Chicago Department of Public Health Weekly Media Brief, 12/18/2025

CDPH wishes you a safe and healthy holiday season! As we move into the new year, we are excited to share some of Chicago's public health milestones from 2025:

Family Connects Chicago Helps New Chicago Parents Feel Confident and Supported

This summer marked the 5th anniversary of Family Connects Chicago (FCC), which provides a free nurse visit to Chicago families who have recently welcomed a baby.

Family Connects Chicago was built to meet families where they are-celebrating new arrivals, easing the worries of first-time parents, and ensuring that no family begins their journey alone. Families consistently share that what sets Family Connects apart is the human connection beyond basic care &mdash nurses listen, guide, support, and connect parents to the resources they need to thrive during those early weeks at home.

• Since its launch in 2020, FCC has grown into a citywide resource, partnering with 11 hospitals and offering visits wherever families feel most comfortable.
• FCC nurses have visited more than 13,000 Chicago families and connected thousands of families to referrals for essentials like diapers, mental health services, and housing support.

If you or someone you know is expecting or recently welcomed a baby, we encourage you to ask your healthcare provider, maternity support team or delivering hospital staff about this free resource. For more information, please visit the Family Connects website.

Chicagoans Get Free Support, Right in Their Neighborhoods

In the first 7 months of 2025, more than 14,920 Chicagoans received one-on-one conversations, connections to essential services, and health training tailored to their needs through CDPH's Community Health Response Corps.

Community Health Workers' outreach and advocacy help ensure all residents-regardless of background, language, or circumstance-are connected to care and trusted support. Additional efforts included:

• Supporting 237 community events across 22 wards, reaching an estimated 30,869 attendees through health fairs, block parties, pop-up clinics, food pantries, and more.
• Helping residents with health and wellness programs, mental health support, public benefits, and social resources.

Get COVID and flu vaccines at CDPH pop-up clinics

This fall, more than 800,000 Chicagoans got their updated flu and COVID-19 vaccines. Join your neighbors in visiting a CDPH vaccine clinic to stay protected, regardless of your insurance or immigration status.

In the absence of evidence-based guidelines on vaccination from the federal level, CDPH has endorsed scientific vaccine guidance from our colleagues at the Illinois Department of Public Health.

• All people 6 months and older are recommended to receive an updated flu shot.
• All adults are recommended to receive an updated COVID vaccine, as well as all children with risk factors or whose parents want them to receive one.

Find a CDPH immunization clinic near you: City of Chicago :: CDPH Immunization

Healthy Chicago Podcast

On the last Healthy Chicago Podcast episode of the season, the two-person "Team Tobacco" Chioma Ejiofor (Public Health Administrator III) and Juan Ortega (Public Health Administrator III) discuss the difference between tobacco and nicotine, how smoking affects the brain and body, predatory marketing from the tobacco industry, and how you can get assistance should you want to quit.

Listen or watch the newest episodes on YouTube, Spotify, Appleand the CDPH website.

Get help quitting tobacco at the Illinois Tobacco Quitlineor call 1-866-QUIT-YES.

Find more smoking cessation resources at https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/cdph/supp_info/healthy-communities/smoking-cessation.html

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