HR1037 LRB094 19940 HSS 57270 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, On June 1, 2006, Earl C. Bird will retire as
3 President of the Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council
4 (MCHC) and bring to a close an enormously successful career
5 serving as the voice for hospitals throughout northern
6 Illinois; and
 
7     WHEREAS, MCHC is a membership and service organization
8 comprised of more than 140 hospitals and health care
9 organizations from throughout northern Illinois and has for
10 nearly 75 years assisted its members through collective
11 initiatives that facilitate the integration and improvement of
12 the delivery of health care services within the communities
13 they serve; and
 
14     WHEREAS, Mr. Bird began his career in health care, which
15 spans more than three decades, when he became the Director of
16 Human Resource Services for the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit,
17 Michigan; and
 
18     WHEREAS, Mr. Bird first joined MCHC in 1972 and later
19 became its Senior Vice President in 1983; and
 
20     WHEREAS, Mr. Bird became the voice of northern Illinois'
21 hospital community when he because President of MCHC in 1985;
22 and
 
23     WHEREAS, Under Mr. Bird's leadership, MCHC initiated
24 numerous programs and services that assist MCHC members in
25 meeting their missions and serving their communities,
26 including the hospital employee benefit program, which
27 provides health insurance coverage to more than 120,000
28 employees and their dependents, a group purchasing program and
29 other important services; and
 

 

 

HR1037 - 2 - LRB094 19940 HSS 57270 r

1     WHEREAS, Mr. Bird has led the fight to ensure that health
2 care is available to our most vulnerable patient populations
3 and organized hospital support for the construction of the John
4 H. Stroger Hospital of Cook County and the creation of the
5 Illinois Poison Center, which provides around-the-clock poison
6 treatment services to more than 100,000 Illinoisans annually;
7 and
 
8     WHEREAS, Under Mr. Bird's leadership, MCHC has become a
9 nationally-recognized leader in disaster and emergency
10 preparedness; and
 
11     WHEREAS, During his tenure Mr. Bird also provided a
12 tremendous service and support to public policy makers at the
13 local, State, and national levels; and
 
14     WHEREAS, Mr. Bird served as Chairman of the U.S. Conference
15 of Metropolitan Hospital Associations (CMHA) and its Committee
16 on Urban Health, as a member of the American Hospital
17 Association's Governing Council for Metropolitan Hospitals, as
18 a member of Governor Jim Edgar's Illinois Health Care Reform
19 Task Force, and as a member of Mayor Richard M. Daley's Chicago
20 and Cook County Health Care Summit and the Cook County
21 Ambulatory Care Council; therefore, be it
 
22     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
23 NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
24 we recognize and commend Earl C. Bird for the service and
25 leadership he has provided to northern Illinois' hospitals and
26 the communities they serve; and be it further
 
27     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
28 presented to Earl C. Bird as a token of our esteem.