Partners Linking Together to Provide Health & Wellness in Kane County

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What is KCHAIN?

The Kane Community Health Access Integrated Network (KCHAIN) was created in 2004 to build an integrated health provider network to serve the growing need for affordable health care to low-income residents. Convened by the Kane County Health Department, KCHAIN consists of Kane County health providers and advocates, including the five hospitals, three of the federally qualified health care centers (FQHCs), a free clinic, two health consortia, faith-based and community representation. KCHAIN was awarded a federal Healthy Communities Access grant (HCAP) in 2004, allowing KCHAIN to initiate and sustain initiatives focused on improving health access. KCHAIN leverages resources of the Federally Qualified Health Clinics (PHS 330s) and other community-based health care clinics to provide sustainable, high-quality, culturally competent, primary and specialty health care.

 

Why does Kane County need KCHAIN?

Kane County is the fifth largest and fifth fastest growing county in Illinois with a population of 482,113 in 2005.  Of the areas residents 36% are uninsured, underinsured or publicly insured.  According to the 2005 Fox Valley United Way Needs Assessment 58% (94,066) of residents in southern Kane County and 39% (37,875) of Elgin residents identified access to affordable health insurance and affordable health care as strong concern. A KCHAIN study of Kane County emergency department visits revealed that the conditions that were most often presented at the hospital emergency departments could have been avoided if medication and primary, preventive health care had been accessible to the patients. Chronic disease is often a root cause of these visits: in Kane County hospitalizations for uncontrolled hypertension increased 42% over the past 5 years; in the same time period there has been an 11% increase in deaths from stroke, and 25% of adult residents report having high cholesterol. ALL of these conditions can be addressed with appropriate medication and treatment through a “Medical Home”.