Mobile Care Chicago and Roseland Community Hospital Win Hospital Charitable Services Award
A Landmark Collaboration Lowered ER Visits by Over 80%
A joint project by Mobile Care Chicago and Roseland Community Hospital, called the Roseland Community Initiative, was announced as the winner of the Hospital Charitable Services Award for Programs of Excellence. The award recognizes “programs that have demonstrated excellence in community impact, innovation, collaboration, leading practices and transferability.” Only ten winners were chosen nationally.
The award celebrates a landmark collaboration between Roseland Community Hospital and Mobile Care Chicago to pair “frequent flier” asthma pediatric patients from Roseland Community Hospital’s Emergency Department with Mobile Care Chicago’s Asthma Van, transitioning children from ER dependence to preventative care conveniently located within blocks of most family’s homes. Since Mobile Care’s Asthma Educators started coordinating with Roseland Community Hospital in 2013, pediatric asthma admittance has been cut by over 80%. That represents more than 500 children living a better life.
“Unmanaged chronic conditions make up the bulk of soaring healthcare costs,” says Matt Siemer, Executive Director of Mobile Care Chicago. “But translating that acknowledgement into action is an incredible challenge because the barriers low-income families grapple with are things like transportation, erratic work schedules, and lack of resources. Each family is unique. To solve these problems, you have to proactively link families to the services they need. We’re proud to have been able to do that through our partnership with Roseland Community Hospital.”
“You can’t quantify what this intervention meant to the children and families given access to free, on-going, and convenient preventative care through this partnership,” says Tim Egan CEO of Roseland Community Hospital. “The New Roseland Community Hospital added this important initiative as part of our wider Strategic Plan, which emphasizes the best, most innovative care for our patients. We’re honored to share this award with Mobile Care Chicago, to have our collaboration recognized nationally, and to bring greater levels of innovation to our community.”
“These programs are demonstrating innovative approaches to impacting lives in their local communities and around the nation,” said Charles R. Evans, FACHE, Chairman of the Hospital Charitable Services Awards program. “But what makes them truly extraordinary is their missional commitment to serving others.”
Jackson Healthcare instituted the Hospital Charitable Services Awards in 2010 to identify high-impact community health programs, share their stories and offer them as models for other communities to replicate.
Mobile Care’s Asthma Vans and Dental Vans currently provide services to over 10,000 children annually. During its 17 year history, Mobile Care’s clinics have consistently cut ER use and hospitalization for its patients to near zero while asthma and oral health issues have remained the top causes of preventable Emergency Department use in Cook County.
Mobile Care Chicago’s Asthma Educators, which formed the backbone of the partnership, were funded through grants from the Illinois Department of Public Health Title V, the American Lung Association in Greater Chicago, the Field Foundation of Illinois, the University of Illinois at Chicago, the Crown Family, and the Lloyd A. Fry Foundation.
Mobile Care also won the American Lung Association’s 2016 Impact Award!
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