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 $6,089,953 through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Health Center Program.
Community health centers are community-based and patient-directed organizations that deliver comprehensive, culturally competent, high-quality primary health care services. Community health centers also often integrate access to pharmacy, mental health, substance abuse and oral health services in areas where economic, geographic or cultural barriers limit access to affordable health care services. Federal funding for community health centers lapsed two months ago and has not yet renewed by the Republican-controlled Congress. Without congressional action, these centers would see their budgets slashed by 70 percent beginning on January 1st.
“Community health centers provide high-quality, comprehensive medical care for more than one million Illinoisans every year,”said Durbin. “This investment will help community health centers continue to improve health outcomes and reduce patient costs. However, the future of our nation’s community health centers are very much in jeopardy. Congressional Republicans were too busy trying to repeal health care for tens of millions of working families when they should have been reauthorizing this critical funding that provides care to 27 million Americans. It is long past time to finally get this done.”
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“Children, families and seniors across Illinois rely on community health centers for essential healthcare services,” said Duckworth.“This funding will enable these centers to continue providing quality, affordable care to thousands of hardworking Illinois families, which is especially important considering the lack of leadership from some of my Republican colleagues on protecting key investments like these.”
Under this announcement, the following organizations will receive funding to support patient-centered care:
- Crusader Central Clinic Association (Winnebago County): $1,065,042
- Erie Family Health Center, Inc. (Cook County): $1,261,318
- Near North Health Service Corporation (Cook County): $1,185,865
- Southern Illinois Healthcare Foundation (St. Clair County): $2,577,728
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. One in 13 people nationwide rely on a HRSA-funded community health center for their preventive and primary health care needs.
