[IMC] Press Release: Celebrating Our Immigrant-Friendly Healthcare Providers & Advocates

[Megan Flowers]

Press Release
*For Immediate Release*
November 2, 2015

For media inquiries, contact: The CU Immigration Forum
[info at cuimmigrationforum.org; 217-337-1500]
*ENSURING HEALTHCARE **FOR ALL ILLINOISANS*
*CU Immigration Forum Celebrates Immigrant-Friendly *
*Healthcare Providers, Continues the Conversation *

[November 10, 2015; Champaign County, IL] The CU Immigration Forum
announces that ensuring access to quality healthcare for all Illinoisans
has officially become another key component of their Immigrant Friendly
Communities Campaign. As of October 14, the CU Immigration Forum Steering
Committee has officially endorsed the Healthy Illinois Campaign, which aims
to insure all Illinoisans, despite a person’s documentation status. The CU
Immigration Forum has endorsed the Healthy Illinois Campaign with the
understanding that expanding health insurance coverage to all Illinoisans
will benefit the entire state by promoting positive health outcomes, family
financial stability, and a more secure Illinois economy.

To celebrate the immigrant-friendly work of our local healthcare providers
and agencies and to kick off the Healthy Illinois Campaign locally, the CU
Immigration Forum will host the Immigrant Friendly Health Fair & Forum on
Tuesday, November 10, 2015. The event will take place from 5pm to 8pm at
the Unitarian Universalist Church of Champaign-Urbana, 309 W. Green Street,
Urbana, Illinois.

We Celebrate & Recognize We Can Do More: Local governments, institutions
and agencies work hard to provide and ensure quality primary and
preventative healthcare to residents of Champaign County, despite a
person’s income level, documentation status or English language
proficiency. In celebration, the CU Immigration Forum would like to lift up
the immigrant-friendly work that takes place in our local, healthcare
service and advocacy settings; such as the tireless commitment of agencies
like Avicenna, Promise Healthcare and the Champaign County Healthcare
Consumers. However, it is our local non-profit agencies who are the most
burdened with providing healthcare to their remaining uninsured residents,
of whom are largely undocumented immigrants. Uninsured residents will
eventually, by age or accident, find themselves in emergency rooms and the
uncompensated care health system. The State of Illinois has an interest in
providing primary and preventative care early, rather than more expensive
and intrusive care when it is too late.

The Fair & Forum: At the event, all residents of Champaign County are
welcome to receive free medical screenings, information about healthcare
resources such as free medical clinics and attend presentations on
navigating the healthcare marketplace, dealing with culture shock and
transitioning as a newcomer, and getting connected with low-cost
immigration legal assistance. Childcare will be provided at the
event. Assistance in Spanish, French and English will be provided.

During the Fair, Healthy Illinois will host a community forum on ensuring
Illinois’s future by insuring all Illinoisans from 7pm to 8pm, which will
take place in the Children’s Fellowship Hall of the Unitarian Universalist
Church of Champaign-Urbana. The mission of the Healthy Illinois Campaign is
to make quality, affordable health care coverage accessible to all people
in Illinois. For more information about Healthy Illinois, please click here
<https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzNZGcWYUaaCRDVzNHlGa08xUWtyLVFMQkk2YWk1Zk9PMTdF/view?usp=sharing>for
a one page overview. For further questions, please contact Campaign
Director Jesse Hoyt of the Healthy Illinois Campaign [(773)507-4809;
jessehoyt at healthyillinoiscampaign.org].

Immigrant-Friendly Fair & Forum events:
Fellowship Hall: 5pm to 8pm
-Free Healthcare Screenings
-Immigrant-Friendly Health & Community Resource Booths

Children’s Fellowship Hall: 5:30pm to 8pm
5:30pm Navigating the Healthcare System
6:00pm Connecting to Low-Cost Immigration Legal Assistance
6:30pm Dealing with Culture Shock & Transitioning
7:00pm Healthy Illinois: Ensuring Health Care Access to All Illinoisans

Sponsors of the Immigrant-Friendly Health Fair & Forum include: Frances
Nelson Health Center, Healthy Illinois, Avicenna, Smile Healthy, Illinois
Breast and Cervical Cancer Association, HeRMES, Champaign County Health
Care Consumers, The Immigration Project, University YMCA, The CU
Immigration Forum, Social Action Committee of the Unitarian Universalist
Church of Champaign-Urbana, Champaign County Christian Health Center,
Congolese Community of Champaign County

For more information, including access to event flyers in Spanish, French,
& English, visit: www.cuimmigrationforum.org

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