A collaborative effort among area health care providers, philanthropists, elected officials and NIU has created a new community resource for individuals and families who do not have access to primary medical care.
The Community Cares Clinic, located within NIU’s Family Health, Wellness and Literacy Center at 3100 Sycamore Road, provides primary care services for area residents with and without health insurance. Nearly two years in the planning, the Clinic addresses community concerns that the neediest in the community did not have access to non-emergency medical care.
“We are very grateful to the board of directors of KishHealth System and the NIU Board of Trustees for supporting this effort. “The health system’s vision is to control our own destiny and accomplish ‘reform’ on the local level by creating access to care without regard to ability to pay,” said Kevin Poorten, KishHealth System President and CEO.
“We’re very proud to be part of the solution to a serious community concern,” said NIU President John Peters. “The open-access clinic concept has been part of our plan for the Family Health, Wellness and Literacy Center for some time: Not only does it help guarantee access, but it also provides a clinical training site for our students in nursing, dietetics, public health, clinical laboratory sciences and many other health-related programs.”
Poorten stressed that organizers hope patients will view the clinic as their home for primary care.
“We know people will come to us when they’re sick,” he said, “but we also want them to use the clinic to manage their health problems like diabetes or high blood pressure, to have well-child checks or sports physicals. We want them to have an ongoing relationship with the doctors, nurses and staff at the clinic, and we want them to know that the same team they see for primary care will continue to be involved in their care at all levels, 24/7.”
The Community Cares Clinic provides affordable, cost-effective medical care, by appointment, for infants, children and adults with and without insurance coverage. All insurances, including Medicaid and Medicare, and private group insurance are accepted, and an affordable, sliding-fee scale is available for those who lack insurance coverage.
Special arrangements have been made with Hope Haven to provide free medical care for their homeless clients.
“Some same-day appointments are available, but in order to provide timely care, we ask that patients make appointments,” Poorten said. Clinic hours are Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m-5 p.m., and eventually will be expanded to include evenings and Saturdays.
The Community Cares Clinic is also a clinical training site for NIU students in all of the health professions, and Peters said that aspect makes the facility a unique resource for the community.
“Faculty from our College of Health and Human Sciences are really committed to the concept of learning through service,” Peters said. “To have nationally-recognized professors with active research programs involved in this clinic is ultimately a huge benefit to the overall health of those we serve at this clinic and in the larger community.”
Poorten and Peters say the clinic would not have become a reality without the support of three generous private benefactors. The Community Development Corporation of The National Bank and Trust Corporation, Zea Mays Holdings, and a donation from Dave and Suzanne Juday, raised $650,000 to cover initial start-up costs and operational expenses.
In addition, KishHealth System and NIU have invested more than $1.2 million to construct, furnish, equip and staff the clinic.
Michael Cullen, CEO of NB&T, chair of the KishHealth System Board of Directors, and a member of the clinic’s board of directors, hopes the clinic eventually will be self-sustaining with help from federal funding sources and community philanthropy.
The next phase for the clinic’s eight-member board is to pursue federal designations that will allow the facility to receive operation-sustaining reimbursement rates. The clinic board is comprised of representatives from the health system, NIU, the private donors and the physician group that has medical oversight of the clinic.
“There are many regulations involved in obtaining these designations and the process is very time-consuming,” Cullen explained. “With local donors behind this project, we were able to get the doors open sooner and get services to the people who urgently needed access to medical care.”
NIU purchased the former Monsanto property in 2005 with federal grant dollars. By 2008, the university had remodeled the massive building into state-of-the-art facilities for its Speech, Language and Hearing Clinic, Physical Therapy Clinic and Reading Clinic. Space on the south side of the building was set aside for what would become the Community Cares Clinic, and over the past year that space took shape with the construction of exam rooms, offices, and a medical laboratory.
A medical crisis hit the DeKalb-Sycamore community in 2007 when plummeting reimbursements caused local physician practices to stop seeing Medicaid patients. Kishwaukee Hospital and State Rep. Bob Pritchard were inundated with telephone calls from desperate individuals and concerned social service providers.
Later that year, Pritchard organized the first meeting of key DeKalb County healthcare providers to address access to primary care for the Medicaid population and the uninsured. Eventually the group narrowed to the key players, KishHealth System and NIU.
Cullen also saw an opportunity for the bank to commit financial resources to helping the low and moderate income population in the community. The bank’s board of directors saw the Community Cares Clinic as a worthy way to reinvest in the community and help several thousand individuals and families get the primary healthcare they needed. NB&T and its partner, Zea Mays Holdings, formed the NB&T Community Development Corporation to manage start-up funding for the clinic.
Physician staffing came together with the help of a Sycamore group practice. Drs George Gonnella, Asad Shah and Jamison Allen stepped forward to provide medical oversight for the clinic. Clinic staff includes David Wester, a physician assistant; NIU faculty member, Traci Costigan, a nurse practitioner, and certified medical assistants. Several of the staff members are bilingual in Spanish and English. More than 500 patients have already been seen.
Appointments are required. A limited number of same-day appointments are available. Call (815) 752-3253 or visit the Community Cares Clinic Web site.
NIU will offer a Bachelor’s of Science in Applied Management with an emphasis in Public Safety degree on the campus of Harper College beginning next summer.
NIU’s new degree was recently approved by the Illinois Board of Higher Education and will allow working police officers, firefighters and emergency management personnel to earn an accredited bachelor’s degree affordably and close to home.
Bachelor degrees for first responders have become increasingly important given new complex training requirements since Sept. 11. Many municipalities in the northwest suburbs now require police officers and firefighters to have a bachelor’s degree to be hired or promoted.
The new offering on Harper’s campus is part of a larger, regional response to the needs of emergency personnel, according to NIU President John G. Peters.
“Workforce issues are regional issues, and we’ve taken a regional approach to meeting those needs,” Peters said. “The Bachelor’s in Applied Management degree is a flexible program that will be available at various locations throughout northern Illinois – including Harper and Oakton Community College – to meet the needs of several different groups of professionals. The associates of applied science or AAS degree held by so many in the emergency response field has not previously been designed for transfer to a four-year university, so this is really a groundbreaking development we are now able to offer our community college partners.”
For its part, Harper College has agreed to work with NIU and put on hold efforts to pursue baccalaureate degree authority for its own campus.
“We must continue to develop partnerships that leverage increasingly scare public resources to meet changing workforce needs,” said Harper College President Dr. Ken Ender. “We will also continue to aggressively pursue innovative avenues and relationships that make higher education accessible and affordable for the people of our district.”
The bachelor’s degree-completion program builds on associate of applied science degrees in law enforcement, fire science or emergency management. About two-thirds of the coursework can be taken at a community college, with the final third taken with NIU, also on the respective community college campus. The bachelor’s degree will be awarded by Northern Illinois University.
For more information about NIU’s Bachelor’s of Science in Applied Management / Public Safety Emphasis program at Harper College, call (815) 753-7097.
The Huskie Marching Band will present its annual year-end concert at the NIU Convocation Center at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19.
The marching band, drum line, color guard and Silverettes will perform highlights from the marching shows throughout the year, as well as favorite songs and cheers heard during the game. Look for special routines from the color guard and the Silverettes, as well as the drum line. Relive the musical highlights of the 2009 season, brought to life in the Convocation Center.
Tickets are available on Ticketmaster. Visit www.niuconvo.com and follow the links to buy tickets. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for students.
To enjoy the exciting sounds of the Huskie Marching Band any time, contact the VCB Bookstore to order the latest CD release, “Forward, Together Forward.” Two other CDs from the Huskie Marching Band are available from VCB as well, including “Old Dog, New Tricks” and “The Pride of the Midwest.” Visit www.vcbs.com or call (815) 758-0613.
NIU retiree Cynthia Stecher, past coordinator of teacher certification for the Department of Mathematical Sciences at NIU, has been awarded the first-ever “Fred Flener Award: Engaging Students in Math Beyond the Classroom” by the Illinois Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
Presented during the group’s 60th annual conference, held earlier this month in Peoria, the award honors Stecher’s leadership in creating and improving opportunities for students to explore mathematics outside of the classroom.
Stecher has had an enormous impact on mathematics education at the national, state and university levels. Since 1994, she has guided, nurtured and mentored 297 undergraduates to becoming secondary mathematics teachers at NIU, one of the three largest programs in the country for secondary mathematics education.
Her university responsibilities included teaching the department’s clinical experience courses, the secondary mathematics methods course and the student teaching seminars each semester.
She coordinated the student teaching with the classroom teacher, the university student and the university supervisor. For each senior, she coordinated, evaluated and certified the student’s fulfillment of the mathematics department requirements, university graduation requirements and state certification requirements.
Stecher, who retired this spring, was honored in 2005 by the Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center for outstanding teaching.
The fall issue of “Multiculturalist” is online. This issue includes stories on the Straight Talk Speakers Bureau, former College of Business department chair Tanuja Singh and more.
The faculty and staff who participated in the 2009 Multicultural Curriculum Transformation Institute are giving presentations on how they have transformed their courses for this fall. Faculty, staff, students, and administrators are welcome to attend the talks. A full schedule is online.
On the menu at Ellington’s this week: Washington’s: Cuisine Across America is scheduled for Tuesday. Casa Bonita takes over Wednesday. El Dorado concludes the week Thursday.
Continuing this semester is the option to enjoy wine with your meal. One red and one white wine choice will be available with meal service. Wine will be selected for the menu based on wine-and-food pairings made by the students. Wine selections will range from $4.50 to $6.50 per glass.
Washington’s: Cuisine Across America features Boston clam chowder or southwestern chopped salad for starters, southern-rolled rosemary chicken with mushroom glaze or apricot barley bake for entrees and apple cobbler or key lime pie for dessert. Each table will be served cranberry-orange hazelnut dip.
Casa Bonita features sliced melon with Prosciutto or tomato-cucumber gazpacho for starters, chile-roasted cod with sweet corn flan or vegetarian paella for entrees and roasted apricots with sugared pecans or sweet plantain and chocolate emanaditas for dessert. Each table also will be served onion and olive tapenade.
El Dorado features tortilla soup or Mexican salad with pomegranate-lime dressing for starters, chipotle lime roast chicken with tomatillo sauce or smoked corn stuffed pepper for entrees and fresh fruit ice/watermelon with Mexican chocolate cookie or bread pudding for dessert. Each table will be served chipotle salsa and tri-colored tortilla chips.
Seating is from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. with service until 1 p.m. The cost is $9 per person. Ellington’s is located on the main floor of the Holmes Student Center. Call (815) 753-1763 or visit www.ellingtons.niu.edu to make reservations.
The NIU Chamber Choir will present “Reflections on Civil War” – in music, text and visual art – at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27, in the Boutell Memorial Concert Hall.
Conductor Eric A. Johnson will welcome guest artists Fareed Haque (School of Music), Stanton Davis (School of Theatre and Dance) and Debbie Smith-Shank (School of Art) for the program.
The concert is free and open to the public, and the auditorium is accessible to all. The concert also is scheduled for webcast.
The campus community is invited to the annual Creating Community Fall Dessert Reception sponsored by the Presidential Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. Halloween costumes are welcome.
The festive gathering is from noon to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28, in the Holmes Student Center Gallery Lounge on the main floor. A brief recognition ceremony will take place at 12:30 p.m. to recognize new volunteers in the NIU Ally Program.
The entire WNIU Fall Pledge Drive begins and ends Wednesday, Oct. 28.
After a successful debut last fall, 90.5-FM/Classical WNIU brings back its “1-Day Wednesday” approach to fundraising this week. WNIU’s goal is to reach $18,000 in contributions within just 11 hours to help keep the classics on the radio in northern Illinois.
Listeners who appreciate hearing more music and less on-air fundraising are encouraged to show their support for this idea during the live on-air campaign Wednesday.
Volunteers will be on hand to receive calls to the WNIU pledge line between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m., or listeners may pledge securely online – anytime – at www.WNIU.org. Gifts submitted early at www.WNIU.org also will count toward Wednesday’s goal.
To read more about how WNIU plans to keep its on-air fundraising to a minimum throughout the year, visit www.WNIU.org.
The annual NIU Jazz Ensemble Fall Concert is scheduled for 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, inside the Duke Ellington Ballroom.
Saxophonist Don Braden is this fall’s special guest. The concert is free and open to the public.
To reserve group seating, contact Lynn Slater at (815) 753-1546 or lslater@niu.edu.
The Friends of NIU Libraries invites the public to a talk led by Owen Muelder of Knox College on the Underground Railroad in Illinois and the DeKalb area.
Muelder’s presentation, titled “Slavery, Anti-Slavery, and the Underground Railroad,” will be held at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 11, in the Rare Books and Special Collections Department on the fourth floor of Founders Memorial Library.
Muelder is director of the Galesburg Colony Underground Railroad Freedom Center at Knox College. Discussion and light refreshments will follow the presentation. Free parking is available after 7 p.m. in the Visitor’s Parking Lot located on Carroll Avenue.
For more information, please call (815) 753-8091.
Nomination forms for this year’s “Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges” are now available for download on the Student Involvement & Leadership Development Web site.
Established in 1934, “Who’s Who” is a program honoring outstanding college students for their scholastic, extracurricular and community achievements. NIU is one of more than 2, 300 institutions of higher education that annually nominate junior-, senior- and graduate-level students for these awards.
Nominators should consider students whose academic standing, participation and leadership in extracurricular activities and community service is decidedly above average. A campus selection committee will review all nominations and will recommend around 50 students, representing a variety of academic and extracurricular areas, to the national program for this honor. Students who have previously been named to Who’s Who cannot be nominated again.
Students selected will receive personalized certificates, local and national publicity and inclusion in the 2009-2010 edition of “Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges.”
Who’s Who recipients will further be recognized during the Kevin D. Knight Leadership Awards Ceremony in late April.
Nominations with student signature must be received by Student Involvement & Leadership Development no later than Wednesday, Dec. 16. Late nominations cannot be considered.
Contact Rob Budach at rbudach@niu.edu or by phone at (815) 753-6511 for more information.
The NIU Division of International Programs is accepting applications for Lillian Cobb Faculty Travel Fellowships, supporting faculty members who seek international teaching and public service experiences.
All tenured or tenure-track faculty members at NIU are eligible to apply.
Proposals for the 2009-2010 academic year (the period from Jan.1 to Aug. 15, 2010) must be submitted to the Division of International Programs by Feb. 5, 2010. Applicants will be notified whether they have received an award by March 15.
Each year, the specific priorities of the Cobb Faculty Travel Fellowship program can be adjusted to support particular aspects of the strategic plan and mission.
Priority funding consideration this year will be given to proposals that support the creation of new faculty-led study abroad programs by providing travel funds for faculty to visit potential new venues. The division is particularly interested in proposals for programs that will serve students or academic departments that are underrepresented in study abroad at NIU.
Grantees will be expected to explore logistic needs and requirements and to firm up any arrangements with local providers, colleagues and/or institutions.
A total of $6,000 is available to be awarded in this cycle. International Programs expects to award three or more grants from the Cobb endowment, with the maximum award to be $2,000. Except for extraordinary circumstances, a match of 20 percent is expected from the faculty member’s department and/or college.
Last year’s recipients were Professor Andrea Molnar in Department of Anthropology (Bangkok); Professor Sinclair Bell in the School of Art (Germany); Professor Federico Sciammarella in the Department of Mechanical Engineering (Italy); and Professor Rodrigo Villanueva in Jazz Studies (Mexico).
The travel fellowship was established with an endowment from the estate of Lillian Cobb, the first chair of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures.
A retirement party for Pat Foster has been scheduled from 2 to 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29, in the Clara Sperling Sky Room in the Holmes Student Center.
Foster began working in the University Bookstore in 1995 and has been responsible for the custom publishing service for faculty.
A retirement party for Marsha Hogeveen, office support specialist in Student Financial Aid, is planned for 2 to 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30.
The party will be held in Room 245 of Swen Parson Hall. Enter through the Scholarship Department. Light snacks and beverages will be served.
NIU Athletics will host a three-mile run/walk next month to raise money and awareness for cancer research in honor of the late NCAA President Myles Brand, who died Sept. 16 from pancreatic cancer.
Athletes, coaches, staff, students and community will come together with universities across the nation Saturday, Nov. 7, to participate in the “Miles for Myles” race for cancer.
All are invited to attend the 10 a.m. race at the NIU Soccer and Track & Field Complex. A $1 donation from each participant is sought. Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. at the complex’s concession area.
Proceeds raised will be donated to three organizations fighting cancer: Coaches vs. Cancer (NABC), the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund and The Myles Brand Endowed Chair for Cancer Research at the Indiana University School of Medicine.
The event is open to anyone who wishes to participate. Free parking will be available at the Convocation Center. For more information, call Janaan Mickey at (815) 753-7370.
NIU’s Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language & Literacy will host a November seminar series on Response to Intervention (RtI). These informative and engaging talks will begin at either 4 or 4:30 p.m.
For more information, call (815) 753-5793.
NIU students are invited to participate in a juried art competition with a $1,000 prize for the first place piece, $500 for second place and $250 for third.
The competition is sponsored by NIU’s Center for Governmental Studies (CGS) in preparation of its 40th anniversary celebration. CGS is a public service, applied research and public policy development center with clients throughout the region and beyond.
CGS is hosting a conference of regional leaders Dec. 10 and Dec. 11 focused on how the region can adjust to the new economic realities of the 21st century and how area residents can prosper within these realities.
The art competition reflects the focus of this event and should interpret its theme of “Returning Prosperity to America’s Heartland: Building a Shared Vision for our Region’s Future.”
Art work must be submitted by Tuesday, Dec. 8. Submitted work will be displayed during the conference. The jury panel will include faculty members of NIU’s School of Art and a CGS representative.
Winning pieces will be incorporated into the conference proceedings and provide an important and unique visual component to the event. The winning artists will be invited to a gala dinner and celebration scheduled for Friday, March 5, 2010.
Details on the art competition, including rules, regulations and registration forms, are online.
The Division of International Programs will host its Fall 2009 Brown Bag Series from noon to 1 p.m. Thursdays in Faraday West, Room 300.
Attendees are invited to bring lunch and listen to speakers covering a variety of topics such as international perspectives, cultural diversity and study abroad experiences.
Upcoming lunches:
For other details, contact Heesun Majcher, director of the International Student and Faculty Office, at (815) 753-8275 or hmajcher@niu.edu.