information provided by the Office of Robin Kelly
MATTESON, Ill. (April 29, 2020) – On Tuesday, Congresswoman Robin Kelly hosted a telephone town hall with hospital CEOs from Chicago’s south side and the south suburbs to hear their concerns and invite suggestions for further legislative relief efforts.
“Hospital CEOs on the south side and south suburbs have been working with me to close gaps in care access throughout this pandemic,” Congresswoman Kelly said. “I updated them on the fourth response bill we passed last week in Washington that provides $75 billion for hospitals. Together, we’re working to ensure that our hospitals are getting what they need to care for patients and protect their staff.”
Congresswoman Kelly told hospital executives that the latest coronavirus relief bill also includes her measure that will fund the collection, reporting, and analysis of racial demographic data alongside COVID-19 reporting. This will include tests, contact tracing, positives, referrals, hospitalizations, and deaths. The data will be used to prepare for future healthcare crises and highlight gaps that must be closed in existing programs.
Hospital leaders said they continue to care for a constant influx of COVID-19 patients. They also expressed a need for more testing sites and more personal protective equipment.
This call was the twelfth in the Congresswoman’s COVID19 response series.
