Access Community Health Network (ACCESS) offers patient-centered, preventive and primary care services to nearly 165,000 patients annually in the Chicagoland area. ACCESS is one of the largest networks of federally-qualified health centers in the nation. All health centers have been recognized by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). For more information, visit www.achn.net.
Primary and preventative health care, Public health, HIV testing and treatment services, Prenatal care, Behavioral health services, and Men's health services
Congratulations and thank you to everyone who contributed to the great success of this year's community health fairs at ACCESS Grand Boulevard Health and Specialty Center and ACCESS Family Health Society!
We were proud to support more than 1,000 community residents and supply them with free food, fresh produce, backpacks filled with school supplies, entertainment, and walk-in school physicals to help our communities prepare for a healthy school year. #TeamACCESS
ACCESS' HIV Treatment & Prevention Services team, along with volunteers from different teams, had a great time at Northalsted Market Days! Over 1000 bags, 36 Narcan kits, condoms and ACCESS materials were distributed to community members. #MarketDays2024#MarketDaysChicago
Today, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (IL-09) visited ACCESS Evanston Family Health Center to tour our health center and learn more about how ACCESS is supporting patients living in the Ninth District. In our discussions with the Congresswoman, we discussed the importance of sustained community health center funding and the need to protect the 340B program so that our patients can access affordable, lifesaving medications. Thank you Congresswoman Schakowsky and the Illinois Primary Health Care Association for your partnership and support of ACCESS.
#TeamACCESS#ValueCHCs#NHCW24
ACCESS' HIV Treatment & Prevention Services team had an amazing time at The Black Women's Expo distributing take home HIV testing kits and providing sexual health education and resources to nearly 300 expo participants. #TeamACCESS#BlackWomensExpo
#TeamACCESS members live out our mission every day to partner with patients at all points of care to provide high quality, patient-centered health services accessible to all in their own communities. This National Health Center week, we are proud to celebrate and recognize all ACCESS team members, within and beyond the walls of our health centers, who are dedicated to supporting our patients and communities.
Learn more about ACCESS by visiting https://bit.ly/3Ac0pKH#NHCW24#HealthEquity#ValueCHCs
#TeamACCESS ensures that our patients have access to high quality health care in their own communities by:
✅ Partnering with patients at all points of care
✅ Providing patient-centered health services
✅ Improving total health and creating health equity
#NHCW24#ValueCHCs
Today's focus for National Health Center Week focus is "Agricultural Worker Health." Did you know that the Migrant Health Act of 1962, signed by U.S. President John F. Kennedy, preceded Community Health Centers (1965)? The movement for migrant workers' health was led by farmworkers, most famously Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, who saw no distinction between civil rights and health care access.
Today, Community Health Centers serve more than 1 million migrant and seasonal agricultural workers. These workers are essential, putting food on our tables across the country.
Experts in migrant health care have learned to provide immunizations on a fast-track schedule, supply instructions for keeping insulin safe while traveling, emphasize hand-carried portable records, and fill prescriptions with 90 day supplies. Some health centers that see point-to-point populations have shared services, so that a family can, for example, get eye care in Florida and dental care in North Carolina. It takes not just a village, but several villages, to provide continuity of care. Cultural humility, creativity, curiosity, compassion and an understanding of health literacy are essential for clinicians.
Many innovations in care have come from migrant health centers; for example, community health workers, or promotoras have been a backbone of operations for decades.
#NHCW24#HealthEquity
This year’s National Health Center Week theme "Powering Communities Through Caring Connections," captures the incredible work and dedication of #TeamACCESS. Whether it’s behind the scenes, within the walls of our health centers, or out in the community connecting with residents and partners, each and every member of ACCESS makes a significant impact on our patients and the communities we serve. This week, we join community health centers from across the nation to raise awareness about the vital role community health centers play to meet the physical, behavioral, and spiritual needs of our patients, while addressing social determinants of health and creating health equity. Learn more about ACCESS here: https://bit.ly/4cdJg0b
Federal approval of the Healthcare Transformation 1115 Demonstration Waiver is a critical step to expanding Medicaid coverage to address social determinants of health including housing and food insecurity, substance use disorder, community violence and more. As a federally qualified health center, this waiver supports and strengthens our mission to provide high-quality, comprehensive care to the nearly 165,000 patients we proudly serve. #ValueCHCs
Thank you to Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services and the JB Pritzker Administration for their leadership to get this waiver approved. https://bit.ly/3WuKJJV
Yesterday, ACCESS’ Family Case Management team volunteered with Cradles to Crayons Chicago to help them prepare for #Backpackthon, an annual event where volunteers pack free school supplies into thousands of backpacks to distribute throughout the city to ensure families have the resources they need for the upcoming school year.
ACCESS is grateful for our longstanding partnership with Cradles to Crayons and their annual donation of free school supplies. With their support, we are able to distribute essential supplies at our ACCESS Community Health Fairs, while providing school physicals that equip our communities for a successful and healthy school year. #TeamACCESS#ValueCHCs