A Message of Gratitude from the Illinois Health and Hospital Association
During National Hospital Week—and throughout the year—IHA extends our heartfelt appreciation to the hospital and health system leaders, and to the clinical and administrative teams across Illinois who bring their mission to life each day.
Thank you for the lifesaving work you do—both within your facilities and far beyond them. From delivering high-quality care to addressing community needs and advancing health and hope, your impact is truly extraordinary.
Your leadership, compassion and resilience continue to inspire. On behalf of IHA, thank you for all you do to heal, serve and lead.
Your continued engagement is also critical. Sharing the powerful stories of your clinical and community-focused work with local, state and federal policymakers strengthens our collective advocacy. These stories illustrate the vital role hospitals play in the health and well-being of our communities and strengthen our collective voice in support of policies that protect access to care.
If you have not already, we encourage you to share your hospital’s story, which will be featured on IHA’s Healing Communities campaign webpage and across our communication platforms. You can also access IHA’s Healing Communities toolkit (password-protected) filled with campaign assets to help you highlight your hospital or health system’s positive impact on individual lives and community well-being. For more information contact Valerie Culver.
We look forward to working together to elevate the essential role of hospitals and ensure a healthier future for all Illinoisans. Thank you for being a powerful voice for health in our state.
Register Now: Take-Home Naloxone Webinar – May 29
IHA, in partnership with the Illinois Dept. of Human Services (IDHS) and The Naloxone Project, invites you to join a free webinar, “Take-Home Naloxone: Creating Access & Saving Lives,” on Thursday, May 29 at 11 a.m. CT.
This one-hour session will highlight recent updates to the Illinois Drug Overdose Prevention Program (DOPP), which supports hospitals in providing free take-home naloxone kits to individuals at risk of opioid overdose.
Featured speakers from IDHS and The Naloxone Project (national and Illinois chapters) will:
- Outline the opioid overdose crisis in Illinois and the importance of trauma-informed care;
- Share benefits of implementing a take-home naloxone program and using the updated DOPP reporting portal;
- Offer practical guidance for launching a hospital-based take-home naloxone program; and
- Address common implementation challenges and solutions.
Physician CME and nursing CE credits are available for those attending the live webinar. A recording will be shared with all registrants, but credits will not be awarded for on-demand viewing. We encourage your clinical leaders and care teams to register today.
Contact the IHA Quality and Patient Safety Team with questions at QualityPatientSafety@team-iha.org.
Resources for National Hepatitis Awareness Month
May is Hepatitis Awareness Month and May 19 is National Hepatitis Testing Day—both represent an opportunity to raise awareness of hepatitis A, B, and C, encourage testing and vaccination, and promote timely treatment. Viral hepatitis a significant public health threat, impacting more than 4 million people in the U.S. New viral hepatitis infections topped 85,000 in 2023, and contributed to 13,000 deaths that same year. Hepatitis A and B are preventable, and hepatitis C is curable with effective treatments. The Illinois Dept. of Public Health recently shared key messages and resources, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s social media toolkit and latest surveillance report.
Upcoming Meetings for Regional Behavioral Health Collaboratives
You can help shape the future of behavioral health in Cook County by participating in an upcoming Regional Behavioral Health Collaborative (RBHC) virtual meeting—a critical step in advancing equitable, coordinated behavioral health services across Cook County. Each 60-minute virtual meeting will focus on finalizing the RBHC Charter, electing inaugural co-chairs, launching workgroups, nominating strategic leads, planning 2025 community forums, and setting training priorities.
The registration deadline is Wednesday, May 21. Please complete this brief registration and pre-meeting survey to review the draft charter, sign up for your regional meeting, and submit nominations. All meetings will be conducted via Microsoft Teams at 10 a.m. CT unless otherwise noted. The regional schedule is:
- Region 1 – Chicago Northwest: May 28
- Region 2 – Chicago West: May 29
- Region 3 – Chicago Southwest: May 30
- Region 4 – Chicago Far South: June 2
- Region 5 – Chicago Near South: June 3
- Region 6 – Chicago North: June 4
- Region 7 – Suburban Northwest: June 5
- Region 8 – Suburban North: June 6
- Region 9 – Suburban West: June 2 at 2 p.m. CT
- Region 10 – Suburban Southwest: June 3 at 2 p.m. CT
- Region 11 – Suburban South: June 4 at 2 p.m. CT
Please share this invitation with colleagues who may be interested. Inclusive participation is essential to ensuring that our Regional Behavioral Health Collaboratives reflect the needs and voices of the communities we serve.
