Illinois Models and Innovations

Fit & Strong!®
Updated/reviewed August 2020

Need: Osteoarthritis is a chronic condition which often causes multiple related disabilities in older adults.
Intervention: An 8-week physical activity, behavior change, and falls prevention program geared to older adults with osteoarthritis.
Results: Participants gained confidence with increased exercise, lessened stiffness, improved joint pain and improved lower extremity strength and mobility.

Rural Medical Education Program at University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford
Added October 2023

Need: To recruit and train medical students who are committed to choosing rural practice.
Intervention: An add-on curriculum that includes seminars, field trips, and clinical rotations in rural and underserved areas.
Results: 436 students have graduated from the RMED program between 1997 and 2023, with 65% of program graduates practicing in towns of less than 50,000 people.

Medical Legal Partnership of Southern Illinois
Updated/reviewed August 2023

Need: Legal barriers often prevent economically disadvantaged people in Southern Illinois from obtaining positive health outcomes despite receiving medical care.
Intervention: The Medical Legal Partnership of Southern Illinois (MLPSI) was formed to create a system where medical providers can refer patients in need of legal assistance to local attorneys.
Results: Over 5,400 patients have utilized MLPSI since its founding in 2002. The program has relieved over $8.1 million in medical debt for both hospitals and patients.

STAIR (Skills Training in Affective and Interpersonal Regulation)
Updated/reviewed January 2023

Need: To increase access to telemental health services for rural veterans, especially women, with a history of trauma.
Intervention: STAIR (Skills Training in Affective and Interpersonal Regulation) is a 10-week program designed to reduce PTSD and depression symptoms and increase emotional regulation and social functioning in clients.
Results: Therapists reported that clients attended more sessions when offered via teleconferencing, and clients reported satisfaction with the program.

Healthy Southern Illinois Delta Network
Updated/reviewed November 2023

Need: To improve people's health in a rural 16-county region in Illinois.
Intervention: A coalition of local health departments and healthcare facilities coordinates regional efforts, which are implemented locally by health community coalitions.
Results: HSIDN has created toolkits, developed resource guides, and provided wellness trainings, among other initiatives.

Shawnee Preparedness and Response Coalition
Updated/reviewed August 2023

Need: To help rural areas access trainings, exercises, and information to improve their emergency preparedness.
Intervention: SPARC is a network of 187 organizations in southern Illinois focused on emergency preparedness.
Results: During the pandemic response, SPARC and the Illinois National Guard set up 164 individual Pop-up Vaccination Clinics and vaccinated over 11,000 patients.

Structured Training for Rural Enhancement of Community Health in Obstetrics (STRETCH-OB)
Added June 2023

Need: To improve maternal and birth outcomes in rural and underserved areas by increasing the number of family medicine physicians in these areas who have high-quality, evidence-based obstetrical care skills.
Intervention: The STRETCH-OB program trains a select number of family medicine residents at the University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford each year to provide high-quality maternity care, including surgical obstetrical care.
Results: The first two STRETCH-OB residents graduated in June 2023.

Regional Behavioral Health Network
Updated/reviewed April 2023

Need: Multiple organizations in rural east central Illinois needed a more efficient, centralized system for referring patients experiencing a behavioral health crisis to appropriate treatment services.
Intervention: The Regional Behavioral Health Network was established with a 24-hour toll-free crisis line, providing immediate access to trained crisis clinicians.
Results: Improved access to high quality behavioral healthcare for patients in rural east central Illinois.

Florissa
Updated/reviewed February 2023

Need: To address the developmental, behavioral, and social/emotional needs of rural children ages 0-18 in northwest Illinois.
Intervention: A centralized facility for children and families facing developmental, behavioral, and social/emotional issues.
Results: Florissa continues to increase its referral numbers, expand its sessions and service offerings, and provide more information resources. It also co-located with the KSB Hospital pediatric department, which became certified as a pediatric patient-centered medical home (PCMH).

Win With Wellness
Updated/reviewed October 2022

Need: To reduce risk of obesity and chronic disease in rural northwest Illinois.
Intervention: Win With Wellness (WWW) collaborates with community organizations and worksites to improve physical activity and eating behaviors and reduce weight among adults using a multi-component approach.
Results: From 2015 to 2018, the two participating counties initiated 28 Take Off Pounds Sensibly (TOPS) groups with 367 participants. In the second round of funding, WWW recruited 183 participants for 9 TOPS groups and 8 community Heart-to-Heart sites.

Evidence-Based Examples