Opportunity: Help Prepare for Public Health Emergencies in Chicago
The Chicago Dept. of Public Health (CDPH) Emergency Preparedness team is seeking community volunteers to help conduct a Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER), a type of rapid household needs assessment survey used to understand how well communities are prepared for emergencies and what support they may need.
CASPER will focus on evacuation, household readiness plans, and communications to inform response planning. Its results will be used to make decisions around public health operational sites; determine placement of CDPH assets; identify partners for collaboration; assist in understanding how residents receive emergency information; and strengthen response planning.
CDPH is seeking volunteers to go door to door alongside City staff and help survey community members. CASPER will take place June 9-12 from 2-7 p.m. CT. Volunteers will have virtual training opportunities June 1-5. One in-person training session has been tentatively scheduled for June 8. CDPH emphasized that volunteers who speak Spanish, Mandarin and Cantonese are needed for this effort.
In order to volunteer, you must create an account via IllinoisHelps and complete your profile. All fields in the personal info, occupation, deployments, background check, and consent sections must be completed. Fields in qualifications and medical history should be completed as applicable (language proficiencies, certificates, medical history, etc.). In addition to your IllinoisHelps account completion, click here to read and sign the required waiver and return it to ChicagoMRC@cityofchicago.org.
Celebrate National Hospital Week: May 10-16
National Hospital Week is an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the extraordinary commitment of Illinois’ more than 200 hospitals and nearly 40 health systems—and the dedicated teams who make compassionate, high-quality care possible every day. From physicians and nurses to therapists, food and nutrition teams, administrative professionals, and countless others, hospitals rely on a highly skilled and collaborative workforce to care for patients and support healthier communities.
This week, we honor the essential role hospitals play across Illinois—not only as providers of around-the-clock care, but as trusted community partners and economic anchors. Every day, hospital teams work tirelessly to advance patient care, respond to evolving healthcare needs, expand access to services, and improve the health and well-being of the communities they serve.
Click here to learn more about how Illinois’ hospitals and health systems are generating $135.5 million in economic activity statewide that helps grow and strengthen Illinois communities. They support working families through 521,000 good-paying jobs and local businesses through spending on supplies, services, and capital projects. See IHA’s 2026 Economic Impact Report, “Communities Win When Local Hospitals Are Strong.”
IDPH: Illinois Top Tier in National Emergency Preparedness Ranking
The Illinois Dept. of Public Health (IDPH) on Friday announced Illinois has been named a “high-performance” state for emergency preparedness, the highest ranking a state can receive, in a newly released report by Trust for America’s Health. The annual report evaluates states on their ability to respond to various public health emergencies using 10 key indicators including incident management, patient safety, and health security surveillance, among other measures.
In the report, states are categorized into three tiers: high, middle and low performance. This year, 20 states including Illinois earned a high-performance designation.
IHA partners with IDPH and the Chicago Dept. of Public Health on emergency preparedness response efforts and initiatives. Additionally, each fall IHA offers an annual emergency preparedness exercise designed to aid Illinois hospitals and health systems in strengthening their emergency response. This exercise is developed in response to IHA member feedback, and past exercises have focused on an array of timely topics including mass casualty incidents, active shooter and cyberattacks. Information on IHA’s 2026 emergency preparedness exercise will be released in the coming months. Hospitals and health systems seeking emergency preparedness assistance can contact Keneatha Johnson, Assistant Vice President of Safety and Emergency Preparedness at IHAEP@team-iha.org.
Webinar: Report on Revised Regulations for Opioid Treatment Programs
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) Center for Financing Reform and Innovation (CFRI) announced it is releasing a report and hosting a webinar titled “Revised Regulations for Opioid Treatment Programs: Establishing a Baseline to Measure Progress Over Time.”
In 2024, revisions were made to 42 CFR part 8, the federal regulations that guide opioid treatment programs (OTPs). The revisions promote increased access to evidence-based medications for opioid use disorder, greater retention in care by promoting practitioner's professional judgment in providing a patient-centered approach to care and reducing barriers to receiving services. Learn more about this report during SAMHSA’s May 14 webinar, which examines the extent to which states/territories and OTPs have adopted the changes outlined in 42 CFR part 8 within the first year since the revised regulations were put into effect. Click here to register.
CDC: 2026 Multi-country Hantavirus Cluster Linked to Cruise Ship
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Advisory to inform clinicians and health departments about a new cluster of hantavirus disease cases. Hantavirus disease can cause severe illness and can be fatal. CDC said clinicians should be aware of the potential for imported cases, although the risk of broad spread to the U.S. is considered extremely unlikely at this time. As a precaution, the Health Advisory summarizes CDC’s recommendations for U.S. public health departments, clinical laboratories, and healthcare workers about hantavirus disease case identification, testing, and biosafety considerations in clinical laboratories.
