Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

Howard Brown Health's CEO, board president speak on its evolution
by Matt Simonette
2018-01-03

This article shared 2130 times since Wed Jan 3, 2018
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


When David Munar took the reins at Howard Brown Health in 2014, the health agency was recovering from an extended period fraught with management issues, financial difficulties and low employee morale. Under Munar's watch, Howard Brown Health eventually received a coveted Federally Qualified Health Center designation.

The agency could now compete for funds that, along with additional monies made possible by the Affordable Care Act, brought on an aggressive expansion greatly increasing the organization's footprint across the Chicago region.

Windy City Times spoke with Munar and Howard Brown Health Board President Mario Treto, who began his term in 2017, to discuss the work that has gone into the agency, and the work that lies ahead.

Windy City Times: David, how has Howard Brown changed in the time you've been here?

David Munar: Our system of care has certainly improved. We're seeing more people. We've more than doubled in size in terms of patients relying on Howard Brown for services. We've improved the financial standing of the organization and are in a better position financially. We actually have about 54 days of cash on hand in reserves, which is one measure of operating revenue. Services and staff size have increased. We're citywide, with sites from Rogers Park to the South Side. We've also earned recognition from the federal government, approving Howard Brown as a Federally Qualified Health Center, which is a notable distinction that has also helped us grow dramatically.

After your hiring, there was a great deal of excitement since the Affordable Care Act ( ACA ) was on its way, and that would help fuel much of Howard Brown's expansion along with the accreditations. How do you see this current hostility toward the ACA from the federal government, and work your way around that?

DM: The uncertainty around federal policy on ACA appropriations has been constant, particularly since the presidential election. We've been monitoring [both] policy development and funding development closely. It's been difficult to predict, at least from the business side.

About 35 percent of our patients have Medicaid. Not all of them are ACA-expansion, but the majority are. We've done some scenario-planning around that. If the Medicaid expansion were to go away, that could mean a loss in revenue for us of 10 or 15 percent. It could be anywhere around a 9 million [dollar] loss of services. It's a worry, and we have been thinking about how we would reposition ourselves around that. A 10 percent loss in revenue would mean fewer services.

Mario, what made you decide to join the board and eventually become its president?

Mario Treto: I'd moved back to Chicago and went to my old health provider and had an unpleasant experience when I'd decided to come out to them. I did some research on my own—I was living in the suburbs at the time—and I was looking for a place that provided LGBTQ culturally competent health care. I was fortunate to find Dr. Al Torrence's name, so I set up a visit with him, and was really just blown away by the quality of care that I received. I saw him as his patient for a while, and then, after a few visits, he asked if I'd ever thought about joining the Howard Brown Health board. The thought hadn't occurred to me at the time. I did some research and applied.

When it was time for Duke [Alden, the previous board president] to step down, I did some self-reflection and thought it was a good way to step up my service in volunteering for the organization. Also it was a way to work with good-quality people on the board and the executive leadership team.

How has Broadway Youth Center been doing in its new location?

DM: The BYC's new home has been phenomenal. It has achieved and exceeded what we've wanted it to do. One of the motivating factors to move BYC was that we had insufficient space, and the wrong kind of space.… It was not sufficient for what we needed. So we built out the space to provide all our service-lines concurrently.

MT: It really becomes a one-stop shop and really shows our commitment to focusing on LGBT youth and the youth of our community. If you look at it from an architectural standpoint, it's bright, warm and inviting—it really encourages people to stop by.

Speak a bit about the women's health operations here.

DM: Our strategic plan makes a commitment to reinvigorate women's health. We have a new women's health director, Amy Miller, who's very dynamic. We've been doing drop-in nights—evening hours, no appointment needed—where we do all our clinical lines, social services and cultural services. … Our strategic plan asks the organization how we should be reaching out to expand those services, particularly through the LGBT community, so we've been working with the Morten Group [consultancy] to do a needs assessment.

How have services for transgender and intersex persons progressed?

DM: We just completed a five-year project with the federal government, focusing on systems of care to support care-adherence for transgender women of color living with HIV. These were pilot programs developing service models that could be replicated after the grant ends. Through that, we have integrated trans cultural competency throughout the entire agency. … We're now seeing about 3,500 trans patients in clinic—about 10 percent of our patient base identifies as transgender of gender non-conforming.

David when you took over, interventions such as PrEP [pre-exposure prophylaxis] and TasP [Treatment as Prevention] were not as well-known as they are now. How have those affected the HIV-treatment and -prevention strategies at Howard Brown?

DM: Our HIV program has really flourished, and it follows the scientific progress around HIV. Today we're one of the nation's leading prescribers of PrEP, and we've seen some data that says, on a national basis, we're about 10 percent of PrEP prescriptions in the country. Chicago is doing much better at helping people who are at risk of infection benefit from PrEP. Howard Brown has really been at the core of that. We've about 4,000 patients we've started on PrEP, and we do a lot of PrEP counseling. At the beginning, it was about whether PrEP is a good choice; now it's mostly about the insurance and the financing.

What vision do you each have for Howard Brown over the course of the next five years, with and without an ACA?

DM: Howard Brown will continue, with or without it. The amount of charity care we provide and the range of services we provide may be affected if there is no ACA, but we also still believe that there is bipartisan support for the community health center networks across the country, because we're one of 4,000 around the country. There may be changes, but we're braced for change.

MT: It was exciting to open up our Englewood and Hyde Park locations. There was a need we were able to meet by expanding down south. My personal goal would be to expand to the West Side. … I'm excited that we're going to be open to a new location in Fall of 2018 in Humboldt Park, to reach out to other community members. In continuing these relationships, we're pretty fortunate to have elected officials who are supportive of Howard Brown, as well as [other] community members and companies.


This article shared 2130 times since Wed Jan 3, 2018
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

Lambda Legal Launches "Speak OUT" awareness campaign uplifting trans, nonbinary voices
2024-03-28
--From a press release. VIDEO BELOW - (NEW YORK, NY — March 28, 2024) In advance of Transgender Day of Visibility, Lambda Legal, the nation's oldest and largest legal nonprofit working to achieve full equal rights for LGBTQ people and everyone living with ...


Gay News

Brown Elephant Returns To Northalsted
2024-03-26
Brown Elephant's Lake View location is moving to Northalsted and already accepting donations. Howard Brown Health, the largest LGBTQ+ health center in the midwest, operates three Brown Elephant resale shops in the Chicagoland area to help ...


Gay News

An interstate trans healthcare crisis: Illinois prepares for influx of people seeking gender-affirming care
2024-03-26
With hard-won rights, such as access to hormone replacement therapy or permission to use one's chosen pronouns in school, breaking down in states across the country, trans residents of all ages are left with a choice: ...


Gay News

Be here, be queer, play polo: Gay Polo League creates safe athletic space for LGBTQ community
2024-03-26
LGBTQ+ athletic clubs aren't too hard to come by, offering a variety of sports such as softball, soccer and more in cities across the country. But LGBTQ+ athletes would be harder pressed to find someplace to ...


Gay News

Planned Parenthood of Illinois expands Orland Park health center
2024-03-26
--From a press release - ORLAND PARK, Ill. - Planned Parenthood of Illinois (PPIL) announces the expansion of its existing Orland Park Health Center at 14470 S. LaGrange Rd., Suite 106. The 1,800-square-foot expansion is projected to increase sexual and reproductive ...


Gay News

After 30 Under 30: MAP Executive Director Naomi Goldberg
2024-03-25
NOTE: In this series, Windy City Times will profile some of its past 30 Under 30 honorees. Windy City Times started its 30 Under 30 Awards in 2001, presenting them each year through 2019. This year, ...


Gay News

Wyoming is latest state to ban gender-affirming care for minors
2024-03-24
On March 22, Wyoming became the latest state to prohibit gender-affirming care for minors, The Hill noted. In doing so, it joined 23 other states that passed laws restricting or banning the treatment. Legislators in both ...


Gay News

Former Chicago Girl Scouts CEO Brooke Wiseman to receive Luminary Award
2024-03-22
Brooke Wiseman, a now-retired nonprofit leader in the Chicago area, spent most of her career creating leadership development opportunities for girls and women—and making sure that hungry children could be fed. While leading Girl Scouts of ...


Gay News

Affinity celebrates Burning Bowl while looking toward the future
2024-03-19
On March 17, Affinity Community Services held its annual Burning Bowl ceremony even as it already sets its organizational sights on 2025. The event, titled Burning Bowl 2024 Evolution, was held at Studio Imani, 5917 N. ...


Gay News

Chicago's LGBTQ+ Advisory Council sets a new course
2024-03-18
Chicago's LGBTQ+ Advisory Council held its first meeting of the calendar year on Feb. 28 at City Hall in the Loop under the leadership of the recently appointed chair Jin-Soo Huh. The LGBTQ+ Advisory Council is ...


Gay News

WORLD Leaked messages, Panama action, author dies at 32, Japan court, out athletes
2024-03-15
Hundreds of messages from an internal chat board for an international group of transgender health professionals were leaked in a report and framed as revealing serious health risks associated with gender-affirming care, including cancer, according to ...


Gay News

UK health service to stop routinely prescribing puberty blockers to minors
2024-03-14
NHS (National Health Service) England confirmed that children will no longer routinely be prescribed puberty blockers at gender-identity clinics, the BBC reported. The decision came after a review found there was "not enough evidence" that they ...


Gay News

One Roof Chicago launches youth-focused workforce development program
2024-03-14
One Roof Chicago (ORC) is set to launch its first training, education and job placement program for LGBTQ+ young adults in late spring. This Community Health Workers and Elder Care program is a part of ORC's ...


Gay News

Howard Brown experts discuss advocacy and allyship for Chicago's trans community
2024-03-14
By Alec Karam - Howard Brown Health's Trans & Gender Diverse People's Rights & Patient Care panel convened March 12 to discuss both resources for—and opportunities to provide allyship to—the city's trans and gender diverse communities. The event hos ...


Gay News

Howard Brown Health faces October trial if settlement isn't reached with union
2024-03-13
Howard Brown Health could go to trial over unfair labor practice allegations if the LGBTQ+ health center doesn't reach a settlement with its agreement soon. Chicago's regional director of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) filed ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.