Connecting with the community

When Billy Ocasio learned that Norwegian American, the hospital where he was born, was in danger of shutting its doors, he knew right away he needed to get involved. As a native of Humboldt Park, a largely Puerto Rican community on Chicago's northwest side where Norwegian is located, Ocasio says the hospital has always played a critical role in the working-class community. The loss would have been tremendous.

“There are so many families that cannot afford medical care, supplies or food,” he said. “For a community like this, where you have a lot of people uninsured or underinsured, the hospital means a lot.”

After serving 16 years as a city council member representing the Humboldt Park area, in 2009 Ocasio joined the board of Norwegian, a 200-bed, acute care facility originally established in the late 1800s. He was named to the selection committee to search for a new CEO and knew he wanted someone with the skills and experience to pull the hospital out of dire straits who also connected with the community.

Ocasio's committee selected Jose Sanchez, who at the time was the senior vice president of Generations+/Northern Manhattan Health Network in New York City. “One of the first questions (Ocasio) asked me was about my involvement in New York with the Puerto Rican and Latino communities,” recalls Sanchez, who accepted the position as president and CEO in 2010, moving to Chicago from the Bronx. “Mr. Ocasio wanted to make sure the person elected would bridge the gap between the hospital and the community.” Last year, Ocasio was elected to serve as chairman of the board of trustees for Norwegian.

Sanchez says he has continued to be impressed by Ocasio's relentless and proactive efforts to create opportunities to bridge the gap between residents and the hospital, and to engage the community in battling health disparities.

For his accomplishments, Ocasio, 52, is Modern Healthcare's 2014 Trustee of the Year for large hospitals, those with 100 or more beds.

One of Ocasio's most noteworthy efforts is his role in Hope Fest, considered to be the largest back-to-school event in Chicago. Started in 2006 by New Life Covenant Church, the end-of-summer festival provides free resources, including school uniforms, notebooks, groceries and haircuts, to ensure children start the school year with everything they need. The church had been holding the event in Humboldt Park. But in 2012 Ocasio saw an opportunity for Norwegian American to get involved. He worked with the hospital and the Rev. Wilfredo DeJesus, pastor of New Life Covenant, to move the event from the park to the hospital grounds. The festival, which already included free medical screenings, dental care and health education, added volunteer aid from the hospital's physicians, nurses and emergency services staff.

“That provided even more resources for people in the community” DeJesus said. “Whatever the hospital had to offer, from facilities to the parking lot, they allowed us to use, carte blanche, to reach thousands of children.”

Sanchez agrees the integration proved to be a boon for the community. “The effort was to ensure people knew there was an institution here that cares about the community and is helping them, by connecting their spiritual lives with what they need to remain physically healthy,” Sanchez said. “Whatever it takes for the betterment of the community, Mr. Ocasio will just do it, and this reflected his continued focus.”

One of his main concerns has been to address the health disparities that disproportionately affect the neighborhood's Hispanic community.

Ocasio played a major role in connecting the hospital with a program called Vida/SIDA, a not-for-profit, community-based HIV/AIDS program that provides awareness, sexually transmitted disease testing, counseling and outreach to high-risk individuals. The epidemic has been a major concern among Chicagoans, and especially among the Hispanic population. To address the problem in Humboldt Park, Ocasio offered Vida/SIDA free hospital space where the group could increase its influence, while continuing to educate and support the community.

He was also instrumental in establishing a partnership with the Greater Humboldt Park Community Diabetes Empowerment Center. A 2008 report analyzing the prevalence of obesity among children in six Chicago communities found that rates were disproportionately high; in Humboldt Park, 48% of local children were obese, a huge concern for public health officials. The Diabetes Empowerment Center also sought attention for its Block-By-Block initiative, which offered a community-focused resource for people who either had diabetes or were at risk for developing the disease. Thanks to efforts by Ocasio and others, the group now has office space at the hospital where advocates can distribute information, host cooking demonstrations and provide weight control and meal planning classes.

These community health initiatives help ensure that residents have what they need in an easily accessible manner, Ocasio says. “I have a holistic approach to dealing with healthcare. We don't just want to deal with illness, we've got to deal with the whole person. Because this is a poorer community, people tend to come in when it's an emergency. And so part of what we want to do is help educate and try to prevent things from happening before they get too serious.”

Even before his commitment to the hospital, Ocasio already had an impressive list of accomplishments.

He served as a housing rehabilitation specialist with Latin United Community Housing Association from 1990-1992. For more than 16 years, from 1993 through 2009, he served as a Democratic alderman in Chicago's 26th Ward, which includes Humboldt Park. During his four terms, he was instrumental in pushing for affordable housing, construction of a new library and a vocational center.

In June 2009, Ocasio became a senior adviser on social justice issues for Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn's leadership team. After two years, he became community affairs director for the Illinois Housing Development Authority, continuing his pursuit to increase affordable housing in the city. In 2013,, when he retired from government, he chose to give back to the community in a different way, becoming president and CEO of the Institute of Puerto Rican Arts & Culture.

Sanchez says he was impressed with Ocasio's reasons for leaving government work. “He'll tell you, 'The community needs me more. I will be much more valuable as an advocate fighting for the needs of my community in terms of healthcare, economic empowerment and education than I can in government with a narrow focus,' ” Sanchez said.

Follow Sabriya Rice on Twitter: @MHsrice