15 Years Family Health Partnership Clinic has been serving McHenry County, Illinois, 1996 - 2011
OUR MISSION: The Family Health Partnership Clinic will improve the health status of the community and reduce the negative impact of poor access to care by providing a broad spectrum of services to the underserved with compassion and respect. We recognize that as a community, we are responsible for each other.
OUR VISION: Over the next ten years, the Family Health Partnership Clinic will assure that the residents of the McHenry County area will enjoy the benefit of full access to high quality health care, regardless of the ability to pay, by offering multiple sites throughout our community to adequately meet those needs.
Putting it in Perspective
The problems of the uninsured have only grown more difficult in the last few years. When the Clinic began in 1996, the University of Illinois School of Medicine indicated that there were an estimated 15,000 uninsured in the county. The 2000 census indicates that the number of uninsured in Illinois is around 13.7%. Adjusting for some income differences in our county, we can conservatively estimate that our rate of uninsured is about 10%, meaning over 30,000 people in McHenry County have no health insurance. **In October of 2008, we learned from the census that over 40,000 people in McHenry County now have no health insurance.** The vast majority of patients we see are working, but are simply unable to get coverage because their company doesn't offer it, or they have some pre-existing conditions. Our clinic is often the only place they can go.
A Little History
While McHenry County overall enjoys a relatively good per capita income, it masks the pockets of poverty that exist within the area, particularly in the growing Latino population. When the Clinic opened, it partnered with Community Health Partnership as its fiscal agent. Community Health Partnership is the migrant and seasonal farmworker health care coordinator for the state. While a primary focus originally revolved around the access to health care for the migrants, it became quite clear within months that a larger and broader scope of services was needed in the area. With complete cooperation from its parent agency, the Clinic became its own entity in 1999. The two agencies still work closely.
The Clinic operates with 32 volunteer physicians, 17 referral physicians, 21 volunteer nurses, 4 volunteer interpreters, 20 general active in-clinic volunteers, 8 summer college students, 2 staff nurse practitioners, and a mix of volunteer and paid staff. In 2007-2008, the Clinic provided almost $2.4 million worth of services on site. The Clinic is funded through private grants, foundations and community fundraising.
Until the Clinic opened, there was no place in the county for people without health insurance except for the emergency room. The majority of these are termed the "working poor" because while they hold jobs, they are not offered insurance, are unable to afford insurance on their wages, or have no coverage for their family members.
In November of 2009, FHPC opened its first satellite clinic. The location is in the Physician Medical Building attached to Centegra's Northern Illinois Medical Center. The clinic is open 2 half-days each week on Monday and Thursday mornings. This has allowed for better access to our clinic for those on the eastern side of McHenry County.
In April of 2011, FHPC celebrates 15 years. Volunteer physicians, nurses and clinic staff have been serving the people of McHenry County, Illinois, for the past 15 years. FHPC is the only clinic of its kind in the county.
Click here to review our latest Annual Report.
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