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| 1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The Illinois Association of Free & Charitable | ||||||
| 3 | Clinics improves access to quality healthcare for low-income | ||||||
| 4 | individuals who are uninsured or underinsured by strengthening | ||||||
| 5 | free and charitable clinics, fostering partnerships, educating | ||||||
| 6 | the public, and advocating for health policy; and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, Free and charitable clinics have a mission to | ||||||
| 8 | serve the uninsured and underinsured by providing a range of | ||||||
| 9 | healthcare services including medical, dental, pharmaceutical, | ||||||
| 10 | and mental and behavioral health; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, Free and charitable clinics provide community | ||||||
| 12 | health education classes on a wide range of topics including | ||||||
| 13 | diabetes, hypertension, diet, exercise, home health, and | ||||||
| 14 | medicine administration; and | ||||||
| 15 | WHEREAS, It is estimated that 896,000 Illinois residents | ||||||
| 16 | and 32.3 million Americans were uninsured in 2016; Illinois has | ||||||
| 17 | the 8th highest uninsured population in the country, with 10.6% | ||||||
| 18 | of people ages 18-64 in the state uninsured; and
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| 19 | WHEREAS, The Illinois Association of Free and Charitable | ||||||
| 20 | Clinics operates over 40 free and charitable clinics across | ||||||
| 21 | Illinois located in both rural and urban areas of the state, | ||||||
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| 1 | providing over 83,000 visits to approximately 68,000 patients | ||||||
| 2 | annually; and
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| 3 | WHEREAS, Doctors, nurses, and other healthcare | ||||||
| 4 | professionals provide more than 150,000 hours of volunteer | ||||||
| 5 | medical care every year in Illinois; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, Free and charitable clinics in Illinois are truly | ||||||
| 7 | an invaluable resource for Illinois residents who are without | ||||||
| 8 | insurance or are underinsured; these clinics provide access to | ||||||
| 9 | life-saving medical care that would otherwise be unavailable or | ||||||
| 10 | more costly; therefore, be it
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| 11 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL | ||||||
| 12 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare August of | ||||||
| 13 | 2018 as "Free and Charitable Clinic Month" in the State of | ||||||
| 14 | Illinois in order to create community awareness of the mission | ||||||
| 15 | and availability of free and charitable clinics across the | ||||||
| 16 | state so that residents who are without insurance or are | ||||||
| 17 | underinsured can receive access to vital medical care; and be | ||||||
| 18 | it further
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| 19 | RESOLVED, That we express our gratitude and admiration for | ||||||
| 20 | the important work the many free and charitable clinics, | ||||||
| 21 | volunteer doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals | ||||||
| 22 | do for our great citizens throughout the State of Illinois; and | ||||||
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| 1 | be it further | ||||||
| 2 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 3 | presented to the Illinois Association of Free & Charitable | ||||||
| 4 | Clinics as a symbol of our respect and esteem.
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