March 26, 2019

Duckworth, Durbin Announce Over $59 Million for Illinois Community Health Centers

 

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded a total of $59,670,008 to support local community health centers throughout Illinois through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Health Center Program. Community health centers are community-based organizations that improve access to affordable, high-quality health care in underserved urban and rural communities by integrating primary health care with pharmacy, mental health, substance abuse and oral health services.

“Every Illinoisan, no matter their zip code, deserves the same access to quality health services,” Duckworth said. “This funding is critical to the health of our state and will help provide necessary, affordable care to thousands of families. Senator Durbin and I will keep supporting these important community health centers throughout our state.”

“Community health centers serve a vital function across our state, providing affordable, comprehensive health care to more than one million Illinoisans every year,” said Durbin. “Federal investments like this give them the certainty to plan for the future and continue providing health care to those in need. Senator Duckworth and I will continue fighting for these important federal funds.”

Under this announcement, the following organizations will receive funding to support patient-centered care:

  • Access Community Health Network (Chicago): $14,135,773
  • Aunt Martha’s Health and Wellness (Olympia Fields): $11,652,099
  • VNA Health Care (Aurora): $6,628,176
  • Greater Elgin Family Care Center (Elgin): $5,479,575
  • Heartland International Health Centers (Chicago): $4,231,555
  • Friend Family Health Center (Chicago): $4,045,729
  • Christopher Rural Health Planning Corp. (Christopher): $3,581,616
  • Central Counties Health Centers, Inc. (Springfield): $3,337,749
  • Christian Community Health Center (Chicago): $2,327,193
  • Family Christian Health Center (Harvey): $2,221,443
  • Will County Community Health Center (Joliet): $2,029,100

Illinois community health centers currently provide primary health care services to approximately 1.4 million Illinois residents – including one out of every four Medicaid patients – at 48 health centers with 350 treatment sites in medically underserved areas. Illinois community health centers employ over 7,600 individuals, equaling a payroll of more than $508 million. They also inject approximately $800 million in operating expenditures into their communities, resulting in an overall economic impact of $1.48 billion and overall employment of 11,700.

Over its 50 year history, the Health Center Program has grown from two community health centers to nearly 1,400 community health centers operating over 9,800 clinic sites in every U.S. state and territory. One in 13 people nationwide rely on a HRSA-funded community health center for their preventive and primary health care needs.

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