Shirley Weber, a volunteer with the Coalition to Save Our Mental Health Centers, said she was shocked by the plan and feared that many severely mentally ill people would lose access to services. Her daughter was diagnosed with a form of schizophrenia 20 years ago at age 21.
“I could lie down and cry, but it wouldn’t do any good,” Weber told Mason at the meeting of the city’s Board of Health, where the cuts were announced.
“Where are they all Read the rest of this entry »

Differences in culture, religion and language pose daily challenges at the West
health center, where the waiting room might find Iraqis standing next to refugees from Myanmar, or Burundis sitting alongside Somalis and Bhutanese.
On a recent snowy, bitterly cold day, 77 refugees from various countries were treated at the clinic. Among the patients seen by Dr. Gary Kaufman, the clinic’s medical director, were two young sisters from Myanmar who Read the rest of this entry »

Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez rolled out the red carpet this week for some Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department folks hoping to improve their jail system, as seen in this photo taken earlier this morning.
But officials from another large jail system also visited Dallas County this week to get some ideas on how to improve a challenged jail. The medical services team from Cook County, Illinois, also toured our jail facilities.
Chicago has Read the rest of this entry »

Rosseau has been quoted widely and has had work published on topics related to neurosurgery and women’s health issues. Rosseau is also a registered nurse.
It’s unclear whether other candidates are being considered. A spokeswoman with
team had no comment.
The medical community cheered the possibility of Rosseau rising to become one of the nation’s top public health advocates.
“She is a trailblazing neurosurgeon who is very committed to her Read the rest of this entry »

Starting with the current state fiscal year, which began July 1, mental health services are being paid based on the amount of services billed. Previously, the state distributed money for mental health services through grants approved at the beginning of the fiscal year.
“They were advanced too much [money] in fiscal year 2008, and they didn’t bill for [services]” after the new payment system began, said
, a spokesman for the Illinois Department Read the rest of this entry »

CHICAGO (AP) — Authorities say three teenagers, including a 13-year-old, have been killed in a shooting on Chicago’s South Side. Police Sgt. Antoinette Ursitti says the other victims were 14 and 17 years old.
The shooting occurred Friday afternoon in an alley located about a block away from Immaculate Conception School. It’s not clear if any of the victims were students there. Their identities haven’t been released.
Authorities say one Read the rest of this entry »

Lincoln Park Hospital may be in one Chicago’s fanciest neighborhoods. But the tony location hasn’t spared the facility from the vicissitudes of the financial markets.
after failing to come up with millions of dollars to finance improvements and fund operations. If no buyer surfaces, the money-losing hospital may close.
“There are some significantly expensive things that need to be done to bring it up to current architecture and Read the rest of this entry »

AURORA, Ill. (AP) — A medical helicopter transporting a 1-year-old girl to a Chicago hospital crashed and burned overnight, killing all four aboard, authorities said Thursday.
The helicopter was headed for Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago from Valley West Hospital in Sandwich, about 50 miles west, when it went down minutes before midnight, said Aurora police spokesman Sgt. Robb Wallers.
Wallers said the helicopter may have clipped Read the rest of this entry »

Last week, the Chicago Tribune reported that 12-year-old Dontae
Adams, a Medicaid patient, had to ride a bus to a county hospital
for surgery after he was refused admission at the medical center.
The doctors’ group said the hospital, located on Chicago’s South
Side near impoverished neighborhoods, has drastically reduced
inpatient beds for emergency patients, a claim the hospital denies.
Dr. Nick Jouriles, ACEP’S president, criticized the hospital’s
Urban Read the rest of this entry »

AIDS/HIV has slowly become a topic discusses in the public instead of behind closed doors. In recent years many campaigns and celebrities have participated in the pandemic known as AIDS. It is important for everyone to know their status regardless of sexual orientation, race, or religion.
However, how does Chicago “rank” when it comes to AIDS/HIV?
We know the facts nationally but what about AIDS/HIV when it hits closer to home?
It Read the rest of this entry »