Federal cutbacks slice into Children’s Clinic in Oak Park

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A venerable community health center in Oak Park lost a significant federal grant that would have helped it expand health care needs to low-income families.

And local health care providers are worried about the impact of more federal cuts.

The Children’s Clinic recently learned it would not receive $650,000 to expand health care to adults and children after the federal government whittled away $200 million to assist similar health clinics around the country. More federal cuts were expected next year, according to the clinic’s administrator.

“With the budget in crisis at the federal level, funding has really been slashed,” said Elizabeth Lippitt, executive director of the Children’s Clinic.

“We’re all in the business of providing services to the poor, and we’re already stretched. In these federal budget decisions, often poor people don’t have a voice,” she said.

The clinic provides medical, dental and social services to children in Chicago and 50 Cook County suburbs whose families cannot afford private health care. The clinic’s first year was 1916.

Services for children at birth to 18 years old will continue, but Lippitt was hoping extra federal money would have brought more medical help for adults.

“Expanding adult services makes sense because we have adults coming in here with their children to see our staff,” she said.

About 12 percent of the clinic’s patients are uninsured children, who will still receive care, but the federal funding would have eased paying for services.

“We’ll have to fund-raise more,” she said. The clinic receives support from the Oak Park River Forest Infant Welfare Society as well as other local charitable organizations.

Lippitt said the $650,000 originally earmarked for Children’s Clinic, but later cut, would have enabled the clinic to set a higher Medicaid reimbursement rate, apply for capital improvement loans, gain more liability insurance and reimburse social workers.

She also said added funding could have provided a practitioner nurse to west suburban PADS facilities twice a week to help the homeless, in particular a Cicero agency that assisted homeless children and adults.

Looking ahead, Lippitt believed the federal government could revamp Medicaid by funding it with block grants, thus putting more pressure on states to obtain them.

“With block grants, you can’t provide the same high number of services, and Medicaid for kids is very broad in Illinois, so eligibility is wider,” Lippitt said.

“All groups across the country would then compete for the same money pot.”

She explained another option regarding federal cuts to community health-care centers — setting funding caps.

“States setting their own caps to stop assistance with patients still coming in the door? This is a scary time,” she said, adding the current federal cuts could reduce her full- and part-time staff of 25.

State Sen. Don Harmon, D-39th, said he was disappointed federal legislators were targeting community health care facilities, such as Children’s Clinic.

“I confess I’m not part of the these decisions made in Washington, D.C. There’s been a constant clamor from the media and citizens to cut government spending. So funds are cut from community centers and other places that help people without resources. This is the dichotomy of clamoring for cuts,” Harmon said.

Congressman Danny Davis could not be reached for comment.

In Illinois, the initial federal funding was meant for 300 health centers across the country, but it was reduced to 67.

Two funding awards went to Illinois centers — one in Chicago serving migrant workers and another in downstate Carlinville.

This year, the Oak Park clinic provided more than 9,400 medical and dental visits and 1,500 social work visits. About 20 percent of the its patients live in Oak Park.

For more information about Children’s Clinic, visit our www.childrenscliniciws.org.