After a months-long search, Cook County Health has found its new leader in house, with the current interim CEO promoted Thursday to the permanent job.
The Cook County Board has confirmed the selection of the search committee, appointing Dr. Eric Mickaitis to oversee the management of Stroger and Provident Hospitals, a network of more than a dozen clinics, and the county's Medicaid managed care program, CountyCare.
He inherits a proposed $5.2 billion budget for 2025 and a workforce of about 7,600 people. Although the system has faced significant financial hurdles in recent years — including the high costs of providing free care — 2025 is the first year in modern history that the province's health fund does not run a projected deficit.
However, CCH struggled to fill vacant positions and relied on commissioned agency staff to fill gaps, angering union leaders and some county commissioners. CCH spokeswoman Alexandra Normington said the system has 1,700 vacant positions and plans to spend $200 million on agency staffing by the end of this year, and agency staffing spending makes up about 18% of CCH's staffing budget.
1,345 agency employees worked in the system in September. The province had made 1,667 job offers as of September of this year. Of those, 1,007 were accepted, and 631 were hired externally, Normington said.
On the same day that the Board approved Mikaitis' appointment, commissioners introduced a non-binding resolution intended to limit the use of agency staff to 20% of the budget for full-time staffing per job classification across CCH.
“Since 2018, CCH has awarded $500 million in out-of-state private agency contracts, receiving exorbitant wages while working alongside union workers,” said Diane Palmer, president of SEIU Local 73. It's not just that some agency employees earn more than union workers. They “lack experience and institutional knowledge,” Palmer said, urging commissioners and Michaelis to address the issue.
Mikaitis has been serving as interim CEO since Israel Rocha, who helped lead CCH through the back half of the pandemic, left for Kaiser Permanente in late 2023. His promotion is a return to a historical trend of physician leaders. CCH's mission is to care for patients regardless of their ability to pay.
“The simple question that drives me is: ‘How can I make things better for both those we serve, and those who do the work?'” Mikaitis told commissioners Wednesday during a late hearing to approve his hiring and compensation package.
Mikaitis joined CCH in 2022, responsible for quality control and compliance. He was previously vice president and medical director of Franciscan Health Crown Point and medical director of Franciscan Accountable Care of Northern Indiana and South Suburban Chicago. Michaelis is an internal medicine doctor who grew up on the city's South Side. He also holds a business degree from DePaul University.
“We look forward to the continued growth and success of the hospital system under his leadership. In my 14 years in this job, he will be the seventh leader. I teased him last night by saying I hoped he would commit to this for the next decade, because the system needs stable leadership,” As Board Chairman Toni Preckwinkle told reporters after approving his appointment.
Mikeates' annual salary will be $713,000 with the option to receive annual bonuses of up to 10%, subject to the approval of the health system's board.
There has been much greater conflict on the board over the selection of leadership of the county board's Health and Hospitals Committee, a position that also traditionally guarantees a place on CCH's independent board to help guide policy and shape CCH's budget.
Commissioner Bill Lowry secured the spot Thursday with Preckwinkle's support. But not before Commissioner Alma Anaya mounted her own campaign to win it, in a showdown more befitting Chicago's boisterous City Council than the typically low-drama County Council under Preckwinkle.
Anaya, a Progressive on the County Council and current vice chair of the commission, has been the de facto leader since the illness and death of the late Commissioner Dennis Dear.
She has fully lobbied the court to take her position permanently in recent months, and formally requested the position in August. Anaya sent a letter of support earlier this month to Finance Chairman John Daley and Preckwinkle signed by 55 of her fellow elected officials, including her mentor U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia.
However, Preckwinkle wanted Lowry to get the position. Lori is a close ally of Preckwinkle who many commissioners believe is her heir apparent as board chair after Preckwinkle retires.
In a response letter shared with the board, Preckwinkle told Anaya that the presidency “has traditionally been held by” a commissioner representing either Stroger Hospital or Provident Hospital, a “long-standing practice” to which Preckwinkle said she is committed. Lowry area includes Provident. This assertion angered some fellow board members, who argued that qualifications, not geography, should determine who leads committees.
Preckwinkle wrote to Anaya that the decision “in no way reflects your dedication and outstanding service as vice chair of the committee.” It will remain in this position.
Originally Posted: October 24, 2024 at 3:21 p.m
