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| 12/14/2009 |
| Sodexo and Modern Healthcare have awarded Sinai Urban Health Institute honorable mention for the CARES Spirit Award. CARES, which stands for compassion, accountability, respect, enthusiasm, and service, is awarded to a team or group whose collective actions and behaviors personify CARES attributes. |
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| 11/16/2009 |
National Institutes of Health awards SUHI $1MM for “North Lawndale Diabetes Community Action Project.” Principal Investigators: Joseph West and Steven Whitman Project begins November 2009. The North Lawndale Diabetes Community Action Project builds on community strengths to increase the early detection of diabetes and involves an entire neighborhood in efforts to enhance self-management by those with the disease. Our community-academic partnership proposes a neighborhood engagement approach to ameliorating the impact of diabetes on the lives of 10,000 adults living in a well-defined section of the North Lawndale neighborhood. The Sinai Urban Health Institute, Sinai Health Systems, Rush University Medical Center and a community based organization (Family Focus North Lawndale) are proposing to develop and deliver a multilevel community intervention using a media campaign, community engagement, and individual self management training by "Diabetes Block Captains." Neighborhood residents working as Diabetes Block Captains will conduct household screenings for diabetes and then will engage their neighbors in activities that promote diabetes self-management. This Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) approach seeks to support residents in hanging the culture within the target community, to make diabetes a neighborhood priority, and to address the cultural and social environment to support healthier lifestyles. It is estimated that the direct medical care costs per person per year with diabetes is 2.3 times higher than for the person without diabetes. OVERALL PURPOSE To reduce the impact of type 2 diabetes mellitus on the health of residents of North Lawndale through a replicable multi-level strategy developed and implemented through a collaboration between the community and an academic health center. |
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| 10/19/2009 |
Dr. Steve Whitman, Director of Sinai Urban Health Institute, was one of six panelists asked to speak at a healthcare reform round table discussion hosted by Vice President Biden, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, and National Health IT Coordinator, Dr. David Blumenthal and held at the Sinai Community Institute on Thursday, August 20th, 2009. To learn more about the roundtable discussion, click here. To read a transcript of Dr. Whitman’s comments, click here.
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| 07/17/2009 |
Sinai's Healthy Home, Healthy Child pediatric asthma program was recently featured by many media outlets. Below are links to many of those features.
Asthma Program Targets Landlords, aired 5/18/09 on WBEZ radio. Available online: |
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| 07/17/2009 |
The Jewish Day School Wellness Initiative was recently funded for a fourth year. The Michael Reese Health Trust generously provided $160,000 to expand the culturally-appropriate model of school wellness to all interested schools in the Associated Talmud Torahs school system. For the first time, high schools will be able to participate along with elementary schools. All participating schools are required to have a school wellness council and a wellness policy, as well as to make changes in the following areas: health education, physical education, school environment, staff wellness, and family involvement. This project was designed to address the high levels of childhood obesity among Jewish children in the neighborhoods of West Rogers Park and Peterson Park. It is a joint initiative of SUHI, the Jewish Federation, and the Associated Talmud Torahs. |
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| 06/23/2009 |
Steven Whitman, PhD, Director of the Sinai Urban Health Institute, was awarded the 2009 Community Healthcare Partners Award on Monday, June 1, 2009, by the Chicagoland Area Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The award recognizes Dr. Whitman for his extensive contribution toward the fight against disparities in breast cancer mortality between Black and White women. |
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| 05/29/2009 |
Dr. Joseph West, Director of the Breathing Freedom program, was awarded the Ann M. Joyner Community Health Award on Friday May 8, 2009. The award commemorates an individual who has committed his/her life to public health in the North Lawndale community. Dr. West was presented with the award at an event hosted by the Lawndale People's Planning and Action Conference/Pyramid West Development Corporation. |
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| 05/14/2009 |
| Sinai's Healthy Home, Healthy Child pediatric asthma program was featured on CBS 2 News and in the Chicago Tribune. To view the CBS 2 News story, click here. To read the Chicago Tribune article, click here. |
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| 05/05/2009 |
 The National Association of Public Hospitals has announced that the Sinai Pediatric Asthma Initiative: Empowering Caregivers and Improving Children’s Health Program has been selected to receive an NAPH 2009 Honorable Mention Awardin its 2009 NAPH Safety Net Award competition in the categoryReducing Health Care Disparities. Presentation of the award will be at the NAPH Annual Conference in Seattle on June 26th. At right are members of Sinai's pediatric asthma team. For more information on the Sinai Pediatric Asthma Initiative, click here. |
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| 03/03/2009 |
| SUHI's Breathing Freedom smoking cessation program was recently highlighted in Chicago Hospital News. To read the article, click here and scroll to page 14. |
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| 01/26/2009 |
On Monday, January 12th Dr. Steve Whitman, Director of SUHI, was honored with the DREAM award at Northwestern University for his continued committment to seek social justice and equality in health and healthcare. This award was given during the Dr. Martin Luther King Day commemoration program, which was held at Thorne Auditorium and hosted by the Northwestern School of Law and Feinburg School of Medicine. |
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| 12/26/2008 |
The Sinai Health System was recently highlighted in the Wall Street Journal for its continued commitment to provide high quality healthcare and associated health services to the patients and communities it serves. The article entitled, "Pursuing Charitable Mission Leaves a Hospital Struggling" highlights efforts undertaken by the health system, including interventions implemented by SUHI, to achieve Sinai's mission of improving the health of the individuals and communities it serves. |
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| 11/17/2008 |
On November 1, 2008, DeShuna Dickens, SUHI’s Supervisor of Breast Health/Urban Health Education Coordinator and Gloria Seals, Supervisor, Asthma Health Education, both received an award from the Westside Ministers’ Coalition. The award, THE COMMITTEE SERVICE AWARD, was given for diligent and faithful participation in activities designed to promote health among residents of the West Side of Chicago, including regular attendance at Health Committee meetings. We are so proud of DeShuna and Gloria and extend our congratulations to them both. |
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| 11/05/2008 |
Dr. Steve Whitman, Director of SUHI, was honored on Saturday, November 1, by the Chicago Chapter of the National Black Nurses Association (CCNBNA). He received the Community Advocacy Award for his ground-breaking work on addressing health disparities. The presentation of the award noted: “Whitman’s overarching concerns focus on the relationship of social issues, notably racism and poverty, to health and well-being.” Lifetime member of CCNBNA, Margaret Davis, presented the award to Dr. Whitman highlighting his recent accomplishments addressing the disparity in breast cancer mortality between black and white women in Chicago. This event marked the 35th Anniversary of the Chicago Black Nurses Association and many speakers raised up the dedication of this organization to the health care needs of the African American Community through reaching, teaching and promoting healthcare. |
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| 10/29/2008 |
 On Tuesday, October 28th Dr. Steve Whitman, Director of SUHI, was a recipient of the Avon Foundation's Medical Advancement in Breast Cancer Award for his work in the identification of the Black:White disparity in breast cancer mortality in Chicago and the development of solutions to eliminate this disparity. Dr. Whitman, along with award co-recipient Dr. David Ansell, have been instrumental in spearheading efforts such as the Metropolitan Chicago Breast Cancer Task Force which has brought together stakeholders from goverment, healthcare institutions, community organizations, and women from across the Chicagoland area to work towards eliminating this disparity.
For more information about the Avon Foundation and the 2008 Avon Foundation Awards Celebration: The Hope Honors, click here |
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| 10/24/2008 |
| Dr. Steve Whitman, Director of SUHI, was recently interviewed by the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun Times about the Black:White disparity in breast cancer mortality in Chicago. To read these articles, click on the link to each paper above. |
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| 10/13/2008 |
SUHI has received a $1.3 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to build on its eight years of experience implementing pediatric asthma interventions in Chicago Westside communities. The project, Chicago Westside Partnership for Children - Asthma Initiative (CWPC-AI) will focus on children with poorly controlled asthma living in or accessing services in North Lawndale. The intervention seeks to empower families to make the changes necessary to improve their child’s asthma management, and thereby, the family’s quality of life. The initiative builds on SUHI’s experiences conducting home-based pediatric asthma interventions utilizing Community Health Workers,(CHWs). However in this next phase the project will incorporate an intense environmental assessment and intervention modeled after the success of an initiative conducted in Seattle, WA (Seattle-King County Healthy Home).The intervention will primarily be carried out by CHWs, who will be recruited from the Westside Chicago community being targeted by the intervention. The CHWs will make 5-6 home visits over the course of the intervention, during which they will comprehensively educate the family on asthma and its proper management, focusing heavily on both improving medical management (e.g., recognizing and reacting appropriately to asthma symptoms, medication techniques, etc.) and reducing exposure to home triggers. A collaborative approach drawing on the strengths of several partners and incorporating full and meaningful participation by the community will be utilized. The approach builds on the previous work and experiences of each partner. Partners in the initiative include: Chicago Asthma Consortium, Health and Disability Advocates, Metropolitan Tenants Organization, Sinai Children’s Hospital, and Sinai Community Institute. |
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| 07/16/2008 |
The School-Based Wellness Project recently received $160,000 from the Michael Reese Health Trust and $100,000 from the Polk Bros. Foundation to continue their efforts to improve student health in the Jewish community. The intervention now includes five schools from the Associated Talmud Torahs school system, which translates into over 2000 students in grades K-8 participating. To date, the Michael Reese Health Trust has contributed $360,000 over three years for this project, while the Polk Bros. Foundation has contributed $300,000 during the same time frame. |
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| 06/04/2008 |
| The Breathing Freedom project has been awarded a $25,000 grant from the American Lung Association of Illinois-Greater Chicago to promote smoking cessation in North Lawndale community. The American Lung Association is dedicated to preventing lung disease and improving lung health. This grant money will be used to help change social norms through media campaigns, Illinois Quitline promotion, and outreach regarding smoking behavior. |
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| 06/02/2008 |
On Sunday, June 1st Sinai Health System was awarded $1 million dollars from the Avon Foundation to continue the patient navigation program and to purchase new mammography equipment. Sinai was one of eight recipients of initial grants from the Avon Walk Chicago that totaled $4,750,000.
This year the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in Chicago had 4,000 participants that raised $9.1 million dollars. Each year participants of the walk raise at least $1,800 dollars each and walk up to 39.3 miles over two days to promote awareness and raise money to combat breast cancer. |
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| 04/18/2008 |
Dr. Maureen Benjamins, Senior Epidemiologist and Project Director at SUHI, recently received the Early Investigator Award for Spirituality and Health Research from the Society of Behavioral Medicine. The award was presented at the group's annual meeting in March. Dr. Benjamins has been invited to present her research at next year's annual meeting in Montreal. |
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| 02/07/2008 |
Steve Whitman, Director of SUHI, was interviewed as spokesperson for an examination of black-white disparities in breast cancer mortality among Houston area women. The media interest coincided with the Avon Foundation's Annual Breast Cancer Forum in which Dr. Whitman presented on racial disparities in breast cancer mortality.
To view the newspaper article, click here.
To access Dr. Whitman's presentation, click here.
Dr. Whitman and the SUHI team have published their work on black-white disparities in Chicago and they were asked to do a similar study in Houston. SUHI’s work was also pivotal in the organization of the Metropolitan Chicago Breast Cancer Task Force. |
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| 12/31/2007 |
| Dr. Joseph West, Project Director of Breathing Freedom: Working Together to Live Tobacco Free, was recently highlighted in a Chicago Tribune article titled, "African-American Smoking Rates Tied to Menthol, Research Finds." To read this article, click here. |
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| 09/25/2007 |
| SUHI's director, Steve Whitman, was recently interviewed by Chicago magazine about the disparity in breast cancer mortality between Black and White women in Chicago. His comments are published in an article in the October issue of Chicago magazine titled "The Deadly Difference" |
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| 09/14/2007 |
Abigail Silva, MPH, will no longer be working at SUHI full-time as she starts to pursue her doctorate in Epidemiology at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Abigail was considered a leader within SUHI, is a well-respected colleague, and will be greatly missed. We wish Abigail luck as she enters a new phase of her professional career. |
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| 06/05/2007 |
Diana Salgado, a Breast Health Coordinator at Mount Sinai Hospital, was recently highlighted in a Chicago Sun Times article for her work on a project providing navigation services for low-income minority women undergoing breast cancer screening and treatment services at Mount Sinai Hospital. SUHI manages the evaluation of this project, which is funded by the Avon Foundation. |
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| 06/03/2007 |
| The Sinai Urban Health Institute was one, amongst many organizations, recently awarded a grant by the Avon Foundation. The money for each award was raised by the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. For more information about this recent event, please click here. SUHI's award will fund a coordinator position for the Chicago Breast Cancer Task Force and expand navigation services for breast cancer screening and treatment services to the communities of North Lawndale and Humboldt Park. |
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| 04/12/2007 |
| Steve Whitman, Director of SUHI, was recently part of a panel on WTTW's Chicago Tonight program that discussed disparities in breast cancer mortality between Black and White women in Chicago. The panel also discussed what next steps could be undertaken to remedy this disparity. |
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| 01/23/2007 |
| The Chicago Sun Times (January 23, 2007) featured an editorial by Steve Whitman, Director of SUHI, entitled "Breast cancer disparity is cause for worry". |
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