Dear Friends and Supporters:
CONNECT WITH US There are many ways to be part of the Aunt Martha’s family.
Learn More To learn more about any of the services we provide at Aunt Martha’s, get in touch: auntmarthas.org facebook.com/auntmarthas twitter.com/AuntMarthas
Donate Aunt Martha’s is a 501-c-3 and relies on your contributions to ensure that people continue to receive the services they need. donate@auntmarthas.org
Work with Us Be part of a dynamic, innovative organization. Bring your skills and passion to work at Aunt Martha’s. Aunt Martha's is an equal opportunity employer. careers@auntmarthas.org
Volunteer Aunt Martha’s was founded by volunteers and they remain a vital part of our success. Give of yourself to help those in need. volunteer@auntmarthas.org
Whether you've followed us since the beginning or this is your first introduction to Aunt Martha's, it's our hope that these pages will serve as a spark that ignites - or reignites - a flame of enthusiasm about the work we do and why we do it. Born out of the turbulence of the late 1960s, and on to our current work as a progressive coordinator of health care and social services, Aunt Martha's has always been focused on responding to the needs of the people around us. We started as a drop-in center - a very non-clinical setting - where young people could find an empathetic ear and talk about the challenges in their lives. It wasn't long before entire families, and new communities, were turning to Aunt Martha's. There were times when we were more-than-equipped to meet the needs presented to our staff. There were times when our best response was to facilitate a connection with another community agency. And there were times that required a new way of thinking about personal and family struggles that had never been holistically addressed at the community level. These were opportunities that called for leadership and innovation, both characteristics which were imbued upon Aunt Martha's and cultivated by our founders, who envisioned an organization unlike any other. Long before there was such a thing as "care coordination," there was Aunt Martha's - more connected, more comprehensive. I invite you to read on. I hope you will feel some sense of the passion that every one of our employees brings to work every day. I hope you will come away with an understanding of where we've been, where we are today and the unlimited possibilities of tomorrow. I invite you to join us on our journey.
Intern Build your experience in health care, social service and business settings. Complete your internship, externship or practicum at Aunt Martha’s. internships@auntmarthas.org
On behalf of our Board of Directors and our 1,300 employees, volunteers and interns, I welcome you to Aunt Martha's. Sincerely,
Raul Garza President and CEO Aunt Martha's rgarza@auntmarthas.org
WHO WE ARE Aunt Martha’s is a family of more than 1,300 staff and volunteers. We are health care providers, social workers, educators, counselors, and advocates. We are as diverse as the people and communities we serve.
We are parents who know what it is to have a sick, hurting or scared child. We have relied on the help of others to overcome our own challenges. We honor people’s strengths, resourcefulness and resilience. We offer compassion. We provide supportive, professional care.
We are a team – skilled and specialized. From the psychiatrist treating children in downstate Illinois, to the dental hygienist caring for a homeless person in Kane County; and from the therapist helping a youth
MOST KIDS ARE LUCKY. They don't have to worry about missing the first day of school because they haven't gotten their dental exam or their physical. They have a parent or a family member who worries about these kinds of things for them. They have someone who makes sure they get in to see the doctor when they're sick. They have someone who makes sure they are taken care of. Sadly, for many children in Illinois, this is not the case.
in crisis on the streets of Chicago, to the doctor delivering a baby in Kankakee. Our staff are the best and the brightest in the field.
We are all Care Coordinators – intensely dedicated to our patients and clients, connecting each person with exactly what they need, from the services our organization provides to the specialized care offered by our collaborating partners.
We are Aunt Martha’s.
Every year, there are hundreds of abused and neglected children who are removed from their homes in Cook County alone. The State requires that every one of those children receives comprehensive health care services; and that their first visit to the doctor's office takes place within 24 hours of entering custody and before placement into substitute care. It's Aunt Martha's job, as the lead agency of the HealthWorks of Cook County program, to make sure these children get the care they need. Our staff is responsible for recruiting primary care physicians and specialty care providers; training the medical case management agencies, DCFS staff, substitute caregivers and providers about the HealthWorks system; and managing the exchange of information between agencies. It's Aunt Martha's job to coordinate services for some of Illinois' most vulnerable children at the exact moment when they are at their most vulnerable. We believe that every patient and client deserves to be treated with the same level of compassion as these children.
Leading. Collaborating. Coordinating. Welcome to Aunt Martha's.
CARE COORDINATION IN ACTION
WHY WE ARE
Our approach to collaboration, along with our unique reputation among community health centers has given rise to new opportunities as individual hospitals and entire hospital systems have come to recognize Aunt Martha's as an essential component of the health care ecosystem. In pursuing these collaborations, Aunt Martha’s has established a new model of reciprocal sustainability, blurring - if not altogether erasing - the lines that have historically distinguished “safety net” providers from hospitals and spurring investments in solutions that make it easier and less expensive for thousands of people to find the care they need.
When Aunt Martha’s original Drop-In Center opened in 1972, it was staffed by 12 volunteers and had a budget of $2,500. After only nine months, those volunteers had responded to nearly 1,000 requests for help, handling problems related to family disturbances, runaways and drugs. It was clear - even then - that Aunt Martha's was more than a youth service center. The challenges that presented themselves often went far beyond the struggles of adolescence, and could not be explained away by any generation gap. Family issues were exposed. Community issues were brought to light. These were struggles of the human condition - of education, employment, poverty, family and social support, and personal and community safety. Then, as now, there were parents who struggled to afford health care for
Our collaboration with Presence Saint Joseph Medical Center (Joliet, IL) is this type of partnership a partnership that does more with less. Like many hospitals, Presence saw its emergency department being consistently crowded by patients who, more often than not, did not require
their children, let alone themselves. Then, as now, there were children whose only reality was one of abuse and neglect. Then, as now, there were young people who felt unprepared to cope with the responsibilities of adulthood. Then, as now, there were adults who realized that they
urgent care. Did they need to see a doctor? The answer was usually yes, but these patients did not
could only move forward by going back to school. Then, as now, there
need an emergency department. These were people who needed a medical home.
was Aunt Martha's.
Understanding the challenge confronting the Hospital's administration, Aunt Martha's proposed a
Ultimately, it is not the breadth of our services, the size of our budget or
solution far less costly than the unsustainable investment in unnecessary emergency department care.
the number of communities we serve that makes Aunt Martha's unique;
Following our lead, the Hospital invested in a model that had achieved instant and sustained success
but our willingness and eagerness to do more - to not just listen, but
since being implemented at Advocate South Suburban Hospital (Hazel Crest, IL) in 2007. The Hospital
understand; to not just support, but strengthen; to not just enlighten, but
invested in Aunt Martha’s in a medical home that is located just down the hall from the emergency
to lead; and to not just connect, but coordinate.
department. Our patients know their medical home as Aunt Martha's West Joliet Health Center.
s i o h W Aunt ? a h t r a M
She is the warm, caring relative you feel safe talking to about your problems. She does not judge. She never gives up. She supports and encourages. She gently guides. She is compassionate and capable. She is dedicated to improving people’s lives.
KEY COLLABORATIONS Hospitals Advocate South Suburban Hospital Anne & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago Franciscan St. James Health La Rabida Children’s Hospital Presence Saint Joseph Medical Center Roseland Community Hospital Silver Cross Hospital St. Alexius Medical Center
Accountable Care Entities ACE Care Services Advocate Physician Partners ACE Better Health Network Illinois Partnership for Health Population Health of Illinois
Coordinated Care Entities Lurie Children’s Health Partners Care Coordination Entity Together4Health
Service Delivery & Community Investment Partnerships The Chicago Community Trust CountyCare GE Foundation Hesed House Little City Foundation United Way
COLLABORATION In recent years, organizations large and small, for-profit and non-profit, have been forced to re-examine their role in the lives of the people they serve, their role in their community and their role in their relationships with stakeholders and other organizations. Some have chosen the collaborative path as a means of responding to emerging needs, some as a means of responding to new opportunities, and some as a means of creating opportunities.
By its very nature, care coordination requires the interweaving of cross-disciplinary and environmental structures and processes in order to produce the desired outcomes. In other words, the absence of effective collaboration makes care coordination impossible.
At Aunt Martha's, our approach to collaboration is based on two fundamental principles: 1. We believe that the most effective care coordination systems are organized with clients, patients and families at their center.
2. We believe that health and human service providers have a responsibility to work individually and cooperatively to not only maintain but to improve the health and well-being of their community.
OUR IMPACT
QUALITY Perhaps more than other, less diverse organizations, Aunt Martha's understands the Patients & Clients Served Annually
Aunt Martha’s Contributes 10% of the Total Economic Impact of Illinois Community Health Centers
Babies in Illinois is Delivered by an Aunt Martha’s Physician
Youth in Crisis Who Remained with Their Families & Stayed out of the Child Welfare & Juvenile System
importance of Quality. Not because we operate 100 distinct programs. Not because we monitor over 2,000 unique measures of the quality of the services we provide. We understand the importance of Quality because we understand the fragility of life.
Objective, subjective, funder-driven or self-imposed, the client and patient experience is the focus of our quality improvement efforts. This focus simplifies the many priorities facing staff at every level of our organization. At the most fundamental level, it means
Health Care • Third largest community health center in Illinois. More than 1.5 million visits since 2001
understanding patient and client needs from the patient or client perspective. It means that an employee who does the right thing for their client makes a positive contribution to the quality of that individual’s experience with Aunt Martha's.
• Largest provider of dental and behavioral services among community health centers in Illinois • Aunt Martha's serves three and a half times as many uninsured patients as the average community health center in Illinois
Child Welfare Services • 2,000 abused and neglected children receive shelter, health care and care coordination services
Aunt Martha's has been continuously accredited by the Joint Commission for Ambulatory and Behavioral Health since 1997. In March 2013, we became the first community health center in Illinois to receive the Joint Commission's certification as a Primary Care Medical Home (PCMH).
• Illinois’ largest provider of services to families in crisis • 100% of our group home residents receive health care services from an Aunt Martha’s health center
Community-based Services • Aunt Martha’s outreach services connect 3,000 homeless children, youth and adults to shelter, health care, employment training and independent living programs. • 1,200 preschool, elementary, and high school children received education and community based services • More than 3,000 people have completed our employment programs and have gotten jobs in their home community
The Joint Commission’s PCMH certification means that Aunt Martha's excels in the following areas: Coordinated Care Patient-Centered Care Comprehensive Care Superb Access to Care Systems-based Approach to Quality & Safety
INNOVATION
OUR REACH
Innovation means more than thinking differently. It means taking the time to understand the
Aurora Bellwood Cairo Carpentersville Centralia Chicago Chicago Heights Danville Dolton Elgin Glenwood Harvey Hazel Crest Joliet Kankakee Mt. Carmel Mattoon Midlothian Monee Olympia Fields Palatine Paris Park Forest Riverdale South Holland Toulon Watseka
needs of the people you serve, then offering solutions that not only respond to those needs, but that open the doors to new options and new possibilities.
Sometimes the solution is simple. But when it is not, it is our job to take that which is complicated and make it simple. That's the essence of care coordination. That's innovation. That's Aunt Martha's.
A WORLD AWAY, BUT NOT A WORLD APART Some 370 miles south of Chicago, at Illinois' southernmost point, two great rivers flow together. The town that sprung up at this important confluence is named Cairo. It is home to a population of 2,600.
In the context of most stories related to Chicago and its suburbs, Cairo would appear to be a world away. But for the Cairo residents who are served by Aunt Martha's telepsychiatry program, neither geography nor economic depression have rendered it a world apart.
Aunt Martha’s Locations
Services Radiating from Sites in 14 Counties
Illinois Counties where Aunt Martha’s Clients and Patients Reside
COMPONENTS OF CARE COORDINATION
MAKING CONNECTIONS WITH THE CARE COORDINATION SYSTEM Every Aunt Martha's employee, regardless of their title or tenure, is a Care Coordinator. This is not a matter of perception. Nor is it a matter of location, education or experience. It is a matter of fact.
With more than 1,300 Care Coordinators spread across some 50 sites, and no truly comparable model to draw on, we have innovated our way beyond previously acceptable concepts like "warm hand-offs" and referral processes that rely on phone calls, fax machines and spreadsheets.
Thanks to our visionary team of software developers, our Care Coordinators have access to a custom built, cutting-edge application that combines the concepts of electronic records and health information exchange. The system they've developed draws patient and client information from half a dozen otherwise unconnected applications, placing nearly 2,900 unique data elements and more At Aunt Martha’s, care coordination doesn’t enhance our work, it drives our work.
than half a million service records at the fingertips of each of Aunt Martha's Care Coordinators.
Care coordination is opening doors for the people we serve. It is a team-based approach to improve
Of course, the system does more than provide an instant snapshot of a patient or client's entire
the health and well-being of our clients and patients by bridging gaps, overcoming barriers and
service experience, from their days in our Early Learning Center to their visit last week at our Teen
facilitating the delivery of the right services at the right place at the right time.
Clinic. It matches each client's profile against the eligibility guidelines for every one of Aunt Martha's programs and services, automatically generating a list of services the client might like to know more
Care coordination inherently focuses on providing our patients a seamless, high quality experience.
about, and plotting the sites where those services are offered on a map that also includes the
It pushes our staff to seek out innovative solutions. And it places great value on our ability to
location of the client's home.
collaborate – to work together with one another and with the broader provider community to respond to the needs of the people we serve.
An Aunt Martha's Care Coordinator can easily access this information, identify the programs and services that best fit the client's needs and then - from within the Care Coordination System - create
Aunt Martha’s has the advantages of having been a first mover in care coordination, enabling us to
and follow-up on an unlimited number of referrals.
capitalize on trends that have now become the underpinning of health care reform. With this as a core strength, we are positioned to succeed in the coordinated health care market that has emerged, and we are positioned to be an even more highly valued organization as the concept of tightly coordinated care moves from best practice to federal mandate.
At Aunt Martha's, care coordination means giving people the tools they need to do more, more easily.
COMPONENTS OF CARE COORDINATION
MAKING CONNECTIONS WITH THE CARE COORDINATION SYSTEM Every Aunt Martha's employee, regardless of their title or tenure, is a Care Coordinator. This is not a matter of perception. Nor is it a matter of location, education or experience. It is a matter of fact.
With more than 1,300 Care Coordinators spread across some 50 sites, and no truly comparable model to draw on, we have innovated our way beyond previously acceptable concepts like "warm hand-offs" and referral processes that rely on phone calls, fax machines and spreadsheets.
Thanks to our visionary team of software developers, our Care Coordinators have access to a custom built, cutting-edge application that combines the concepts of electronic records and health information exchange. The system they've developed draws patient and client information from half a dozen otherwise unconnected applications, placing nearly 2,900 unique data elements and more At Aunt Martha’s, care coordination doesn’t enhance our work, it drives our work.
than half a million service records at the fingertips of each of Aunt Martha's Care Coordinators.
Care coordination is opening doors for the people we serve. It is a team-based approach to improve
Of course, the system does more than provide an instant snapshot of a patient or client's entire
the health and well-being of our clients and patients by bridging gaps, overcoming barriers and
service experience, from their days in our Early Learning Center to their visit last week at our Teen
facilitating the delivery of the right services at the right place at the right time.
Clinic. It matches each client's profile against the eligibility guidelines for every one of Aunt Martha's programs and services, automatically generating a list of services the client might like to know more
Care coordination inherently focuses on providing our patients a seamless, high quality experience.
about, and plotting the sites where those services are offered on a map that also includes the
It pushes our staff to seek out innovative solutions. And it places great value on our ability to
location of the client's home.
collaborate – to work together with one another and with the broader provider community to respond to the needs of the people we serve.
An Aunt Martha's Care Coordinator can easily access this information, identify the programs and services that best fit the client's needs and then - from within the Care Coordination System - create
Aunt Martha’s has the advantages of having been a first mover in care coordination, enabling us to
and follow-up on an unlimited number of referrals.
capitalize on trends that have now become the underpinning of health care reform. With this as a core strength, we are positioned to succeed in the coordinated health care market that has emerged, and we are positioned to be an even more highly valued organization as the concept of tightly coordinated care moves from best practice to federal mandate.
At Aunt Martha's, care coordination means giving people the tools they need to do more, more easily.
INNOVATION
OUR REACH
Innovation means more than thinking differently. It means taking the time to understand the
Aurora Bellwood Cairo Carpentersville Centralia Chicago Chicago Heights Danville Dolton Elgin Glenwood Harvey Hazel Crest Joliet Kankakee Mt. Carmel Mattoon Midlothian Monee Olympia Fields Palatine Paris Park Forest Riverdale South Holland Toulon Watseka
needs of the people you serve, then offering solutions that not only respond to those needs, but that open the doors to new options and new possibilities.
Sometimes the solution is simple. But when it is not, it is our job to take that which is complicated and make it simple. That's the essence of care coordination. That's innovation. That's Aunt Martha's.
A WORLD AWAY, BUT NOT A WORLD APART Some 370 miles south of Chicago, at Illinois' southernmost point, two great rivers flow together. The town that sprung up at this important confluence is named Cairo. It is home to a population of 2,600.
In the context of most stories related to Chicago and its suburbs, Cairo would appear to be a world away. But for the Cairo residents who are served by Aunt Martha's telepsychiatry program, neither geography nor economic depression have rendered it a world apart.
Aunt Martha’s Locations
Services Radiating from Sites in 14 Counties
Illinois Counties where Aunt Martha’s Clients and Patients Reside
OUR IMPACT
QUALITY Perhaps more than other, less diverse organizations, Aunt Martha's understands the Patients & Clients Served Annually
Aunt Martha’s Contributes 10% of the Total Economic Impact of Illinois Community Health Centers
Babies in Illinois is Delivered by an Aunt Martha’s Physician
Youth in Crisis Who Remained with Their Families & Stayed out of the Child Welfare & Juvenile System
importance of Quality. Not because we operate 100 distinct programs. Not because we monitor over 2,000 unique measures of the quality of the services we provide. We understand the importance of Quality because we understand the fragility of life.
Objective, subjective, funder-driven or self-imposed, the client and patient experience is the focus of our quality improvement efforts. This focus simplifies the many priorities facing staff at every level of our organization. At the most fundamental level, it means
Health Care • Third largest community health center in Illinois. More than 1.5 million visits since 2001
understanding patient and client needs from the patient or client perspective. It means that an employee who does the right thing for their client makes a positive contribution to the quality of that individual’s experience with Aunt Martha's.
• Largest provider of dental and behavioral services among community health centers in Illinois • Aunt Martha's serves three and a half times as many uninsured patients as the average community health center in Illinois
Child Welfare Services • 2,000 abused and neglected children receive shelter, health care and care coordination services
Aunt Martha's has been continuously accredited by the Joint Commission for Ambulatory and Behavioral Health since 1997. In March 2013, we became the first community health center in Illinois to receive the Joint Commission's certification as a Primary Care Medical Home (PCMH).
• Illinois’ largest provider of services to families in crisis • 100% of our group home residents receive health care services from an Aunt Martha’s health center
Community-based Services • Aunt Martha’s outreach services connect 3,000 homeless children, youth and adults to shelter, health care, employment training and independent living programs. • 1,200 preschool, elementary, and high school children received education and community based services • More than 3,000 people have completed our employment programs and have gotten jobs in their home community
The Joint Commission’s PCMH certification means that Aunt Martha's excels in the following areas: Coordinated Care Patient-Centered Care Comprehensive Care Superb Access to Care Systems-based Approach to Quality & Safety
COLLABORATION In recent years, organizations large and small, for-profit and non-profit, have been forced to re-examine their role in the lives of the people they serve, their role in their community and their role in their relationships with stakeholders and other organizations. Some have chosen the collaborative path as a means of responding to emerging needs, some as a means of responding to new opportunities, and some as a means of creating opportunities.
By its very nature, care coordination requires the interweaving of cross-disciplinary and environmental structures and processes in order to produce the desired outcomes. In other words, the absence of effective collaboration makes care coordination impossible.
At Aunt Martha's, our approach to collaboration is based on two fundamental principles: 1. We believe that the most effective care coordination systems are organized with clients, patients and families at their center.
2. We believe that health and human service providers have a responsibility to work individually and cooperatively to not only maintain but to improve the health and well-being of their community.
KEY COLLABORATIONS Hospitals Advocate South Suburban Hospital Anne & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago Franciscan St. James Health La Rabida Children’s Hospital Presence Saint Joseph Medical Center Roseland Community Hospital Silver Cross Hospital St. Alexius Medical Center
Accountable Care Entities ACE Care Services Advocate Physician Partners ACE Better Health Network Illinois Partnership for Health Population Health of Illinois
Coordinated Care Entities Lurie Children’s Health Partners Care Coordination Entity Together4Health
Service Delivery & Community Investment Partnerships The Chicago Community Trust CountyCare GE Foundation Hesed House Little City Foundation United Way
CARE COORDINATION IN ACTION
WHY WE ARE
Our approach to collaboration, along with our unique reputation among community health centers has given rise to new opportunities as individual hospitals and entire hospital systems have come to recognize Aunt Martha's as an essential component of the health care ecosystem. In pursuing these collaborations, Aunt Martha’s has established a new model of reciprocal sustainability, blurring - if not altogether erasing - the lines that have historically distinguished “safety net” providers from hospitals and spurring investments in solutions that make it easier and less expensive for thousands of people to find the care they need.
When Aunt Martha’s original Drop-In Center opened in 1972, it was staffed by 12 volunteers and had a budget of $2,500. After only nine months, those volunteers had responded to nearly 1,000 requests for help, handling problems related to family disturbances, runaways and drugs. It was clear - even then - that Aunt Martha's was more than a youth service center. The challenges that presented themselves often went far beyond the struggles of adolescence, and could not be explained away by any generation gap. Family issues were exposed. Community issues were brought to light. These were struggles of the human condition - of education, employment, poverty, family and social support, and personal and community safety. Then, as now, there were parents who struggled to afford health care for
Our collaboration with Presence Saint Joseph Medical Center (Joliet, IL) is this type of partnership a partnership that does more with less. Like many hospitals, Presence saw its emergency department being consistently crowded by patients who, more often than not, did not require
their children, let alone themselves. Then, as now, there were children whose only reality was one of abuse and neglect. Then, as now, there were young people who felt unprepared to cope with the responsibilities of adulthood. Then, as now, there were adults who realized that they
urgent care. Did they need to see a doctor? The answer was usually yes, but these patients did not
could only move forward by going back to school. Then, as now, there
need an emergency department. These were people who needed a medical home.
was Aunt Martha's.
Understanding the challenge confronting the Hospital's administration, Aunt Martha's proposed a
Ultimately, it is not the breadth of our services, the size of our budget or
solution far less costly than the unsustainable investment in unnecessary emergency department care.
the number of communities we serve that makes Aunt Martha's unique;
Following our lead, the Hospital invested in a model that had achieved instant and sustained success
but our willingness and eagerness to do more - to not just listen, but
since being implemented at Advocate South Suburban Hospital (Hazel Crest, IL) in 2007. The Hospital
understand; to not just support, but strengthen; to not just enlighten, but
invested in Aunt Martha’s in a medical home that is located just down the hall from the emergency
to lead; and to not just connect, but coordinate.
department. Our patients know their medical home as Aunt Martha's West Joliet Health Center.
s i o h W Aunt ? a h t r a M
She is the warm, caring relative you feel safe talking to about your problems. She does not judge. She never gives up. She supports and encourages. She gently guides. She is compassionate and capable. She is dedicated to improving people’s lives.
WHO WE ARE Aunt Martha’s is a family of more than 1,300 staff and volunteers. We are health care providers, social workers, educators, counselors, and advocates. We are as diverse as the people and communities we serve.
We are parents who know what it is to have a sick, hurting or scared child. We have relied on the help of others to overcome our own challenges. We honor people’s strengths, resourcefulness and resilience. We offer compassion. We provide supportive, professional care.
We are a team – skilled and specialized. From the psychiatrist treating children in downstate Illinois, to the dental hygienist caring for a homeless person in Kane County; and from the therapist helping a youth
MOST KIDS ARE LUCKY. They don't have to worry about missing the first day of school because they haven't gotten their dental exam or their physical. They have a parent or a family member who worries about these kinds of things for them. They have someone who makes sure they get in to see the doctor when they're sick. They have someone who makes sure they are taken care of. Sadly, for many children in Illinois, this is not the case.
in crisis on the streets of Chicago, to the doctor delivering a baby in Kankakee. Our staff are the best and the brightest in the field.
We are all Care Coordinators – intensely dedicated to our patients and clients, connecting each person with exactly what they need, from the services our organization provides to the specialized care offered by our collaborating partners.
We are Aunt Martha’s.
Every year, there are hundreds of abused and neglected children who are removed from their homes in Cook County alone. The State requires that every one of those children receives comprehensive health care services; and that their first visit to the doctor's office takes place within 24 hours of entering custody and before placement into substitute care. It's Aunt Martha's job, as the lead agency of the HealthWorks of Cook County program, to make sure these children get the care they need. Our staff is responsible for recruiting primary care physicians and specialty care providers; training the medical case management agencies, DCFS staff, substitute caregivers and providers about the HealthWorks system; and managing the exchange of information between agencies. It's Aunt Martha's job to coordinate services for some of Illinois' most vulnerable children at the exact moment when they are at their most vulnerable. We believe that every patient and client deserves to be treated with the same level of compassion as these children.
Leading. Collaborating. Coordinating. Welcome to Aunt Martha's.
Dear Friends and Supporters:
CONNECT WITH US There are many ways to be part of the Aunt Martha’s family.
Learn More To learn more about any of the services we provide at Aunt Martha’s, get in touch: auntmarthas.org facebook.com/auntmarthas twitter.com/AuntMarthas
Donate Aunt Martha’s is a 501-c-3 and relies on your contributions to ensure that people continue to receive the services they need. donate@auntmarthas.org
Work with Us Be part of a dynamic, innovative organization. Bring your skills and passion to work at Aunt Martha’s. Aunt Martha's is an equal opportunity employer. careers@auntmarthas.org
Volunteer Aunt Martha’s was founded by volunteers and they remain a vital part of our success. Give of yourself to help those in need. volunteer@auntmarthas.org
Whether you've followed us since the beginning or this is your first introduction to Aunt Martha's, it's our hope that these pages will serve as a spark that ignites - or reignites - a flame of enthusiasm about the work we do and why we do it. Born out of the turbulence of the late 1960s, and on to our current work as a progressive coordinator of health care and social services, Aunt Martha's has always been focused on responding to the needs of the people around us. We started as a drop-in center - a very non-clinical setting - where young people could find an empathetic ear and talk about the challenges in their lives. It wasn't long before entire families, and new communities, were turning to Aunt Martha's. There were times when we were more-than-equipped to meet the needs presented to our staff. There were times when our best response was to facilitate a connection with another community agency. And there were times that required a new way of thinking about personal and family struggles that had never been holistically addressed at the community level. These were opportunities that called for leadership and innovation, both characteristics which were imbued upon Aunt Martha's and cultivated by our founders, who envisioned an organization unlike any other. Long before there was such a thing as "care coordination," there was Aunt Martha's - more connected, more comprehensive. I invite you to read on. I hope you will feel some sense of the passion that every one of our employees brings to work every day. I hope you will come away with an understanding of where we've been, where we are today and the unlimited possibilities of tomorrow. I invite you to join us on our journey.
Intern Build your experience in health care, social service and business settings. Complete your internship, externship or practicum at Aunt Martha’s. internships@auntmarthas.org
On behalf of our Board of Directors and our 1,300 employees, volunteers and interns, I welcome you to Aunt Martha's. Sincerely,
Raul Garza President and CEO Aunt Martha's rgarza@auntmarthas.org