Aunt Martha's Opens New Joliet Health Care Center

A grand opening for the long-awaited Aunt Martha's Joliet Community Health Center on the site of the former Silver Cross Hospital was Thursday. Here's a news release from Aunt Martha's on the new facility:

Aunt Martha's Youth Service Center's 19,000-square-foot Joliet Community Health Center, located at 1200 Eagle St. on Joliet's East Side, was built from the ground up over the last 14 months with funding from the Facility Investment Program of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

"Aunt Martha's is proud to have been a part of the Joliet community for more than 30 years, and we're proud to have the opportunity to bring our brand of coordinated health care to the city's East Side," said Raul Garza, Aunt Martha's Chief Executive Officer.

"It's Aunt Martha's name on the building, but this is the community's health center and we hope it's a building that people are proud to have in their community."

Garza was joined by state Sen. Patrick McGuire, state Rep. Larry Walsh Jr., Joliet Mayor Tom Giarrante, Will County Executive Larry Walsh and others at the Thursday ribbon-cutting ceremony, after which the health center was opened for tours.

The Joliet Community Health Center will provide nearly 50,000 patient visits and serve as a medical home for 14,000 of the area's children and adults, offering primary care services, dental services and mental health services, including psychiatry and therapy. The health center also has public meeting space that is open for use by other community-based organizations.

Aunt Martha’s Youth Service Center is a leader in care coordination, with more than 100 programs that provide services that are integrated across areas including: Health & Prevention; Education & Life Skills; Housing & Shelter, and Intervention & Support.

From 2002 and 2010, Aunt Martha’s healthcare services grew from two small clinics in Aurora and Chicago Heights to 16 clinics in communities throughout northern and east central Illinois – from 6,000 patients and 19,800 visits to nearly 80,000 patients and 273,000 visits.

No federally qualified health center (FQHC) in Illinois provides dental or behavioral health services to more patients than Aunt Martha’s. In June 2013, Aunt Martha's became the first FQHC in Illinois to earn the Joint Commission's Primary Care Medical Home Certification.