Several Local Groups Also Announce Their Support for Gov. Blagojevich’s Landmark ‘All Kids’ Proposal That Would Give Parents of Nearly 5,000 Children Throughout the Region Access to Affordable Health Coverage
GALESBURG – Delivering on his State of the State pledge to address the important needs facing the health care industry, Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich’s Opportunity Returns program today announced $215,000 to support health care training in the West Central region that will address pressing nursing shortages in the local workforce and improve the quality of health care provided to its citizens. Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) Director Jack Lavin made the announcement today at Galesburg Works alongside health care and educational leaders from throughout the region who also were in attendance to demonstrate their firm support for the Governor’s new program, All Kids, to provide comprehensive health insurance for every child in Illinois.
“Ensuring quality, accessible, and affordable health care in Western Illinois goes hand-in-hand with fostering a better quality of life for our working families. The shortages we are experiencing in the nursing industry today put a real strain on hospitals and patients alike. The Critical Skills Shortage Initiative is addressing this challenge by bringing the region’s educational, health care and business leaders together to develop new tools and resources that will put more nurses on the frontlines in hospitals, clinics and long-term care facilities. But we also must expand health care coverage. Nearly 5,000 children in this region are without health insurance, and most of them belong to hard working families who simply don’t earn enough to pay for private health insurance. The All Kids program makes affordable, quality health care available to every child in Illinois, and, when combined with grassroots efforts such as these, dramatically improves the health care delivery system in our state,” Gov. Blagojevich said.
Local hospitals and clinics currently do not have the necessary talent pool of registered nurses and licensed practical nurses to meet demand, and, if these shortages are not addressed, they will only get worse as older workers retire. The Governor’s Critical Skills Shortage Initiative (CSSI) is a grassroots effort to strengthen the local health care industry by ensuring that there is a steady pipeline of trained nurses to meet the projected demand in hospitals, clinics and long-term care facilities across the region.
Specifically, CSSI will help address the nursing shortage through two key measures:
1.) Provide education and training to ten nursing students enrolled in the Registered Nursing (RN) program at John Wood Community College in Quincy.
2.) Link Master’s-prepared nurses, currently employed at major hospitals across the region, with nursing programs needing qualified instructors to create additional slots for more students to receive nursing training. By creating more slots and enrolling more students into nursing programs, 150 new Registered Nurses will be added to the field.
In total, the CSSI investment will add 160 new registered nurses to the local health care field over the next two years.
CSSI, which has gotten national attention and is being replicated by the state of Indiana, has been one of Gov. Blagojevich’s top Opportunity Returns priorities. The $215,000 workforce investment announced today follows a $282,000 grant awarded last year to launch a basic manufacturing skills program to equip individuals with foundational manufacturing skills, a flexible and customized machinists and CNC operator training program, an incumbent worker training program to upgrade the skills of existing workers and a flexible and customized training program for welders. An earlier $170,000 planning grant was used by stakeholders from throughout the region, including the Local Workforce Investment Board, area employers, economic development professionals, educators and service providers, to identify industry sectors, and specific occupations within those sectors, where there are current or projected shortages of skilled workers.
The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) is administering the West Central region’s Critical Skills Shortage Initiative (CSSI).
“Gov. Blagojevich’s Critical Skills Shortage Initiative will continue to expand opportunity in our workforce and ensure that quality and reliable patient care is never jeopardized. But the Governor and I believe that as we help create new career opportunities for workers across the region, we also must provide them with a better support system, and affordable health insurance is at the top of the list. The All Kids program will provide working parents with the piece of mind to know that when their child needs medical care, they won't have to worry about how to cover the costs, and that's something we can't afford to do without," State Senator John Sullivan (D-Rushville) said.
“Gov. Blagojevich’s Critical Skills Shortage Initiative is such an innovative economic development tool because it uses our educational resources to strengthen workforce training. By bringing together health care providers and regional educational institutions to pool their expertise and resources, we are making nursing training programs more available, accessible and effective. In doing so, we’re training more nursing students to take advantage of great career opportunities and become skilled health care professionals,” said Blanche Shoup, Director of LWIA 14, which includes Galesburg Works, a community-based center established by the Governor to address the transition needs of workers and their families who have lost their jobs through plant closings in the area. Since its opening more than a year ago, Galesburg Works has served more than 1,700 people.
The Critical Skills Shortage Initiative combines the knowledge and resources of countless partners throughout the West Central region, which encompasses Adams, Brown, Henderson, Hancock, Knox, McDonough, Pike, Schuyler and Warren counties, including:
Local Workforce Investment Boards: The Workforce Investment Board of Western Illinois (LWIA 14).
Health Care Partners: Barry Community Care, Blessing Hospital in Quincy, Carthage Memorial Hospital, Community Medical Center in Monmouth, Cottage Home Options, LLC in Galesburg, Culbertson Memorial Hospital in Rushville, Galesburg Cottage Hospital, Good Samaritan Home in Quincy, Hancock County Shelter Care Home in Augusta, Heartland Health Care, Illini Manors, Inc., La Harpe Hospital Association, McDonough District Hospital in Macomb, Memorial Hospital Association, Inc. in Carthage, Midwest Family Medical Care in Carthage, Monmouth Nursing Home, North Adams Home in Quincy, Oak Lane Nursing & Rehab Corp. in Stronghurst, OSF Healthcare System in Galesburg, OSF St. Mary’s Hospital in Galesburg, Pittsfield Health Care Center, Prairie City Health Care, Quincy Medical Group, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Sunset Home in Quincy, Transitions of Western Illinois in Quincy, Western Illinois Area Agency on Aging in Quincy, Western Illinois Home Health Care in Monmouth and Western Illinois Managed Home Services Inc in Galesburg.
Educational Partners: Carl Sandburg College in Galesburg, John Wood Community College in Quincy and Spoon River College in Canton.
Over the past two and a half years, the Blagojevich Administration has worked to expand health coverage for low-income, working parents and their children. Since January of 2003, 170,000 more children in Illinois received health insurance, and Illinois is now ranked as the second best state in the nation by the Kaiser Family Foundation for providing health care to children who need it (Illinois is also now the top ranked state in the nation for providing health care to adults who need it).
Despite these gains, there are still uninsured children in every corner of the state and nearly 5,000 across the West Central region. Based on adjusted 2003 Census data, there are an estimated 1,280 uninsured children in Adams County, 1,138 in Knox County, 704 in McDonough County, 486 in Pike County, 444 in Warren County, 418 in Hancock County, 225 in Henderson County, 154 in Schuyler County and 102 in Brown County.
Recently, Governor Blagojevich introduced a landmark program to provide comprehensive health care for every child in Illinois. All Kids would make Illinois the first state in the nation to make this promise to its children. State Senate President Emil Jones and House Speaker Michael J. Madigan have signed on as the lead sponsors of legislation creating the All Kids health insurance program and have vowed to push for its passage during the upcoming fall veto session so the program can be up and running by July 1, 2006.
Participants in the new program will pay monthly premiums and co-payments for doctors’ visits and prescriptions, but unlike private insurance that is too expensive for so many families, the rates for All Kids coverage will be based on a family’s income. The state is able to offer All Kids insurance coverage at much lower than market rates for middle-income families by leveraging the significant negotiating and buying power it already has through Medicaid. Medicaid is a federal and state funded program that provides medical coverage for individuals and families with low incomes and resources.
The turnout of local leaders and community groups announcing their strong support for the All Kids program included AFL-CIO peer-to-peer counselor Dave Brevard, the Carver Community Action Agency and Executive Director Jeannie Shelton, City of Barry Economic Development Director Bob Dieker, Central Illinois Building Trades, Galesburg Chamber of Commerce and President Bob Maus, Kinderhook Mayor Hank Walton, Knox County Board Chair Janet Occhi, Knox County Regional Office of Education and Superintendent Bonnie Harris, Knox County Area Project, Macomb School District #185, Quincy Business and Technology Center Executive Director Les McKenzie, Quincy Housing Authority Executive Director George Harper III, former Quincy Mayor Charles Scholz and Quincy Township Supervisor Steve Schrage.
“By bringing together the region’s stakeholders who work day-in and day-out in the local health care industry, we can craft innovative solutions that will make an enormous impact in this community. The Critical Skills Shortage Initiative is using a creative method to build a more dynamic workforce in the 21st Century, and the Governor’s All Kids proposal will support those workers by helping ensure their children will no longer be forced to go without quality, affordable health care. These are grassroots initiatives to ensure a stronger, better future for working families in Illinois and a real testament to Gov. Blagojevich’s innovative leadership,” DCEO Director Jack Lavin said.
Gov. Blagojevich’s Opportunity Returns regional economic development strategy is the most aggressive, comprehensive approach to creating jobs in Illinois’ history. Since a one-size-fits-all approach to economic development just doesn’t work, the Governor has divided the state into 10 regions – each with a regional team that is empowered and expected to rapidly respond to opportunities and challenges. Opportunity Returns is about tangible, specific actions to make each region more accessible, more marketable, more entrepreneurial and more attractive to businesses. It is about upgrading the skills of the local workforce, increasing the access to capital, opening new markets, improving infrastructure, and creating and retaining jobs. Opportunity Returns is about successfully partnering with companies and communities, both large and small, to help all of Illinois reach its economic potential.