Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett in his 2007 budget address to the Common Council thanked Aurora Health Care for its continued dedication to care for the underserved of Milwaukee.

The City of Milwaukee, Aurora, 16th Street Community Health Center and Milwaukee Health Services have all joined forces to ensure primary care access for patients throughout the community. Milwaukee Health Services is expanding on King Drive and 16th Street opened its new facility on S. 20th Street this week. In addition to working directly with Milwaukee Health Services and 16th Street on locations for expansion, Aurora came forward with over $3 million in facility and service improvements, a fact the mayor directly mentioned in his budget address.

"We at Aurora recognize that caring for underinsured and uninsured patients in Milwaukee is the responsibility of the entire community and we're pleased to be able to do our fair share of support for access to primary care for these patients," said Paul Nannis, vice president of government and community relations for Aurora.

Aurora believes that health care needs to be accessible to patients throughout the communities it serves, Nannis said. In addition to support for primary care access, Aurora reported nearly $36 million in charity care to the patients in eastern Wisconsin.
Nannis said the partnership with the City Health Department and the two community-based clinics is a model for working to solve the problem of health care for underserved individuals and families in Milwaukee. Barrett pledged $280,000 to expand clinics through the City's Community Health Service Fund.

Aurora Health Care is a not-for-profit Wisconsin health care provider and a nationally recognized leader in efforts to improve the quality of health care. Aurora offers services at sites in more than 90 communities throughout eastern Wisconsin.

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Contact: Jennifer Gross (414-385-2363)