Press Release - Friday, October 06, 2006
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Gov. Blagojevich announces more than $3.2 million in grants for health care in underserved communities
SPRINGFIELD - Governor Rod R. Blagojevich today announced $3.2 million in grants for 10 community health centers around the state to provide health care in underserved areas. The grants are from the Community Health Center Expansion Grant Program administered by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) Center for Rural Health.
"Health care is a fundamental right. We've made a lot of progress during the last four years to expand access to health care for working people and their children. And these grants for community health centers are another way we can make sure people have a place to go to get the health care they need," said Gov. Blagojevich.
The purpose of the grants is to establish new community health center sites or expand service capacity at existing sites in order to increase primary health care services provided to underserved and uninsured populations of Illinois.
Along with these state-funded grants, community health centers receive federal funding to improve access to comprehensive primary and preventative health care. Centers also receive cost-based reimbursement for Medicare and Medicaid patients. Criteria that sets community health centers apart from other clinics include:
- Must be a not-for-profit (either public or private)
- Must be located in a designated medically Underserved Area (MUA), or serve a designated Medically Underserved Population (MUP)
- Provide a full range of core health services, including case management
- Must be open at least 32 hours per week
- Governance is by a board of directors that is representative of the community they serve and meeting strict set of standards
- Must utilize a sliding fee scale based on patient's ability to pay
- Must provide services, regardless of patient's ability to pay
"Community health centers are vital to helping reduce health disparities by providing basic health care services in accessible locations," said Dr. Eric E. Whitaker, Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health. "These grants will allow more people access to essential health care despite race, ethnicity, income, insurance or location."
"Access to health care was the number one need in the city of Elgin according to a needs assessment performed by the City and United Way of Elgin. This grant money will allow us to build a new center and allow for an additional 20,000 doctor's appointments annually. This is a significant increase, and we are very excited about the grant," said Robert Tanner, CEO of the Greater Elgin Family Care Center.
Fiscal Year 2007 Community Health Center Expansion Grants
|
Health Center |
Location |
Project |
Funding |
|
Access Community Health Center |
Des Plaines |
Expand services at Genesis Center in Des Plaines to meet increased patient volume. |
$350,000 for three years |
|
Chicago Family Health |
Chicago |
Expand oral health services on Chicago's south side. |
$350,000 for three years |
|
Community Health Improvement Center |
Decatur |
Expand primary health care services at the Decatur/Macon County site. |
$350,000 for three years |
|
Erie Family Health Center |
Chicago |
Establish a dental health center in the Humboldt Park community. |
$350,000 for three years |
|
Family Christian Health Center |
Chicago |
Develop an "After Hours Care" program and increase operating hours for clinic in Harvey community. |
$343,512 - year one
$76,536 - year two |
|
Greater Elgin Family Care Center |
Elgin |
Establish a new community health center site to provide primary care and behavioral health services in Elgin. |
$200,000 for three years |
|
Heartland Community Health |
Peoria |
Expand services with a new community health center site in the East Bluff area. |
$350,000 for three years |
|
Near North Health Service Corp. |
Chicago |
Expand existing dental services at the Komed Holman Health Center. |
$350,000 for three years |
|
Shawnee Health Services |
Carterville |
Increase access to mental health services, particularly for children and adolescents. |
$350,000 for three years |
|
Will County Health Dept. |
Joliet |
Increase primary care service capacity at existing clinic on the east side of Joliet. |
$350,000 for three years |
Since taking office, Gov. Blagojevich has worked to reduce and eliminate health disparities.
- Health Care Justice Act - Passed in 2004, the Health Care Justice Act encourages Illinois to implement a health care plan that provides access to a full range of preventive, acute and long-term health care services, and maintains and improves the quality of health care services. The legislation establishes an "Adequate Health Care Task Force" with 29 voting members -- five appointed by the Governor, and six appointments by each of the four leaders of the General Assembly. For the first time, the Act affirmed that it is a policy goal of the state of Illinois to insure that all residents have access to quality health care at costs that are affordable.
- ALL KIDS - Gov. Blagojevich's All Kids program makes health care a reality for hundreds of thousands of families across the state. Illinois is the first state in the nation to provide affordable, comprehensive health insurance for every child. Of the 250,000 children in Illinois without health insurance, more than half come from working and middle class families who earn too much to qualify for state programs like KidCare, but not enough to afford private health insurance. Through All Kids, comprehensive health insurance is available to every uninsured child at rates their parents can afford.
- Stand Against Cancer - In 2003, Gov. Blagojevich funded the Stand Against Cancer (SAC) initiative, a community outreach and screening program targeting the hardest to reach minority women. It is conducted by a coalition of neighborhood organizations, churches and Federally Qualified Health Centers. In fiscal year 2006, SAC provided more than 18,880 breast and cervical cancer screenings and reached more than 157,731 other women outside of IBCCP through educational programs and outreach.
- Hispanic Breast and Cervical Cancer Initiative: In 2005, Gov. Blagojevich launched the Hispanic Breast and Cervical Cancer initiative, which is closely patterned after the Stand Against Cancer initiative. Women screened through the initiative who subsequently need diagnostic tests are referred to local Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program lead agencies.
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