Program Committee Meeting 

By invitation only. 

If you would like more information on this committee or would like to join this committee, please contact IOMC at contactus@iomc.org  and state Program Committee in the subject line. 

Have a good day~ 

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Executive Committee Meeting 

By invitation only. 

Have a good day~

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                                                 Membership Committee Meeting 

                                                              By invitation only. 

If you are interested in joining this committee, please contact the IOMC office at contatusus@iomc.org. 

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Behavioral Health Workgroup Meeting

By invitation only. 

If you are interested in this workgroup, please contact the IOMC at contactus@iomc.org. 

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Maternal & Child Health Symposium 

April 22, 2025 

8:30 AM - 1:00 PM CT

Cook County Health - Professional Building 

1950 West Polk Street 5th Floor 

Chicago, Illinois 60612

Parking Garage - east of the Professional Building 

Valet Parking available at the Professional Building 

SpotHero for other convenient parking. 

News Release  | Program Schedule 

As a independent 501c3 nonprofit, IOMC appreciates support from our sponsors, contact us to find out how you can be a recognized supporter at sponsorship@iomc.org. 

A half-day of awareness, learning, and networking addressing maternal & child health issues.  We will address Medical Perspectives, Social Determinants of Health, Advocacy, Public Health & Policy. Implications, Payor Perspectives, Accessibility, Transportation issues, and more. Open to all. 

The IOMC Maternal & Child Health Symposium will unite industry leaders, community advocacy groups, and experts in maternal and child health across the Chicagoland area to provide a comprehensive overview of the latest advancements in maternal and child health, emphasizing the intersection of physical and mental health.

This event will focus on access to care, behavioral health, social challenges, and currently available resources to improve outcomes. Through collaborative discussions and evidence-based strategies, the symposium aims to address disparities and enhance healthcare for mothers and children in our communities.

Learning Objectives  

By attending this session, you will: 

• Enhancing Behavioral Health and Reducing Maternal Morbidity & Mortality
• Addressing Maternal Obesity, Social issues, and Care coordination
• Optimizing Community Resources, Primary care, and Family Planning

Program Schedule 

8:30 AM  Registration & Networking

9:00 AM   Welcome                                                                    

Beena Peters, DNP, RN, Chief Nurse Executive, Cook County Health; 

Maternal & Child Health Workgroup Member, Institute of Medicine of Chicago, & Billings  Fellow, IOMC  

Anita Stewart, MD, MPH, JD, MBA

Chair, Maternal & Child Health  Workgroup, Institute of Medicine of Chicago, & Billings Fellow, IOMC

Opening Remarks 

Erik Mikaitis, MD, MBA, FACP, CPE, CEO, Cook County Health 

Toni Preckwinkle, President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners

Special Guests 

Courtney Avery Davis, MPH, President, Institute of Medicine of Chicago

Commissioners - Bill Lowry & Donna Miller 

Presentations

9:15 AM            

Laura Miller, MD, Professor of Psychiatry at Loyola Stritch School of Medicine 

Improving Perinatal Mental Health Key Priorities

9:30 AM             

Kylea Liese, PhD, CNM, Melanated Group Midwifery Care

Implementing and Evaluating Innovative Models to Reduce Maternal Health Disparities

                            

9:45 AM            

Pamela Xaverius, PhD, MEd, CPH, Associate Dean of Loyola University Chicago Parkinson's School of Health Sciences & Public Health   

Exploring the Convergence of Epidemics: Maternal Pre-pregnancy Obesity and Excessive Gestational Weight Gain

 

10:00 AM      

Emma Anselin, MD, MPH, American Academy of Pediatrics - IL Chapter

Strengthening the Voice of Pregnant persons, Young children, and Families in our Housing System 

10:15 AM           

Beena Peters, DNP, RN, Chief Nursing Executive, Cook County Health 

Care Coordination to Decrease Preterm Births 

10:30 AM           Break

10:45 AM           

Arvind Goyal, MD, MPH, MBA, FAAFP, FACPM, Medical Director of Illinois Medicaid

Illinois' MCH Challenges-Strategies Implemented, and Remaining Work 

11:00 AM           

Denise Gilbert, MSN, RN, Chief Nursing Officer, & Kiran Joshi, MD, Interim Chief Operating Officer, Cook County Department of Public Health 

Maternal & Health Community Resources 

11:15 AM           

Lisa Green, DO, CEO, Family Christian Health Center 

Federally Qualified Health Center 

11:30 AM           

Ashlesha Patel, MD, Associate Medical Chairman, Cook County Health 

Too Much at Stake Not to Have a Reproductive Life Plan

11:45 AM           Break

12:00 PM          Panel & Interactive Discussion

Moderated by

Ian Jasenof, MD, FACOG, MHA, CPE, Chief Medical Officer at UI Health  Mile Square; Maternal & Child Health Workgroup Member, Institute of Medicine of Chicago, & Fellow, IOMC

Panelists

Christina Urbina, MBA,  Service Line Business Director, Cook County Health

Cook County Strategy to Advance Maternal & Child Health Care  

Tonia Branche, MD, MPH, Director, High-Risk Perinatal Initiatives, West Side Healthy                                Parents & Babies, Lurie Children's Magoon Institute 

Collaboratively Addressing Maternal & Child Health Disparities on Chicago's West Side 

Michelle Alero Adeniyi, Director, MCH Collective Impact, March of Dimes, Illinois  

Bridging the Gap: Advancing Equity in Maternal & Child Health Through Advocacy and Innovative Community  

Melissa Dennis, MD, MHA, FACOG, Chief Medical Officer, Partum Health 

The Need for the Whole Person, Whole Family Care in the Perinatal Period 

12:55 PM  Closing Remarks                                                                      

Thank You

Dr. Beena Peters, DNP, RN 

Grab-N-Go Box Lunch

1:00 PM  Adjournment   

TICKETS

Members (Billings Fellow, Fellow and Associate Fellows) $65.00 per ticket*.**.***,****

Non-Members (Guests) $85.00 per ticket *.**.***,****

Register by using the Blue Register button. 

SPONSORS

 

Anita Stewart, MD, MPH, JD, MBA 

  

Interested in Supporting this Program? Sponsors are welcome.

*Tickets are non-refundable as of April 17, 2025 

** By attending this event, you are consenting to photos that may be used in communications. 

*** Reservations accepted through April 17, 2025  

****All substitutions must be of comparable level. 

Contact us at sponsorship@iomc.org. or call 312.709.2685. 

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2025 Leadership Awards - Nominations Deadline 

Seven awards categories - open to all. 

More details and nomination form, visit this page. 

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Awards Committee Meeting 

By invitation only. 

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Board of Governors Meeting 

By invitation only. 

Have a good day~

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Executive Committee Meeting 

By invitation only. 

Have a good day~

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Behavioral Health Workgroup Meeting

By invitation only. 

If you are interested in this workgroup, please contact the IOMC at contactus@iomc.org. 

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Finance Committee Meeting 

Closed meeting- by invitation only. 

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Executive Committee Meeting 

By invitation only. 

Have a good day~

###

Behavioral Health Workgroup Meeting

By invitation only. 

If you are interested in this workgroup, please contact the IOMC at contactus@iomc.org. 

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110th  Anniversary - IOMC Leadership Awards & Annual Convening 

Major Fundraising Goal $350,000

June 26, 2025 

5:00 - 8:00 PM CT 

Maggiano's -Chicago 

Grand Ballroom 

Cocktail and Business Attire 

Valet parking available. SpotHero for other convenient parking. 

Sponsorship |   Leadership Awards  |  News Release   |  Program  *,**,***

2025 Leadership Awards  - nominations are being accepted through April 23, 2025., visit here. 

Sponsorships Download Brochure here>

The 110th Anniversary will celebrate the Institute's pioneering efforts in health equity, its accomplishments, and its look to the future. As evident in our news and communities, our work is not completed in advancing health equity. Join us in our relentless efforts to create social change and reduce healthcare disparities. 

David Ansell, MD, MPH - We are honored to have Dr. David Ansell, MD, MPH as our Keynote Speaker for this momentous occasion. His efforts in health equity work, addressing patient dumping, and leadership has spanned decades. 

Festivities- The evening will include announcing the new Board of Governors 2025-2026, recognizing the Class of 2025 Fellows and all Billings Fellows, and honoring the 2025 Leadership Award recipients.  Please join us in 'advancing health equity by reducing healthcare disparities.'

Thank you to the 2024-2025 Board of Governors and their leadership, commitment and mission -centric efforts. 

Emcee - Robert Johnson, media and communications consultant who was previously a news anchor at WBBM-TV in Chicago for over thirteen years. His experience includes WLS-TV, KALB-TV, KLKY-TV, KATV, and KPRC-TV. IOMC is honored that he will lead the evening program. 

Keynote Speaker  Bio - David Ansell. MD, MPH 

David A. Ansell (born 1952) is a Chicago-based physician, social epidemiologist and author. His efforts at both the national and local levels have advanced concerns about health inequities and the structure of the US health care system. His years as a provider to the medically underserved have made him a vocal supporter of single-payer health care.^[1][2] He spent seventeen years at Cook County Hospital currently known as John H. Stroger Hospital of Cook County upon which the medical T.V. drama ER was based. Ansell was inspired by his time at Cook County Hospital to write a memoir and social history entitled, County: Life, Death, and Politics in Chicago’s Public Hospital. County was hailed as a "landmark book" by Julia Keller of the Chicago Tribune, aiming "to inform and to inspire" readers about the disparities in health care. In the book, Ansell argues that only a single-payer solution that provides access to all US residents regardless of circumstances can provide relief for those closed out of the health care system.^[3]

Efforts against patient dumping 

In the mid 1980s, Ansell and colleagues noted a marked increase in the numbers of patients transferred to public hospitals around Chicago and the US, due to a lack of health insurance. This practice is known as patient dumping. In 1984, Ansell joined a project led by Robert Schiff], M.D., to expose patient dumping in Chicago.^[5] He contributed to the article "Transfers to a Public Hospital" that appeared in the February 1986 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, criticizing patient dumping and the unnecessary deaths it caused. Efforts against patient dumping like this eventually led to the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, which made the emergency transfers of patients illegal.^[6]

Health Inequity Work 

Ansell founded and directed one of first programs in the US to battle race-based disparity in health care, the Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Program at Cook County Hospital, in 1984. In 1995, Ansell left Cook County Hospital to become Chairman of the Department of Internal Medicine of Mount Sinai Hospital in Chicago, the city's largest private safety-net hospital. Among other activities at Mount Sinai, in 2002 he founded the Sinai Urban Health Institute^[7] a major health-disparity research and intervention center along with the late Steven Whitman, PhD who served as its director. In 2006, he and Dr. Whitman helped expose the racial breast cancer mortality gap in Chicago in an article they published. In response, they joined with others to found the Metropolitan Chicago Breast Cancer Taskforce, a group dedicated to eliminating this disparity in the Chicago area.^[8][9]

In 2015, Ansell helped found the DePaul-Rush Center for Community Health Equity a Chicago-based health equity educational and research center based at DePaul University and Rush University Medical Center.^[10]

Full bio here> 

Tickets 

$195.00  Members - Billings Fellows, Fellows and Associate Fellows *,**,***,****

$235.00 Non-members (Guests) *,**,***,****

$3000.00 Table of Eight with Special Benefits (Sponsorship) *,**,***,****

Click on the Blue Register button in the left kiosk to register for the event. 

Thank you to our Sponsors 

Friend Level 

Supporter Level 

Table Sponsors

Sponsorships Available - Support IOMC's mission-download sponsorship brochure>

Contact Courtney Avery Davis, MPH or Deborah Hodges, MA-IDS to obtain information on sponsorships, tables and more at sponsorship@iomc.org.

*Tickets are non-refundable as of June 19,2025  

** By attending this event, you are consenting to photos that may be used in communications. 

*** Reservations accepted through June 19,2025  

****All substitutions must be of comparable level. 

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