WHO WE ARE
Crusader Community Health is a non-profit community health center that provides primary medical, dental, and behavioral health care for more than 63,000 people in northern Illinois.
We’re committed to making high-quality health care accessible to everyone. Our providers and support staff are both knowledgeable and compassionate, making sure everyone who walks through our doors feels comfortable and cared for.
OUR MISSION
Serve the Rock River Valley with quality primary health care for all people in need.
OUR VISION
Reaching out with Heart in Hand – championing the needs of the underserved and providing health care for all, regardless of their ability to pay, as we eliminate disparities in health care.
A MESSAGE FROM OUR PRESIDENT/CEO
Our latest construction project, Crusader Community Health on Linden, will expand access to primary care for patients in south Rockford, Rochelle, Winnebago, Belvidere and rural areas. At Linden, initially five providers will support adult & family medicine, pediatrics and women’s health, in addition to providers for behavioral health and CrusaderNOW! immediate care. It will give patients another option for care that’s closer to home, or where they work or play.
Expanding access to care is central to our strategic goal of growth. We’re expanding our reach to increase access to quality, affordable primary health care for everyone.
Opening this clinic aligns with meeting community need. A recent community health needs assessment showed that people living in the region face serious chronic health issues and significant socioeconomic challenges that impact access to care. These disparities, coupled with long wait times for appointments, unaffordable services, and lack of transportation can affect quality health care utilization and health outcomes.
Crusader on Linden is the first of three major initiatives in our facility development plan. We plan to open a dedicated site for women’s health care at 1201 E. State St. That’s next to UW Health SwedishAmerican, our hospital partner where Crusader OBGYN Physicians and Certified Nurse Midwives deliver babies. Moving our women’s health practice from Crusader on Broadway to the former Walgreens will nearly double our women’s health space and set up our final major initiative: rebuilding Broadway.
We have talked for years about rebuilding our oldest clinic at 1100 Broadway on the existing campus. It’s the right move to improve operational efficiency, enhance patient experience, and ultimately eliminate barriers to care. These expansion plans target vulnerable individuals, including those without a permanent address and those without insurance.
Please stay tuned for more information about supporting our growth. Thank you for your continued support!
Samuel G. Miller
President & CEO
Crusader Community Health
CRUSADER COMMUNITY HEALTH
EXECUTIVE
LEADERSHIP
CRUSADER COMMUNITY HEALTH
BOARD OF
DIRECTORS
HISTORY &
KEY DATES
Sister Catherine Francis established the first well-baby clinic in 1966 at St. Elizabeth’s social center in Rockford, in partnership with the Visiting Nurses Association. The clinic operated one day each month for just two hours.
In a few years, the need for preventative pediatric primary care grew. That’s where Crusader began. A professional board was established in 1969, and it was chartered as a nonprofit in 1970.
MORE ABOUT CRUSADER
Crusader is a Health Center Program grantee under 42 U.S.C. 254b, and a deemed Public Health Service employee under 42 U.S.C. 233(g)-(n).
Crusader receives HHS funding and has Federal PHS deemed status with respect to certain health or health related claims, including medical malpractice claims, for itself and its covered individuals.