VNA Health Care is planning to expand one of its busiest health centers in Aurora with the help of a recently-announced $750,000 award from Endeavor Health.
The heath center on Indian Avenue will be able to see about 25% more patients per year after the expansion, so the organization will have three large clinics with good capacity that are well distributed throughout the city, according to Linnea Windel, president and CEO of VNA Health Care. The organization’s other two large clinics include the new location at Weston Avenue and the one on Highland Avenue.
“VNA Health Care has called Aurora home for more than a century, and this investment allows us to build on that commitment by expanding access to care for families who rely on us every day,” Windel said in a news release announcing the plans.
VNA is already serving thousands of patients in Aurora, including 30,000 city residents, Windel told The Beacon-News. But the organization knows there are others who may not be going to the doctor and getting regular care, she said, and VNA wants to make sure it is providing those people with access to the health care they need.
The expansion will add 12 exam rooms, bringing the total up to 48, Windel said. These additional rooms will help to meet demand at the site for primary care, including OB/GYN, pediatrics and family practice plus mental and behavioral health services, a fact sheet about the project showed.
A reading nook for kids and families, an expanded wellness kitchen classroom and enhancements are also planned to be part of the site’s renovations, according to Windel. Plus, VNA is planning to move its Women, Infants and Children nutrition program from the Highland Avenue center to the Indian Avenue site through the expansion.
Other additions to the health center will include a lab and 38 new parking spaces, according to a news release announcing the project.
Currently, the Indian Avenue location serves about 16,000 patients per year, but that number is expected to rise to about 20,000 through the expansion. The clinic will stay open through construction, although temporary adjustments to parking or entrances might be made, the project fact sheet said.
Construction on the project is expected to start this summer and finish up about nine months later, but an exact timeline is still being worked on with the architectural firm, Windel said.
In part, the expansion will be funded through a Capacity Builder Award that VNA Health Care recently received from Endeavor Health.
“Through our Community Investment Fund, we’re proud to partner with trusted organizations like VNA Health Care that are deeply rooted in their communities,” Kristen Murtos, Chief Innovation and Transformation Officer of Endeavor Health, said in VNA’s news release. “By investing in expanded capacity at VNA’s Indian Avenue health center, we’re helping remove barriers to care and supporting a model that brings comprehensive, family-centered services together under one roof.”
VNA was one of nine organizations to have received a 2026 Community Investment Fund Capacity Builder Award, which are one- to two-year awards, $100,000 to $500,000 per year, designed to build and strengthen skills, resources and infrastructure of community-based organizations, according to a news release from Endeavor Health.
Since its launch in 2022, Endeavor Health’s Community Investment Fund has awarded $38.5 million to 59 local partnerships, the Endeavor news release said.
“We are grateful to Endeavor Health for recognizing the critical role community health centers play in strengthening health outcomes,” Windel said in VNA’s own news release. “This partnership will help ensure that more parents, children and families can get the care they need in a welcoming, integrated setting, regardless of insurance status or ability to pay.”
Others financially contributing to the expansion include the Dunham Foundation, which is giving $1.5 million; the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, which is giving $500,000 secured by state Rep. Barbara Hernandez, D-Aurora, and state Sen. Karina Villa, D-West Chicago; and the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley, which is giving $100,000, according to the project’s fact sheet.
Windel said that VNA is “thrilled with all the community support” for the project.
rsmith@chicagotribune.com
