Guiding Principles for SNMI
Every Chicago Resident Should Have the Dignity of Quality Health Care
We commit to improving care for people in communities where high-quality care is either inaccessible or at risk of disappearing, ensuring that human need—not institutional survival—anchors every decision and action.
Structural Honesty Over Political Comfort
We acknowledge uncomfortable truths about system failure and choose transformation over preservation of the status quo.
Community Trust as Non-Negotiable Infrastructure
Every decision must protect and strengthen the relational capital between safety net institutions and the communities they serve understanding that trust cannot be engineered overnight and must be fully prioritized throughout transition.
Equity Through Design, Not Declaration
Health equity is achieved through intentional system architecture, aligned incentives, and accountable governance and not through aspirational statements disconnected from resource allocation.
Fiscal Stewardship as Moral Obligation
Every public and private dollar deployed must be tied to measurable outcomes and system sustainability, recognizing that today's inefficiency is tomorrow's service denial.
Whole-Person Care Over Transactional Services
Organized around patients' comprehensive physical, behavioral and social needs rather than institutional convenience or reimbursement categories.
Workforce Dignity and Continuity
Transformation must honor the commitment and expertise of legacy institutions and the safety net workforce through transparent transition planning, retraining pathways, and protection of institutional knowledge.
Shared Data as Public Good
Interoperability and information-sharing are not vendor preferences but civic utilities essential to coordination, accountability, and patient safety.
Multi-Sector Accountability
No single stakeholder—state, hospital, MCO, or community—can transform the safety net alone; success requires binding commitments across sectors with transparent performance measurement.
Long-Term Viability Over Short-Term Relief
We reject band-aid solutions and politically expedient patches in favor of fundamental redesign that creates sustainable infrastructure for generations.