Community Resources:Community Health and Outreach - The Spirit of Caring
Financial Assistance is Part of Our Mission
Many uninsured or underinsured patients qualify for assistance offered directly by us or by outside agencies or government programs. Our financial counselors work with these patients to help them get the assistance they need, answering questions, contacting insurance companies, setting up payment plans and facilitating loan applications. Translation services are available for non-English speakers, and we make the details of these programs available in information materials in English and Spanish and on our website. Thanks to a generous grant from one of our donors, we are able to offer short-term emergency financial assistance to patients who come to us for cancer treatment. Our Cancer Financial Assistance Fund helps ensure that families facing cancer can focus on treatment and recovery and not on the sudden financial burden of a life-threatening illness.  Reaching Out to the Community
Gwen Blakley Kinser, a retired nurse and bilingual volunteer, sees first hand how appreciative patients are. “I especially love it when they catch my eye and say ‘thank you’ in English. They’re telling us how much they appreciate that we spoke to them in their language.”
Access to Quality Care
Access @ Northwest Community– A federally qualified health center established by Access Community Health Network, with support from Northwest Community Hospital. The health clinic provides quality, affordable, primary health care services to the low-income, medically under-served residents of the Northwest Community. Vista Health Center of Cook County– A collaboration of Northwest Community and the Cook County Bureau of Health, Vista Health Center provides healthcare services to any Cook County resident regardless of ability to pay. To read more, click here. Support for the Homeless– Northwest Community supports the work of 12 homeless shelters throughout the northwest suburbs, providing volunteer medical services and donating laundry service. Sharing Knowledge, Giving Support
Children are the focus of a number of Northwest Community health education efforts. For example, we participate in Health World, a children’s museum where more than 200,000 students and families learn about health and medicine each year. Caring for Our Own
Committed to Patients with Limited Resources
Building the Area's EMS Infrastructure
“I’ve been with the EMS program since its inception, and no matter how much it’s grown, it’s never lost its personal approach. Northwest Community knows that quality patient care is ultimately a one-on-one interaction. They recognize that being a first contact in an emergency can be stressful, and they provide training, personal support and acknowledgment. I’ve worked with a lot of hospitals and Northwest Community really is different.” – John Heavey, Chief, Des Plaines Fire Department Last Updated on 05/08/08 |
To read about Northwest Community's Spirit of Caring, click on any of the topics listed below, or read about our Community Health and Outreach services by visiting the web pages at left.
As part of our mission of service, Northwest Community Hospital offers a number of programs designed to meet the needs of patients with limited resources.
Through our commitment to ensure that all people, no matter what their financial resources, have access to excellent care, Northwest Community partners with a number of local agencies and organizations to provide programs and services for our low-income neighbors. These include the 
Mobile Dental Clinic–Northwest Community Hospital launched the northwest suburbs’ first mobile dental clinic in 2003 in response to an overwhelming need for dental services for low-income residents of Elk Grove, Palatine and Wheeling townships. Dentists, hygienists and others volunteer their skills and time to treat approximately 2,800 patients each year, many of them young children and senior citizens. To read more, 
Northwest Community Hospital recognizes that education can promote health and prevent disease. We sponsor a range of free classes, support groups, health screenings and special events on topics and conditions ranging from skin cancer to managing depression. We also offer a number of activities and services for seniors, including walking clubs, blood pressure clinics and Medicare information sessions. Many of our 
Northwest Community Hospital’s commitment to service begins with our 3,900 employees and nearly 1,000 medical staff members. Through innovative benefits, Northwest Community empowers employees to be a part of the community and advance their careers in healthcare. The many benefits include a housing assistance program that contributes $5,000 toward a down payment to qualifying employees who want to buy a home within 10 miles of the hospital. This, and other benefits, helped 
“Northwest Community Hospital is a trusted medical resource for thousands of people living throughout the northwest suburbs. For those of us living in Arlington Heights, Northwest Community is far more: It is one of our village's largest employers, one of the most active corporate citizens and a true community asset. It is exciting to see how a community hospital has grown over the years to become a world-class center of medical care, education and community service - not just in Arlington Heights, but throughout the region.” – Arlene Mulder, Mayor, Arlington Heights
As part of our mission to serve the community, Northwest Community treats patients who are unable to pay for part or all of their care, providing $3.7 million in unreimbursed financial assistance each year. The Hospital’s efforts to assist patients with limited resources have been recognized by US Senator Dick Durbin.
“Through its many community outreach clinics and financial assistance programs, Northwest Community Hospital provides families the medical care they need at the level all of us expect and deserve. No hospital alone can solve the problem of a growing number of uninsured and underinsured patients, but Northwest Community certainly has demonstrated its commitment to help all patients–rich or poor, insured or not–obtain access to the best possible care.” – Dick Durbin, United States Senator
One of Northwest Community's most significant contributions to the region was the creation of the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) System, which today is used by hospitals across the country. Launched in 1972, it was the first paramedic program in Illinois and the first system to service multiple communities. Today, we continue to serve as the EMS resource hospital, training first responders within a 320-square-mile region.