Our Commitment to Community Health and Well-being
Dear Friends, 

PHIMC is committed to community health and well-being. 

To do our part in containing the spread of coronavirus and the resulting illness COVID-19, PHIMC staff are working remotely for the foreseeable future. 

All PHIMC hosted meetings will be conducted remotely via phone and video conference. We are available by email and phone during regular business hours, and staff are checking email and voicemail as always.  

We are guided by our public health authorities - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, Illinois Department of Public Health, and Chicago Department of Public Health - and will adjust our plans according to their recommendations.  
Current efforts to limit social interactions are designed to reduce transmission and ensure that our healthcare system has the capacity to serve those who need it the most. This is known as "flattening the curve" and is illustrated below. This is primarily done through social distancing - a public health strategy focused on limiting social interactions to prevent spread of disease. Social interactions are limited by staying at least six feet from others and not gathering in groups. 
While everyone is vulnerable to infection with coronavirus, the people most vulnerable to a severe illness from COVID-19 are people over age 60, people with compromised immune systems, and people with other chronic conditions, particularly heart disease, diabetes, and lung disease. We are working remotely to care for ourselves, but also to care for the most vulnerable.  

We urge you to join us in taking as many precautionary measures as you can.
A statewide COVID-19 hotline and website has been established by I llinois Department of Public Health to answer any questions from the public or to report a suspected case: call 1-800-889-3931 or visit IDPH.illinois.gov . 

Chicago updates on COVID-19 can be found at chicago.gov/coronavirus. The Chicago Department of Health has also established a call center at 312.746.4835, which is currently staffed from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m, seven days a week, and Q&A sessions will be held at 11 a.m. daily on Twitter and Facebook Live with Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) Commissioner Allison Arwady, M.D. , or you can contact CDPH by email at [email protected].  

Unemployment benefits are available to some people in Illinois whose unemployment is attributable to COVID-19. Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) recently adopted emergency rules to try to make the unemployment insurance system as responsive to the current situation as possible. Learn more.

Please continue to take good care of yourselves, your families, and your communities. 

Sincerely, 

Karen A. Reitan
Executive Director

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