Greater Elgin Family Care Center recognized for clinical excellence

ELGIN – Greater Family Health, at 373 Summit St., Elgin, was recognized as a National Health Center Quality Leader was recognized by the Bureau of Primary Health Care Clinical Indicators for outcomes in 2021, officials announced in a news release.

Greater Family Health – formerly known as Greater Elgin Family Care Center – is the area’s premier federally qualified health center, providing a comprehensive range of high-quality, affordably-priced, fully-integrated primary care services to almost 59,000 area residents regardless of the patient’s ability to pay. It provides over 189,000 medical, behavioral health and dental appointments annually.

The agency operates 11 community health centers in five northeastern Illinois counties, the organization is accredited by The Joint Commission, Primary Care Medical Home certified, repeatedly nationally recognized for both its health outcomes and cost efficiency.

Greater Family Health’s clinical outcomes are ranked in the top 10% of all federally qualified health centers in the U.S. and Illinois, for the ninth consecutive year.

The Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration recognized Greater Family Health with four national awards Aug. 29: Health Center Quality Leader – Gold – the highest possible award level; Advancing Health Information Technology for Quality; Patient-Centered Medical Home; Federal Tort Claims Act Deemed Health Center.

Greater Family Health’s clinical outcomes ranked in the top 10% of the country’s 1,373 reporting federally qualified health centers, resulting in the Health Center Quality Leader – Gold Award.

Greater Family Health has received the National Health Center Quality Leader Award for nine consecutive years, and the Advancing Health Information Technology for Quality Award every year it has been offered, the release stated.

Greater Family Health also remains a 2017 Million Hearts Hypertension Control Champion, a five-year honor, awarded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Coupled with comparison reports issued on Aug. 8, the awards show that that Greater Family Health’s clinical, patient satisfaction and financial outcomes are far better than other health centers,’ both in the state and nationally, the release stated.

President and CEO Bob Tanner stated in the release that “2021 was a year of adjustment and change.”

“I’m so proud of all our professionals for their ongoing and remarkable efforts that result in these many awards, yet again, including our care being nationally recognized for the 9th consecutive year,” Tanner stated in the release. “It’s an understatement to express my heartfelt thanks to all our employees. I’m deeply respectful of, and frankly in awe, of their ongoing devotion and pursuit of excellence that makes Greater Family Health a valued, trusted and reliable community resource.”

The released comparison data indicate that Greater Family Health also has the third lowest cost per patient of the 45 federally qualified health centers in Illinois.

“As it always has, Greater Family Health continues to provide value,” Tanner stated in the release. “With our quality of care being objectively measured among the best in the Country, and our costs so low and our patient satisfaction so consistently very high, one can easily see that Greater Family Health is not only a trusted source of quality care, but a real value for all concerned.”

The quarterly patient satisfaction survey results and comments can be found online at greaterfamilyhealth.org.