IAFCC’s Response to the State of the State Address
On February 15, 2023 – Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker gave his fifth State of the State address outlining his budget priorities for the upcoming fiscal year. To read or listen to the speech, visit our Advocacy and Policy Page.
“The Illinois Association of Free & Charitable Clinics (IAFCC) applauds and unites with Governor Pritzker on his support for healthcare workers. For many years, free and charitable clinics across the state of Illinois, have provided essential healthcare to those most in need; those who often fall through the cracks of our healthcare system”, said Jeffrey Trask, Board Chair of IAFCC, and Founder and CEO of Champaign County Christian Health Care Center. In last year’s Illinois General Assembly Budget Session, the IAFCC received its first ever Illinois State appropriation. The $9 million allocation is currently being used to provide support to IAFCC’s member clinics’ in assisting uninsured and underinsured people living with acute and chronic health issues through medical care, outreach, health education, screening and testing, oral health care and behavioral health services. IAFCC Executive Director Melissa Maguire added, “We hope that the General Assembly supports Governor Pritzker’s proposed initiatives related to food security, homelessness, reproductive health, and behavioral health which greatly impact the populations that our clinics serve”.
To read IAFCC’s entire response to the Governor’s State of the State Address, visit the Advocacy and Policy page.
Current & Future Plans for the
Illinois Association of Free and Charitable Clinics
We are hitting the ground running in 2023, motivated by our revised mission, vision, and values and guided by our five year strategic plan.
MISSION
VISION
Strengthen the safety net to maximize the collective impact of free and charitable clinics by representing and resourcing them to ensure equitable, accessible and quality healthcare for all.
Equitable and high quality healthcare customized for – and by – every community through free and charitable clinics.
Justice
Equity
Community
Disruption
Names and seeks to address both symptoms and root causes of systemic issues that cause health inequity, such as the for-profit health care model, racism, intergenerational trauma, and financial/housing instability.
Drives purposeful change in communities where there has been historical disinvestment and/or marginalization.
Fosters collaboration and action that is both informed and led by clinics and the unique communities they serve.
Leverages the distinctiveness of the free and charitable clinic model to inspire innovative thinking, ensures the presence of the clinic voice in government and other places where policy decisions are made, and employs daring leadership to lean into discomfort when necessary.