Cycling For Sinai

Many people have asked me what I am doing – not just why am I riding a bike across the country (a fair question!), but more importantly, why did I choose the Sinai Health System of Chicago as the beneficiary of the fundraising component of this ride. There are a variety of organizations that I am involved with that are working very hard to keep my hometown, Chicago, one of the best urban centers in the world. One organization is particularly on my mind these days however, because I am currently Chairman of its Board, because of a long family tie, and, most importantly, because it is at a critical turning point in its history.

A family connection

In 1919 my grandfather, along with some other Chicago businessmen, realized that the influx of eastern European Jews who were coming to Chicago needed a hospital. While there were hospitals in Chicago, including one that cared for German Jews, there was no place that would fully accept Eastern European Jews. Nor was there anywhere where eastern European Jewish physicians could practice. As a result of this, my grandfather, and others, founded Mount Sinai Hospital of Chicago.

Over time and waves of immigration, the patient base Sinai was created to serve moved to the suburbs. Mount Sinai Hospital could have moved too but the board made a conscious and committed decision to stay in the community, to continue to welcome and care for those who, like the eastern European Jews of the early 1900s, would not be accepted elsewhere. Drawing from a community of around three quarters of a million people, Sinai’s patients now are largely African American or Latino.

Over 90 years of unconditional care

After serving on Sinai’s Board for the last 24 years, I took over as Chair of the Board 18 months ago. I took on this job primarily because I thought that it was critical to Sinai’s survival that we begin the process of building a new hospital. In order to survive while serving its mission of taking care of the community irrespective of patients’ ability to pay, Sinai has made do for too many years with minimal capital investment in its facilities.

Financial constraints are the norm for any hospital that has a meaningful portion of its patients who either can’t pay at all or have their care paid for by a governmental entity. Sinai is an extreme example of that problem. For many years, a meaningful portion of Sinai’s patients receive care that is not paid for at all – 13%.

The vast majority of Sinai’s patients receive care that is paid for by the State of Illinois – 60%. State rates cover most of what it costs [roughly 75%] to take care of a patient, but leave nothing left over to keep the buildings or equipment that are essential to a successful hospital. Many years of caring for patients with this economic model has taken its toll; Sinai’s current facilities are desperately in need of revitalization. Sinai is at a point where there is no choice. If we are to survive and flourish for another 90 years, it is essential that we build new facilities to serve our patients. As the first step in this process, we recently started the “Sinai Tomorrow” project – the building of an Ambulatory Care Center that will be the center piece of the new Sinai.

Sinai today

The present day Sinai Health System has five member organizations, all located in a four square block area on the west side of Chicago: Mount Sinai Hospital, Schwab Rehabilitation Hospital, Sinai Medical Group, Sinai Urban Health Institute and Sinai Community Institute. Each of the five has its own unique way of serving some of the most vulnerable communities in urban America.

At Mount Sinai Hospital itself, there are more than 2,200 Sinai caregivers who provide extraordinarily compassionate and high quality care to a patient base that desperately needs their help. Over 92% of Mount Sinai Hospital’s scores on federal government core measures are in the top ten percent of hospitals throughout the United States and patient outcome scores (FIM) for Schwab Rehabilitation Hospital exceed those of other rehabilitation hospitals. This is a truly astonishing achievement for a medical center that faces the financial and social challenges that Sinai does.

Sinai Urban Health Institute (also known as SUHI), is a group of epidemiologists and community health workers who on a block- by- block basis identify prevalence of chronic conditions such breast cancer, asthma, and diabetes in Chicago. SUHI findings provide the detailed community health needs assessments that drive programs and care
throughout Sinai System. SUHI community health workers, through what is called translational research, reduce the impact of disparities by teaching community members how to take charge of their health.

A particularly unique aspect of Sinai is the Sinai Community Institute, a hospital-based social service agency. SCI focuses on life conditions that are the precursors of health: workforce readiness and employment; for pre-teens and adolescents, staying in school instead of joining a gang or having another baby; for seniors, reducing isolation and investigation of abuse claims.

Tomorrow for Sinai

I am fervently committed to doing everything I can to keep Sinai able to fulfill its mission. Sinai needs and deserves your support. Please learn about Sinai Tomorrow and give generously.