VNA Health Care celebrates National Health Center Week

VNA Health Care is marking National Health Center Week 2016 with patient appreciation activities at all ten of its health centers as part of a weeklong campaign (Aug. 7-13) to raise awareness about the mission and accomplishments of America's Health Centers, the largest and most successful system of primary health care.

Throughout the month of August, VNA will provide thousands of low-cost school physicals, along with other vital primary care for adults and children, through its community health centers and mobile health van.

One of the bright spots in America's health care system, health centers started over 50 years ago as a pilot project during President Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty. Today, they have compiled a significant record of success that includes:

• Producing $24 billion in annual health system savings;

• Reducing unnecessary hospitalizations and unnecessary visits to the emergency room;

• Treating patients for a fraction of the average cost of one emergency room visit;

• Maintaining patient satisfaction levels of nearly 100 percent;

• Generating $26.5 billion in economic activity and over 230,000 jobs;

• Reducing infant mortality rates.

Health centers not only prevent illness and foster wellness in the most challenging populations, they produce innovative solutions to the most pressing health care issues in their communities. They reach beyond the walls of conventional medicine to address the factors that may cause sickness, such as lack of nutrition, mental illness, homelessness and addiction. Because of their long record of success in innovation, managing health care costs, and reducing chronic disease, leaders in Congress have declared health centers a model of care that offers a "bipartisan solution to the primary care access problems" facing our nation.

"At VNA, we care for the whole person," said Linnea Windel, president/CEO of VNA Health Care. "To continue to improve the health of our patients, we focus on several key areas, including enhancing the primary care provider relationship, thoughtful care coordination, and frequent health promotion initiatives. We couple these patient-centered efforts with a systematic approach to quality and the right technology to support care and communicate with patients. Not only does this result in superior patient outcomes, but it lays the groundwork for treating our patients as individuals, with dignity and respect. That is what health care should be about, and what we celebrate during National Health Center Week."

To learn more, visit www.healthcenterweek.org.

You can also follow the conversation using #NHCW16 or #CHCsInnovate on Twitter.

For more information on VNA Health Care, visit www.vnahealth.com.

VNA Health Care provides affordable health care to 65,000 women, men and children living primarily in Kane, DuPage, and Will counties. It operates nine community health centers and is nationally ranked as a top performing health center as a result of patient outcomes such as high quality prenatal care, control of diabetes, and up-to-date immunizations for children. Its combination of convenience (by appointment or walk-in), patient-centered technology and expert care delivered with respect and compassion have led to these results. In addition to the Health Centers, VNA offers home care and hospice services. VNA is accredited by The Joint Commission.