Alcance/REACH US

HealthVisions Midwest

Lead: Raquel Castro

Goal: The CDC funds the Alcance/REACH US program. The program focuses on decreasing racial and ethnic disparities among minority populations. It offers services for pregnancy assistance, community referrals and Spanish interpretation. The main goal is to decrease the Hispanic infant mortality in Lake County; however, we provide assistance to everyone regardless of ethnicity or race. In doing so we contribute to bettering the health of everyone in Northwest Indiana.

The program has a direct service component that assists pregnant women in accessing healthcare with a larger-picture focus that will advocate for a greater systemic change within the community.

To this end, the REACH/Alcance Coalition's purpose is to engage leadership within the local Hispanic community that will be a driving force to achieve change in our communities. The Coalition will work with community leaders, partners and collaborators who will help us in reaching our goals and help the overarching CDC's REACH U.S. goal to decrease health disparities.

Downloads: Please see the Alcance flyer.

Website: http://reach-alcance.org

Breast and Cervical Cancer Program

HealthVisions Midwest

Lead: Quinnesia Bell

The Indiana Breast and Cervical Cancer Program (BCCP) is a statewide public health program dedicated to saving lives and reducing the devastating effects of breast and cervical cancer for Indiana women.

The BCCP provides women with high-quality screening and diagnostic services to detect breast and cervical cancer at the earliest most treatable stages.

BCCP provides FREE clinical breast exams, mammograms and Pap test to women 40 -64 who meet the program qualifications as well as diagnostic testing for women whose screening outcome is abnormal. BCCP serves between 6,000 and 7,000 women annually. Eligibility is limited to women who are at or below 200% of the federal poverty level, 40-64 years of age, and uninsured or underinsured.

Contact: Call the Northwest Regional BCCP office at HealthVisions Midwest today for more information about BCCP at (219) 844-2698 ext. 103 & 104.

Additional Information: Indiana Family Helpline at (855) 435-HELP-1^ST or (855) 435-7178 or visit Indiana Department of Health.

Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP)

HealthVisions Midwest

Lead: Sr. Margaret Anne Henss, PHJC

The program provides financial assistance and services to either prevent individuals and families from becoming homeless or help those who are experiencing homelessness to be quickly re-housed and stabilized.  The local Grantee for the funds is the Continuum of Care Network (COC) for Gary, Hammond and East Chicago, Indiana.  HealthVisions Midwest administers the funds for the COC.

Maternal Child Health Network of Lake County

HealthVisions Midwest

Lead: Clementine Dubose and Sharon McGuire

Goal: The care coordination services of the Maternal Child Health Network agencies are State and Federally funded projects with the goal of reducing the infant mortality in Lake County, Indiana.  Our Missions are to assist women in having healthy babies, reduce infant deaths, reduce low birth weight, and establish ongoing preventive health services for children.  These services will be administered professionally and with respect, dignity, courtesy and compassion, regardless of sex, age, creed, religion or culture.  HealthVisions Midwest sponsors three sites Great Beginnings and NATALE in Gary, Indiana and Promotres de Salud Maternal e Infantil in East Chicago, Indiana.

Downloads: Prenatal Coordination Service

Mom's Taking Charge

HealthVisions Midwest

Lead: Sr. Annemarie Kampwerth, PHJC

Funded by: The Foundations of East Chicago

"Mom's Taking Charge" helps families learn how to become self-sufficient in the face of multiple crises. The partners in collaboration are Salvation Army, Healthy East Chicago, Ivy Tech Community College, Haven House, East Chicago Courts and HealthVisions Midwest.

This program uses the concept of the Family Support Specialist (FSS) to work directly with local families over a length of time to help them build family assets. The FSS is a local, community person who serves in a paraprofessional fashion. The FSS provides outreach to families that normally might not seek out services, working within community settings such as grocery stores, local businesses, beauty shops, churches, and other natural congregational spaces to recruit families. This model is similar to the Community Health Worker model and is ideal in that it builds trust between service provider and families in need, thus increasing the potential for families to follow-up on referred services. The other key element of the program is developing a comprehensive continuum of local service providers.