Joshi’s leadership, CCDPH awarded $5.4M in funding for outreach and education; supportive services; and access to testing, vaccinations, boosters to 74 community-based organizations serving priority populations [e.g. racial and ethnic minorities, foreign-born individuals, people with limited English proficiency, undocumented immigrants, people living close to or below the federal poverty line, justice-involved individuals, disconnected youth, people experiencing homelessness, people with disabilities (including deaf and hard of hearing), people who identify as LGBTQ, and older adults]; and
WHERE AS; Dr. Rachel Rubin and Dr. Kiran Joshi helped to ensure all stakeholders received timely, accurate, factual information in multiple languages from CCDPH and its partners to provide guidance and answers to frequently asked questions and address myths and misinformation using a variety of channels, including the media, internet, email, social media, print materials, and advertising campaigns, such as MaskUp Cook County, Spread Facts Not Flu, Answer the Call, Life Is Better Vaxxed and My Shot Cook County.
WHERE AS; Dr. Rachel Rubin and Dr. Kiran Joshi participated in all aspects of one of the largest mass vaccination programs in the country, including the selection of a preferred vendor to assist in the equitable distribution of vaccines and boosters free to all regardless or insurance or immigration status in suburban Cook County. This included a hyperlocal mass vaccination campaign to close gaps in vaccine uptake; mobile vaccination clinics; free rides to vaccination appointments; and
WHERE AS; Dr. Rachel Rubin and Dr. Kiran Joshi, following data, science and public health best practices and CDC guidance, in coordination with the Illinois Department of Public Health, State of Illinois, and Cook County Government, made important and difficult policy decisions (e.g., mitigation orders and mandates) within CCDPH’s authority, in the interest of protecting the public’s health;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, do hereby recognize Dr. Rachel Rubin and Dr. Kiran Joshi for their heroic and consistent efforts to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19 for all suburban Cook County residents, especially the most vulnerable among us, who are most at-risk of severe illness, hospitalization, and death.
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