Consumer Affairs Commission

Consumer Affairs Commission Minutes February 9, 2022 In attendance: Davorka Kirinic, Pouriya Soltani, Jeffrey Schvimer, George Matthew, Ted Lavine, Howard Meyer, Biju Krishnan, Sam Pratap, Joanne Haeberlin Phone: Gary Merrill Excused: Trustee Khoeum Absent: Ruhul Chowdhury Guest: Colin Haeberlin Speaker: David Rahija Meeting was called to order at 6:32 Intro topic. One thing that instantly makes you happy. Introduced new staff liaison, Davorka Kirinic and new commission members, Jeffrey Schvimer and Pouriya Soltani. Minutes were approved with one correction. Sam Pratap was in attendance at the December meeting. David Rahija, President of Skokie Northshore Hospital spoke about the hospitals in the Northshore group. Skokie, Evanston, Glenbrook, Highland Park, Swedish Covenant and Northwest Community make up the north region. With the recent merger with Edwards-Elmhurst three more were added in the south region, Edwards, Elmhurst and Linden Oaks Behavioral Health. Northshore also has a partnership with the University of Chicago and Pritzger School of Medicine (but not the University hospitals). Although care for all patients is available at the closest emergency room, the hospitals are now specialized. i.e Skokie: bone and joint, Evanston: surgery, Glenbrook: cardio, etc. Care is becoming more specialized which has resulted in a lower mortality rate and a lower rate of readmission. Also, with the addition of Linden Oaks, the system now has a behavioral specialist hospital. Another piece of Northshore care is Immediate or Urgent care with 5 centers being within 15 minutes of Skokie. They do not require appointments for patients. One of the changes in medical care is the addition of “wearables” to help doctors monitor their patients. Such as heart monitors and glucose monitors. Staffing has been critical. Northshore now has a program called Community Investment Fund that partners with local high schools and junior colleges to aid young people with learning about the many positions in the medical field. This program also helps local Skokie programs such as the Food Pantry and matching money for the SNAP program at the Farmers’ Market. He answered a myriad of questions from the commissioners. Presentation ended with a discussion of Skokie Hospital preparing an informational sheet about the system for Skokie residents. He will be in touch with Ann Tennes, Davorka and Joanne. Jennifer was unable to attend this meeting but forwarded some information which was shared. Jennifer is working on her Farmers Market Manager Certification. Applications for booths are open. There has been a lot of interest to hopefully some additional vendors will be added. Yoga, Zumba and kids activities on the Village Green weekly. Commission on Family services to host food and clothing drives for local residents. Skokie Public Library will be at the market once a month to do story time and other activities. First market day June 5. Biju and Joanne to work on loyalty cards and stamper vendor signage. The CAC is planning a booth that can be shared with other commissions once a month. Davorka to get commission chair list to Joanne to reach out for them to sign up. Will check into the possibility for having the Fire Department occasionally to blood pressure testing. Commission reviewed the Business of the Year Nomination Form. Suggestion to add a QR code. To be distributed in NewSkokie, on line, at the market and at The Chamber of Commerce. Joanne to update information. Trust Me. Media Literacy Education. Joanne talked about some information on the PBS documentary “Trust Me”. www.trustmedocumentary.com. It was on television is available for sharing. Talked with Ann Tennes who shared Michael Spikes information. Joanne has meeting next week to discuss some ideas on how to share. Joanne also contact the library to see if they had such a program. Not at this time. Discussion was lively. In talking about media literacy, one of our new members, Pouriya, college student, was very contributory. We are looking at the possibility of sharing a program with the Library, the Chamber and the Consumer Affairs Commission. Miscellaneous Biju asked question about where is the line drawn for gender discrimination? i.e. can a hair salon, for instance, post a sign “Women Only”. Discussion included the mention of churches, temples, for instance could restrict hiring to people Joanne to try and find out what the Village laws/rules are. Second miscellaneous discussion centered on Carvana. Question was raised that since Consumer Affairs relates to business, would it have been appropriate to make the commission aware. Meeting adjourned at 8:30 Joanne Haeberlin, Chair Next meeting: Wednesday, March 9 Sec 2-812-Duties It shall be the duty of the Consumer Affairs Commission to coordinate consumer affairs activities, carry on educational activities on consumer matters, supervise the preparation of consumer affairs reports and recommend to the Mayor and the Board of Trustees ordinances, rules and regulations and methods of enforcement in relation to consumer affairs .