![]() In May, Erie and Northern Illinois Food Bank used a Care Van to reach 850 households at Holy Family Church in Waukegan. ![]() ![]() “These communities cannot come to us, so we need to go to them.” “We look at all the social determinants of health and then go to where the community needs us to be,” says Annet Miranda, associate director of community at Erie. Vans travel to schools, parks and churches to provide free immunizations, dental care, health education and other services. More than 16% of people under 65 are uninsured and a single hospital serves the city of nearly 90,000, causing many to fall through the cracks.įor years, the Care Van program has provided Erie Family Health Centers in Waukegan with grant funding and vehicles to address those care gaps. ![]() In Waukegan, for example, social determinants that affect health outcomes such as public transportation and access to affordable care are limited. “But when you look at the population health data there are major gaps in care.” “When people think of northern Chicagoland, they may picture wealthy suburbs where health is not an issue,” says BCBSIL Outreach Specialist Kevin Sloss, who oversees the Care Van program. The third van will address longstanding health needs in Waukegan and northern Lake County, while the other vehicles - one in Springfield and another in Chicago - continue providing COVID-19 vaccines to local communities. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois’ (BCBSIL) Care Van ® program has added a new vehicle to its fleet to help serve residents in an often-overlooked part of the state.
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