[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 163 (Tuesday, October 2, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6436-S6437]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        CHICAGO HEAL INITIATIVE

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, one of the clearest indicators of the 
success or failure of any public health system is average life 
expectancy. Between the United States and other countries around the 
world, there are dramatic differences in life expectancy compared to 
the United States.
  But you don't have to fly thousands of miles to see a place where 
people live sicker and die younger than their neighbors. In Chicago, 
hop on the Blue Line and go from the Loop to the ``L'' stop in West 
Garfield Park. Between those two neighborhoods--just 5 miles apart--
life expectancy plummets 16 years. How can that possibly be?
  Chicago is home to some of the greatest hospitals in the world. The 
best doctors, the best nurses, the best technology--it is all there, 
but not for them. As it turns out, how healthy we are and how long we 
live depends more on our ZIP Code than our genetic code.
  While countries overseas face challenges with infectious disease or 
high child mortality rates, children in Chicago are dying preventable 
deaths of another form: an epidemic of gun violence. Yes, we need 
better gun laws, but the reality is that this Congress and this 
President do not want to take commonsense action.
  So what else can be done to address the root causes of violence?
  Last year I introduced a bill that would increase funding to train 
more teachers, doctors, and social service providers to identify and 
provide care to children with emotional scars left from witnessing 
violence and exposure to other adverse childhood experiences. Major 
parts of this bill were included in the opioid package that already 
passed the House and I hope will pass the Senate soon.
  But I asked myself: What else can we do? Then it hit me: hospitals.
  The hospitals in Chicago are on the frontlines of the city's gun 
violence epidemic, providing high-quality care to heal bodies ripped 
apart by bullets, but the ability of hospitals to reduce violence in 
Chicago goes far beyond the extraordinary, lifesaving care they provide 
in the ER.
  Hospitals in Cook County, IL, pump $49 billion a year into the local 
economy, and they employ 232,000 people. Hospitals are often the 
largest employers in their communities.
  For several months, I brought together the CEOs of the 10 largest 
hospitals serving the city of Chicago. I asked them three questions: 
What is your hospital is doing to make your neighborhoods safer and 
better? What more can you do? And how can I help?
  We identified a number of Chicago neighborhoods that they serve--or 
are

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too often underserved--to focus our efforts.
  Remember, these institutions compete with each other every day, but 
together, we came up with unified roadmap--a set of common goals and 
commitments that are endorsed by all 10 hospitals.
  Over the next 3 years, these 10 hospitals will expand economic 
opportunities for local residents by: increasing local hiring by 15 
percent--that means hundreds, or thousands, of new local hires; 
increasing the goods they purchase from local businesses by 20 
percent--meaning millions in procurement dollars; and expanding summer 
employment, internships, and job training programs for residents in 
health fields.
  The 10 hospitals are committing to opening new health clinics in 
schools and community centers and expanding the availability of mental 
health services.
  They will enhance their clinical healthcare practices by increasing 
lead screening rates by 15 percent, reducing opioid prescribing by 20 
percent, prioritizing maternal and infant health outcomes, and 
researching gun violence.
  This new hospital-led effort is focused on two things: reducing gun 
violence and healthcare inequality. It is called the Chicago HEAL 
Initiative: ``Hospital Engagement, Action and Leadership.''
  According to the American Hospital Association, it may be the first 
such regional hospital partnership to tackle a local issue. The 
hospitals in the Chicago HEAL Initiative are already working on many 
these goals through an impressive variety of programs, but this new 
initiative will drive real change by bringing a new sense of 
partnership and focusing on activities outside of hospitals' 
traditional services within their four walls.
  I am pleased to launch this new effort, and will do whatever I can in 
Washington to help reduce violence and uplift communities.

                          ____________________