Habilitative Systems, Inc.’s First “Race and Health Equity Awards” Recognizes Healthcare and Community Leaders’ Contributions

Making Inroads to Equal Access and Eliminating Disparity in Quality Healthcare

 Habilitative Systems, Inc.’s First “Race and Health Equity Awards” Recognizes Healthcare and Community Leaders’ Contributions
Making Inroads to Equal Access and Eliminating Disparity in Quality Healthcare

Habilitative Systems, Inc., will recognize outstanding individuals Dec. 9 for their work and contributions in tearing down the barriers to equal access and quality healthcare at the HSI Board of Directors’ inaugural “Race and Health Equity Awards” reception. The event will honor healthcare executives and community leaders who are committed to eliminating inequities within the African-American
community.

The awards presentation will take place from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Thursday, Dec. 9, at the Union Club of Chicago, 65 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago. The event is free; register at https://bit.ly/3rs7y2Q.

“Continued support as a corporate sponsor for this event will help
sustain the vital services provided to those most impacted by race and health inequities and create pathways to healthcare careers by supporting Community Health Worker (CHW) students,” said Cynthia Washington, Chair, Fundraising Committee.

“We are looking forward to the professional networking, appetizers,
cocktails and learning more about what can be done to narrow the
healthcare gap.”

Individuals who will be honored are:
• Donna Thompson, the CEO of ACCESS since 2004, who has been on the front lines of patient care delivery for more than 35 years.
• Herbert C. Buchanan, Jr., Regional Operating Officer for AMITA
Health, a 15-hospital system in Chicago and the suburbs, and
President and CEO of St. Joseph Joliet Medical Center.
• Kimberly E. McCullough- Starks, Deputy Director of the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, and an experienced executive in legislative initiatives, policy development, regulatory reform, human resource management, budget, procurement, and diversity & inclusion programs.
• Helen Davis Gardner, M.D., Medical Director of Behavioral
Health for Government Programs for HCSC and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Loyola University. To ensure safe practices during
the pandemic, guests are requested to provide evidence of vaccination and masks will be optional.

For more information, please visit www. habilitative.org or contact Della Akres at 773-854-8313, drakres@ habilitative.org. When it comes to illnesses such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes,
Covid-19, HIV and access to quality healthcare, communities of color fareworse than white areas. While this is unsettling, HSI has had a significant impact in Chicago for more than four decades. This year, HSI joined forces with major health care institutions in Chicago to launch the Westside Health Equity Collaborative, which was formed to address critical race and health inequities.

The organization also is an integral partner in the Collaborative Bridges effort to address rising behavioral health needs and suicide in the African- American community.

About Habilitative Systems, Inc. (HSI)
 For 43 years, Habilitative Systems, Inc. (HSI) has provided quality
behavioral health and human services programs to individuals
and families in 15 underserved communities throughout the Chicago
metropolitan area. HSI staff responded to the most pressing
needs of society, serving persons with mental illness, disabilities,
substance use disorders as well as seniors, and children experiencing prolonged trauma.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, HSI has responded once again by
partnering with the City of Chicago’s Contact Tracing efforts and
the Illinois Department of Healthvaccination and testing initiatives.
Last year, the organization led a city-wide collaborative effort, the
Counting on Chicago Coalition, to ensure an accurate count for Census 2020 that engaged 40 agencies and businesses. Thirteen community areas on the south and west sides of Chicago were targeted for this critical intervention. During this initiative, coalition partners conducted Social Determinants of Health Screenings and referred over 45,000 people with special needs to critical human services.

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