U-46 honors 'Partners of the Year' at Elgin Area Chamber event

Elgin Area School District U-46 celebrated its valued relationships with five healthcare organizations - Greater Family Health, VNA Health Care, Advocate Health Care, Jewel-Osco, and Med-Call Healthcare - by recognizing them as U-46's Business Partners of the Year at the Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce's annual meeting.

"These five health organizations have always understood and supported our mission of 'All Means All'," said Superintendent Dr. Tony Sanders. "But during the COVID-19 pandemic, our relationships have only become more important as we worked together to try to keep our schools and community safe and our students in school for in-person learning. These five organizations deserve our recognition for serving as true partners of U-46."

When U-46 was able to offer COVID-19 vaccines in February 2021, Greater Family Health, VNA, Advocate's Sherman Hospital, and Jewel-Osco were the district's partners.

Those vaccines were offered to all of U-46's approximately 6,500 employees, and more than 1,200 community members ages 65 or older received vaccines at U-46's Educational Services Center.

When U-46 undertook the massive effort to host vaccine clinics at all 40 of its elementary schools in November 2021, Med-Call was the district's partner.

They worked with state agencies, provided the staff, and maintained the records that allowed nearly 2,000 elementary students to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Health Services Supervisor Jeff Judge and Specialist Caitlyn Van Dame presented representatives from Greater Family Health, VNA, Advocate Sherman Hospital, Jewel-Osco, and Med-Call with the awards on March 31 during the Elgin area Chamber of Commerce's annual meeting and awards reception at Elgin State Bank in Elgin.

During the reception, U-46 was also one of about two dozen organizations recognized for being a member of the Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce for more than 70 years.