Health & Medicine, in collaboration with 8 other organizations, began the Regional Health Care Safety Net Initiative in 2006 to build on the successes of the previous Chicago/Cook County and to address the new and intensified problems of today using a regional focus.  This collaborative effort, which uses the World Health Organization’s framework for strengthening a health system, was designed to create a regional blueprint to more efficiently and effectively provide quality health services for uninsured, Medicaid, and other vulnerable populations across the seven county region of northern Illinois.  Below is a series of policy papers developed as part of this Initiative.

Part 1A- Safety Net Issue Statements- Data and Demographics

Part 1B- Safety Net Issue Statements- Health Equity

Part 1C- Safety Net Issue Statements- Finance and Governance

Part 1D- Safety Net Issue Statements- Personal Health Services

Part 1E- Safety Net Issue Statements- Workforce

Part 2- Safety Net Pre-Summit Outcomes

Part 3- A Call to Action

Part 4- Regional Healthcare Safety Net Initiative Summit Recommendations

Part 5- Toward a Comprehensive Streamlined System of Care for Residents of Cook County

Part 6- Comparison of City/County Health Departments- Governance and Systems Integration Processes

Part 7- Hospital/Health Tax District Models

Part 8- Response to the IL Coordinated Care Program Request for Comments on Key Policy Issues