The Lake County Health Department/Community Health Center (LCHD/CHC), located in Lake County, Illinois, is one of a few state-certified public health departments in the nation that is also a federally qualified health center. As a health department and community health center, it is able to provide patients with comprehensive services that are integrated to form a seamless healthcare delivery system.
The Health Department itself was established by referendum in 1956. In the 1970s, it began providing episodic primary care and behavioral health services for the County’s underserved population. In 1995, the agency’s Primary Care Services were designated as a Federally Qualified Health Center “Look Alike.” The organization received Department of Health and Human Services, Bureau of Primary Care, funding in 1998 to become a community health center. In 2002, it received additional funding from the Bureau of Primary Health Care to provide expanded medical services.
Unprecedented Growth
In 2003, the Community Health Center, which at the time maintained four sites in Waukegan, Zion, North Chicago and Round Lake Park, became Joint Commission accredited. Staff also secured funding for construction/renovation for new facilities in North Chicago and Round Lake Beach to alleviate overcrowding at the older sites. These new facilities opened in 2004.
An innovative new facility opened in Highland Park in 2006. A new local non-profit group, Friends for Health, came into being specifically to meet the needs of the underserved in the southeast corner of Lake County. They raised more than $2 million toward the construction of this site and the City of Highland Park secured a property location. Friends For Health funding now helps develop and support innovative health programming and community outreach at the agency’s fifth site.
Over the past decade, the LCHD/CHC has experienced unprecedented growth. Since 1998, it has seen a 76 percent increase in medical patients and a 120 percent increase in dental patients. Reflecting the communities it serves, it has a diverse client base of over 80,000 patients who have accessed services over the past three years. Approximately 60 percent of the patients are Hispanic, 18 percent are African American and 17 percent are Caucasian. It serves people of all ages; almost 50 percent of its patient base is made up of children (age 19 and younger) and about 3 percent are age 65 and older.
New Initiatives
Several foundations and hospital systems support LCHD/CHC initiatives. They raised more than $2 million toward the construction of this site and the City of Highland Park secured a property location.
Two important projects include a large diabetes care and prevention program and a specialty care program. The Diabetes Program is based on the HRSA diabetes collaborative model. The specialty care program increases access to specialty care and diagnostic testing in the areas of ophthalmology, cardiology and gastroenterology for LCHD/CHC patients. These programs fill a critical need for Lake County’s adult population especially for the large number who are uninsured.
To help eliminate health disparities in Lake County, the agency participates in several health disparities initiatives, including the Bureau of Primary Health Care’s Health Disparities Cancer Collaborative. The Cancer Collaborative has continued to grow with over 25,000 patients receiving early cancer detection and prevention screenings.
As part of the agency’s goal to provide comprehensive care, the LCHD/CHC also has a nationally recognized WIC program, currently providing nutrition education and supplemental foods for over 15,000 mothers and children. Innovative components include a farmer’s market, garden sites at the community health centers and breast feeding support. The health center also has a Ryan White HIV care program serving over 200 individuals, and sends a health care team to four homeless shelters every week throughout the winter season.
In partnership with the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, children have been screened and enrolled in AllKids, the Illinois Child Health Insurance Program at each of the community health centers since 1999. A sliding fee scale is provided for people who don’t qualify for public aid, and whose incomes are below the 200% of the federal poverty level to help insure that services are affordable.
Responding to Community Needs
The last 18 months have been a time of exceptional need in the community due to the downturn in the economy. During this time additional Health Services Resource Administration (HRSA) funds have allowed the organization to expand dental hours on evenings and Saturdays and American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds have allowed for the expansion of walk-in care services at our largest site as well as the opening of another community health center.
This sixth community health center will be located on the first floor of the new Health Department building, which is currently under construction in Waukegan.Innovative components include a farmer’s market, garden sites at the community health centers and breast feeding support.
Opening in the spring of 2010, the new community health center will provide patients with easy access to medical, dental and mental health services all under one roof. The Health Department has provided mental health and substance abuse counseling to a large number of people for a number of years. Across the country it has been noted that people with mental health issues suffer much poorer health outcomes. Funded through HRSA/ARRA grants, the new center will co-locate medical, dental and mental health services to address this concern.
National Recognition
Over the years, LCHD/CHC has received extensive recognition and awards. Most recently, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services selected it as one of eight high-performing health care partnerships in the nation to present examples of successful community partnerships at a conference in Maryland in late 2009. The goal was to share experiences and assist other community health centers to achieve similar exemplary results in community engagement.
