The TriCounty Community Health Center is located on the Kishwaukee College campus in Malta, IL. The NIU center is an academic nursing center staffed and managed by nurses and nurse practitioners. The center provides affordable, primary health care to low income, uninsured, underinsured, and Medicaid families of DeKalb, Ogle and Lee counties. Any resident of the three counties may be seen at the center and fees are calculated on a sliding scale based on income. The center serves a large rural, primarily Caucasian and Latino population. The center has been awarded the first annual Illinois Nurses Association Award for Innovation in Improving Access to Care in 1996. In 1999 the center received a prestigious Premier Cares Award for demonstrating excellence in serving the medically underserved.
A $500,000 federal grant received in 2002 renovated the clincal facilities of Tri County. This renovation modernized and enhanced the health care services Tri County offers.
Services provided include physical exams, diagnosis and treatment of illness, and health maintenance/disease prevention services. The center provides outreach services including casefinding and referral, screenings for disease and health promotion targeted to high risk populations. Target groups include the homeless, domestic violence victims, Latino community members and other at risk groups. The center also operates a satellite clinic which provides primary care. Onsite school physical clinics are offered to schools in the tri-county area during late summer and early fall. The center has served 14,000 patients in the last 8 years of operation. Of these patients, 40% are Hispanic and 88% are working poor with little or no health benefits. The center has demonstrated remarkable outcomes in improving access to to care, treatment of hypertension and diabetes, and consumer satisfaction. The center operates full time with evening hours to accommodate the working poor.
One of TriCounty's major missions is providing clinical experience for students in primary care, community health nursing and rural nursing. Students from associate degree, baccalaureate degree, graduate nursing programs and family nurse practitioner programs participate in providing services at the center.
Faculty of Northern Illinois University School of Nursing utilize the center for practice and research in primary care, school health, college health promotion and community health nursing. Research conducted at the center has included differentiated nursing in primary care, consumer satisfaction with nurse managed care, and HIV/STD prevention among college students.
TriCounty provides the necessary immunizations, TB skin testing and CPR classes required for participation in clinical courses at Northern Illinois University School of Nursing. Click here for more information on this program.
Only 1/3 of operating costs are met by client fees and contracts. The center relies on donations and community support to serve students and a rapidly growing population of low-income and underserved community residents. Donations can be mailed to TriCounty Community Health Center, 21193 Malta Road, Malta, IL 60150.
TriCounty Community Health Center
Kishwaukee Community College
Malta, IL 60150
(815) 753-9010