Sam Miller Crusader
Sam Miller, president and CEO of Crusader Community Health, talks to people gathered on Thursday, June 9, 2022, for a groundbreaking on an expansion to its Belvidere Clinic. (Photo by Kevin Haas/Rock River Current)
By Steve Summers and Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Crusader Community Health is celebrating 50 years of providing health care for the community.

The nonprofit opened its doors at 1200 W. State St. in 1972 and now has five clinics and three school-based health centers. It employs hundreds of professionals and providers and serves nearly 59,000 residents from across the region.

“We like to continue to take on new challenges and really serve the community,” Sam Miller, president and CEO of Crusader, said on This Week in the Stateline.

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Crusader opened its newest clinic on West State Street in 2021, but the building is on the same site it started on 50 years ago.

Two projects underway now are the expansion of its Belvidere facility on Logan Avenue and renovations to its oldest facility, which is on Broadway in Rockford.

“We’re calling it a refresh, where we’re just updating some of the interior areas that are a little dated to make them be much more welcoming to our patients,” Miller said. “Longer term we’re going to continue to find ways to grow and continue to serve more and more of the community.”

The concept for Crusader was born from a series of “well baby” clinics created by Dr. John McHugh and Barbara Roman that were primarily for low-income families in the mid-1960s.

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The health care provider continues strive to provide services for all, particularly the underserved or those who are unable to pay. However, its services are for everyone.

“Crusader serves all people. That’s one of the misnomers we’ve had to deal with for many years is thinking that it’s restricted when in reality we are open to everyone in the community,” said Shelton Kay, vice president of community relations, on This Week in the Stateline. “We offer sliding fee discounts, so if people have limited income we base what we charge them on what they are able to pay … but we also take all insurances as well as Medicaid and Medicare.”

Celebrating 50 years

This year’s annual fundraiser will double as a celebration of five decades. It will be held Friday, Oct. 28 at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Rockford Riverfront Hotel.

The theme for the event is a golden carnival, and it will feature carnival games, a duck pond pull, raffles and other activities.

“It’s just a way for us to reconnect with the community, reconnect with our supporters, really get together and enjoy each other and, again, for us to really celebrate our 50 years providing services and having community support for those services,” said Kay, who has been with Crusader for 29 years.

You can learn more at crusaderhealth.org or listen to the whole interview with Kay and Miller on This Week in the Stateline below:

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