Durbin Statement Regarding Report of Cook County Bureau of Health Services Review Committee

Statement

Durbin Statement Regarding Report of Cook County Bureau of Health Services Review Committee

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today made the following statement about the Report of the Cook County Bureau of Health Services Review Committee.

"The Cook County Bureau of Health Services cannot survive without immediate, far-reaching reform. The health professionals and civic leaders who accepted the challenge to review the critical issues facing the Cook County Bureau of Health Services have produced a comprehensive, professional and honest analysis. I thank them for the many hours they volunteered and especially thank Dr. Larry Goodman of Rush University Medical Center for his exceptional leadership chairing this review.

The governance issue is a threshold requirement for credible reform. The President and County Board will have to show vision and courage in creating an independent entity that will work to save the important health services provided by the County.

Amidst all of the shortcomings of the current system, the Review Committee found one thing that should inspire everyone who reads this report. In their words: "Overall, the Bureau of Health Services provides high quality health care." The most vulnerable people in our state can take heart that the health care professionals of Cook County continue one of the finest medical traditions in our nation.

I thank President Stroger for accepting my suggestion to convene this committee and empowering it to review every aspect of the Cook County Bureau of Health Services.

Now we must turn this Committee's recommendations into positive change and we have no time to lose."

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