Aurora-based VNA Health Care has been recognized as one of the top-performing community health centers in the nation.
The recognition, which puts VNA in the top 20% nationwide for overall clinical quality, comes from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration, along with several other awards from the group, according to a VNA news release.
“We are honored to receive this recognition that places us among the nation’s top community health centers for care quality,” Linnea Windel, VNA Health Care president and CEO, said in the release.
In total, the community health center won the Health Center Quality Leader award, the National Quality Leader – Heart Health award, the National Quality Leader – Diabetes Health award, the High-Value Care award, the Preventive Health award, the Advancing Health Information Technology for Quality award and the Improving Access to Care award from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration, the news release showed.
The Health Center Quality Leader award highlights the organization’s clinical outcomes, which ranked in the top 20% of the nation’s nearly 1,400 Federally Qualified Health Centers, according to the news release.
The National Quality Leader awards showcases VNA’s success in managing chronic conditions, notably heart disease and diabetes, the release said.
The High-Value Care and Preventive Health awards recognize strong outcomes, cost control and effective screenings for cancer and other conditions, officials said in the news release.
VNA was also honored for expanding telehealth and patient engagement through the Advancing Health IT for Quality badge, and for reaching more patients and expanding essential services through the Improving Access to Care badge, according to the news release.
Officials said in the release that, over the past year, VNA has continued to meet increasing community need by expanding its diabetes and prenatal care services, improving access and outcomes for a growing patient population.
The organization has also continued to make major strides in preventive health, increasing screenings that enable early detection and treatment of life-threatening diseases, the news release said. It significantly increased the number of patients screened for colorectal cancer, breast cancer and HIV, according to the release.
VNA Health Care is the largest community health center in the Chicago suburbs, providing care and services to nearly 90,000 patients each year, officials said in the news release. It has served people regardless of insurance status or ability to pay for more than 100 years and has 15 health centers located in Aurora, Bensenville, Bolingbrook, Carol Stream, Elgin, Joliet, Romeoville, Villa Park and Wheaton, officials with VNA said.
