Kids cannot vote. Kids cannot call Congress or meet with State legislators on
issues affecting their health and well-being. They need strong organizations,
institutions and people to do this for them. Children's hospitals, by virtue of
their role in providing complex care and care exclusively for children, are
significant partners with the government in caring for children. In 1994,
Children's Memorial Hospital established the Public Policy Committee of the
Board to recommend institutional positions on legislation and regulation that
enable the hospital to enhance the health and well-being of all children.
Over the years, this committee has driven Children's Memorial to be an active
player in Springfield and Washington D.C., seeking to influence policy on
matters affecting children's health and well-being. Examples include: preventing
transmission of HIV from mother to newborn; prevention of childhood injury;
prevention of child abuse; prevention of youth access to tobacco; seeking access
to health insurance for children; and protecting children in the courts. See
more here on current institutional public positions.
In addition, when State legislators or committees need experts to analyze and
testify as to how a pending bill would affect children's health in Illinois,
they often look to Children's Memorial Hospital. In the last few years, our
physicians have testified in Springfield and Chicago on issues ranging from
child passenger safety and helmet laws to window-falls prevention and Medicaid
reform.