Chicago-based Northwestern Medicine is launching a community health institute after receiving a $35 million gift from the foundation of Chicago philanthropists John and Kathy Schreiber.
The John and Kathy Schreiber Community Health Institute will expand capacity by roughly 50% at Northwestern’s two transitional care clinics, which serve uninsured and underinsured patients with complex medical needs, according to a June 16 health system news release.
The institute also will fund 12 community health workers, five nurse navigators and three social workers to help connect uninsured and underinsured patients to federally qualified health centers and community resources, Dinee Simpson, MD, Northwestern’s chief health equity executive and co-director of the institute, told the Chicago Tribune in a June 16 report.
“We see a lot of patients through the [emergency department] who don’t have a medical home,” Dr. Simpson told the Tribune. She said the institute also will expand clinic services to include more support for addiction and substance use disorders.
According to Northwestern Medicine, the institute will also provide training and support to federally qualified health centers and free clinics, create a care navigation hub for patients without a medical home and offer strategic and operational support to community healthcare organizations.
The gift brings the Schreiber family’s total giving to Northwestern Medicine to nearly $50 million, according to the health system. The family’s philanthropic relationship with Northwestern dates to 1994.
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