The Healthy Communities Partnership

Mission: … to improve the health and quality of life of the people and communities we serve.

Vision: … to create the healthiest community in America.

Goals: 1)To provide education, support and alternative activities to promote healthy lifestyles; 2)To increase preventive healthcare services; 3)To increase access to primary care.

History  Created in 1997  Collaboration involving:  Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital  Family Medical Center  Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of Commerce  Logan County Health Department  Logan-Mason Mental Health

HCP Task Forces  R  Rural Health Partnership   Alcohol, Tobacco & Other Drugs   Healthy Families   Domestic Abuse & Violence   Senior Issues   Parish Nurse HCP Steering Committee

The Rural Health Partnership Current Mobile Health Unit

New Service… New Service… Mobile Health & Dental Unit  Start-up grant of $225,000 from the Illinois Children’s Healthcare Foundation  New unit arrived September 27, 2006

Mobile Health & Dental Unit Facts  Median Logan County household income = $39,389 (2000 US Census Bureau) Median Illinois household income = $46,590 (2000 US Census Bureau)  10% of Logan County children (5-17 years) live below poverty level (2000 US Census Bureau)  Logan County has been designated a Dental Health Professional Shortage Area (Illinois Department of Public Health Center for Rural Health)

Mobile Health & Dental Unit Facts, cont.  11% of rural residents have never seen a dentist. (National Rural Health Association)  Children from families with lower incomes have nearly 12 times as many days missed from school due to dental problems. (National Maternal & Child Oral health Resource Center)  There are associations between oral infections and diabetes, heart disease, stroke and preterm, low-weight births. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention )

The H.O.P.E. Mobile

Addressing Health Concerns  Making Life Skills education available to all 7 th and 8 th grade classes in the county.  Coordinating a healthy community by assisting communities to identify the health issues affecting them.  Providing access to primary and preventive healthcare through the Mobile Health Unit.

Schools Served by the Life Skills Program  Hartsburg-Emden  New Holland-Middletown  Chester-East Lincoln  Mt. Pulaski  Elkhart  Lincoln Jr. High School Mt. Pulaski Grade School

Locations Served by the Mobile Health Unit - Hartsbug - Emden - Chestnut - Mt. Pulaski - New Holland - Middletown - Elkhart - Atlanta - Latham - Broadwell - - H.O.P.E. Mobile …and two locations in Lincoln.

Mobile Health Unit Staff  Pat Estep, FNP  Pam Clark, RN, BSN  Ruth Freeman, RN, BSN  Sue Estes, RN, CLC, BA  Mary Southerlan, Dental Hygienist

Services Provided by the Mobile Health Unit  Physical Examinations  Ordering and interpreting lab tests  Acute illness management  Chronic illness management  Immunizations  Serum Injections  Tests  Environmental services  Health education guidance and counseling

The Statistics Speak for Themselves… 37,055 Total Service Contacts (Avg. 23 people per day)

“I seriously believe that without the Mobile Health Unit…if I had let another day or two go by…my health would have been in serious jeopardy. The Mobile Health Unit is a wonderful thing. It saved my life.” -Rural Logan County resident

“Without the Mobile Health Unit, my daughter would not have had her school physical. We don’t have a doctor and they were there when we needed it.” -Mother of High School Freshman

Current Funding Sources  Southern Illinois University School of Medicine  Abraham Lincoln Healthcare Foundation  Illinois Children’s Healthcare Foundation  Hilda Humphreys Estate  Eaton Corporation  County of Logan  Patient Revenue  Private Donations

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