Durbin, Duckworth Announce Over $7 Million For Illinois Community Health Centers
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded four community health centers in Illinois a total of $7,222,617 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.
“Community health centers provide high-quality, comprehensive medical care for more than one million Illinoisans every year. This investment will help community health centers continue to improve health outcomes and reduce patient costs,” said Durbin.
“Community health centers are vital to the health of our state, and this infusion of federal will help them continue meeting the needs of all Illinoisans, especially within low-income and other underserved communities,” said Duckworth. “I hope to continue to work with Senator Durbin to ensure Illinoisans in every corner of the state have access to high-quality care.”
Under this announcement, the following organizations will receive funding to support patient-centered care:
· Access Community Health Network (Chicago): $3,512,643
· Central Counties Health Centers (Springfield): $783,970
· Greater Elgin Family Care Center (Elgin): $1,319,427
· VNA Health Care (Aurora): $1,606,577
Illinois community health centers currently provide primary health care services to approximately 1.3 million Illinois residents – including one out of every four Medicaid patients – at 51 health centers with 360 treatment sites in medically underserved areas throughout the state. 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. A recent study found that Illinois community health centers save 27 percent in total spending per Medicaid patient compared to non-health center providers.
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. In 2015, community health centers employed nearly 190,000 people and served over 24 million patients. One in 13 people nationwide rely on a HRSA-funded community health center for their preventive and primary health care needs.