Will-Grundy Medical Clinic gets $70,000 grant

The Will-Grundy Medical Clinic in Joliet has announced that it received a $70,000 grant that will be used to hire a staff nurse and support operations.

The grant is from the VNA Foundation, which supports community-based health services for the medically underserved in the Chicago metropolitan area.

“The support from the VNA Foundation will help us to sustain our mission and continue this needed work serving Will and Grundy counties,” Will-Grundy Medical Clinic Executive Director Shawn Marconi said in a news release announcing the grant. “VNA’s support helps to make life-saving care available in our community.”

The funds will support the Health Partnership, a collaborative network between the Will-Grundy Medical Clinic, local Federally Qualified Health Centers, local hospitals, physicians and other health organizations, the release said. The Will-Grundy Medical Clinic screens and registers new patients for the network.

The Will-Grundy Medical Clinic has provided health care for more than 34 years to the uninsured, underinsured, and those temporarily without access to health care.

Will and Grundy counties combined have more than 50,000 uninsured residents, the release said.

Since 1996, the VNA Foundation has awarded more than $53 million to nearly 300 different nonprofit agencies throughout the Chicago area, the release said. During the most recent funding cycle, the VNA Foundation awarded a total of $950,000 in grants.

The VNA Foundation has its roots in the historic Visiting Nurse Association of Chicago, which was founded in 1890. The VNA gives priority grant consideration to programs in which care is provided by nurses.