Silver Cross Healthy Community Commission Celebrates 15 Years of Enhancing Quality of Life and Access to Care
Long before Silver Cross Hospital opened its New Lenox campus in early 2012, there was a plan in place to ensure continued support for residents living near the hospital’s former Joliet campus.
The plan included creating a unique organization that would provide support for education, workforce development training and enrichment activities for youth – all with the purpose of enhancing the quality of life for residents on Joliet’s east side.
“Fifteen years ago, the Silver Cross Board of Trustees, along with an incredible group of like-minded community leaders, set out to create a community-based organization like no other in our region,” said Ruth Colby , President and Chief Executive Officer of Silver Cross Hospital. “And so, in January of 2008, the Silver Cross Healthy Communities Commission (HCC) was born.”
Colby credited her friend, the late Margie Gavin Woods, who served as first chair of the HCC from 2008 to 2020, with much of its success. “Margie’s desire to care for her community was evident from the very beginning,” Colby said.
HCC Scholarships and Grants
Since 2008, the HCC has awarded over $3 million in educational scholarships, workforce development, and quality-of-life grants to numerous east side Joliet residents and organizations .
“The grants are important, because we work with organizations that are really ground level, where they can make an impact in the community they serve,” said Derrick Brown, chairman of the 14-member HCC Board of Directors . And the HCC’s scholarships have helped bolster the healthcare workforce, struggling since the pandemic, he noted.
HCC Board Member Cesar Cardenas said the commission has been an important partner with the Spanish Community Center, a critical resource for Joliet’s Hispanic community.
“The Silver Cross HCC helped provide funding for a new, upgraded computer lab,” he said. “With that, the Spanish Community Center was able to provide more ESL (English as a Second Language) classes for the community.”
And during the COVID-19 pandemic, the HCC worked with Silver Cross Hospital and the Spanish Community Center to raise awareness about COVID-19 risks and the importance of the vaccine through the production of several videos and outreach to vaccine clinics.
Redevelopment of the Hospital’s Former Campus
The HCC led the charge for the Veteran’s Administration to open a mega-outpatient clinic for area veterans in the former Silver Cross Emergency Department, as well as construction of Hope Manor Joliet. This three-story, 67-unit multi-family housing development offers affordable housing for veterans with disabilities, who were either homeless or at high risk of homelessness. Through a partnership with Volunteers of America, Hope Manor Joliet was built on eight acres donated by Silver Cross and within walking distance of the veteran’s clinic.
In 2013, Silver Cross and the HCC also brought to the former campus Aunt Martha’s, a federally qualified healthcare center, that provides medical, dental, and behavioral health services to low-income and underinsured populations.
“I am so proud of the work the HCC has accomplished in the last 15 years,” Colby said. “Not only have they provided valuable, insightful feedback used to improve access to healthcare where it’s needed most, they’ve partnered with us, every step of the way.”
But Colby added there’s still much to be done to address issues of healthcare equity in the region. “We’re not through; far from it,” Colby said. “The HCC will continue its work, long into the future, so that everyone has access to the care they need, and the future they deserve.”
In honor of its 15th anniversary, the Silver Cross Healthy Community Commission produced a commemorative video. To watch, visit the hospital’s YouTube channel or follow this direct link: https://youtu.be/M8kCByYomog
To learn more about the Silver Cross Healthy Community Commission, visit silvercross.org/hcc
