Congressman Brad Schneider (IL-10) will visit the Lake County Health Department’s North Chicago Health Center, 2215 14th Street in North Chicago, on Friday, August 16 at 11 a.m. in recognition of National Health Center Week. This weeklong campaign, which runs from August 11 to the 17, is focused on raising awareness about the mission and accomplishments of America’s health centers as local solutions for affordable and accessible health care.
"I am proud of the work the North Chicago Health Center is doing in the community, and I'm looking forward to learning more about their patient-centered care model during my visit," Schneider said. "By taking a comprehensive approach to delivering health care, North Chicago Health Center is setting a standard for quality, efficient and affordable care."
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The Lake County Health Department manages six community health centers. Two are in Waukegan, the remainder are in North Chicago, Round Lake Beach, Highland Park and Zion. These sites serve approximately 47,000 patients. Services include general medicine, dental, pediatrics, women’s health, cancer prevention, diabetes prevention and treatment, and nutrition counseling and education.
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“We are excited that Congressman Schneider will visit us during Health Center Week,” said the Health Department’s Executive Director Tony Beltran. “This week is about promoting the benefits of health centers, which are convenient and affordable. As a medical home for patients, they reduce the cost of care and provide continuity. Our patients receive a wide range of services, from pediatrics to mental health services, from a professional team all under one roof.”
On a national level health centers serve as the medical and health care home for 22.3 million people. Health center patients are among the nation’s most vulnerable populations—people who even if insured would nonetheless remain isolated from traditional forms of medical care because of where they live, who they are, the language they speak and their higher levels of complex health care needs. As a result, patients are disproportionately low income, uninsured or publicly insured, and minorities.
Key to health centers’ accomplishments is patient involvement in service delivery. Governing boards—the majority of whose members must be patients according to grant requirements—manage health center operations. Board members serve as community representatives and make decisions on services provided.
“Every day in our waiting rooms I witness the value of having a patient-centered health care home,” said Beltran. “When people have a place to go for regular care, they use it and stay healthier. Our patients not only get the care they need under one roof, but they are treated as individuals, with dignity and respect. This is what health care should be, and what we celebrate during National Health Center Week.”
For more information on the Lake County Health Department’s community health centers, visit:
http://health.lakecountyil.gov/Primary/Pages/default.aspx.
