New Cook County director of health wastes no time

She wasn't even on the job yet, but Sister Sheila Lyne was already raising expectations for the performance of the Cook County Bureau of Health.

At her confirmation hearing Wednesday, commissioners mentioned to Lyne that they had already come a long way by improving the rate at which the system is qualifying bureau patients for Medicaid. The last administration, they noted, improved the rejection rate by Medicaid from over 80 percent to just 14 percent.

Lyne, the CEO of Mercy Hospital and Medical Center on Chicago's South Side who is now virtually assured of a spot on the independent board charged with running Cook County's health care system, didn't seem overly impressed.

"First of all, if (Mercy Hospital's rejection rate) were 14 percent, we'd be in the same drastic (financial) situation" Cook County is in, she said. "We want to get it down to, like, 3 percent."

To do that, Lyne advocates temporarily privatizing some functions, like collections and making sure patients get qualified for Medicaid. Once the numbers are back up, and in-house staff has been sufficiently trained to take over the process, the functions can be returned to the bureau, she said.

Whether Lyne and others appointed to the new independent board can do that in just three years remains an open question.

Cook County Finance Chairman John Daley speculated that period may be too short.

"Some people don't want it to work," said Daley, echoing the administration position that some Cook County commissioners would rather the system fail so the public can get rid of the system -- and its tax burdens -- once and for all.

But other commissioners have disputed that assessment, saying they only want a system that runs efficiently as other hospitals in the private sector do.

In the end, the four candidates up for approval Wednesday passed muster and will be formally approved at the next full board meeting. Wednesday's meeting was only a committee meeting, but is virtually an assurance of their appointment since the committee consists of the entire Cook County Board.

The four new members of the Cook County Health and Hospitals Board of Directors will be: Lyne, Dr. David Ansel, Dr. Luis Munos and businessman Warren Batts.