title: Contributions of public hospitals to regional health care: a population-based analysis of the county health care system serving metropolitan Chicago.
abstract: To determine the proportions of countywide expenditures and service delivery for the Cook County Health and Hospitals System (CCHHS), we obtained data from the CCHHS budget; CCHHS registration, program, and pharmacy databases; public health departments and organization reports; and federal agency estimates. The annual CCHHS budget of $1.2B represents 3.4% of total Cook County health care expenditures. Eight of the nine population-based proportions of health care services delivered by the CCHHS exceeded this proportion of health expenditures by factors of 1.3-8 times. These services include diagnosis of tuberculosis, sexually transmitted diseases, and cancers; care of very low birth weight babies; primary care for HIV and diabetes; and emergency room and ambulatory visits. This county health care system is a productive contributor to overall health service delivery in Cook County, and its contributions exceed its proportionate funding in eight of nine priority health areas.
authors.affiliation: Cook County Health and Hospitals System, Rush University, John H. Stroger Hospital of Cook County, Chicago, IL 60612, USA. david_goldberg@rush.edu
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Goldberg
authors.forename: Janice L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Benson
authors.forename: Gordon
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schiff
authors.forename: Tanu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pandey
mesh_terms: D002641:Chicago; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000191:economics; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000191:economics; D005102:Health Expenditures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006779:Hospitals, Public / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D012041:Regional Medical Programs / Q000191:economics*