The Will County Health Department (WCHD) is offering free Pace Suburban Bus vouchers for women seeking preventive medical care. The vouchers are available to any woman of child-bearing age (18-44) who is impacted by a transportation barrier and can be used for a preventive care visit and/or follow up visits. The bus vouchers include full day rides for multiple trips/transfers in that day, as well as single ride vouchers. The vouchers are good only for the Suburban Pace transit system and will expire on July 12, 2023.

   WCHD’s Well-Woman program was formed in 2019 after the Illinois Department of Public Health Office of Women’s Health awarded the WCHD a grant. The Well-Woman program is designed to inform women of child-bearing age in Will County about the importance of receiving annual preventive care visits with a provider while also removing barriers to receiving that visit. A well-woman visit includes important health screenings for the purpose of disease prevention and early disease det, open before these diseases can cause more complicated health problems. Well-Woman visits are also the best opportunity for a woman to discuss with their provider any of their own health concerns as well as health goals!

    The Pace Suburban Bus system has many routes in the Will County area. Visit their website to view their system map, schedules and routes www.pacebus.com/regional-transit-system- map

In addition to having Suburban Pace Bus Vouchers available at local agencies the following agencies, the WCHD can also supply vouchers to providers in Will County whose patients may face transportation barriers. Providers can contact the WCHD Well-Woman program coordinators, Joan Stefka (jstefka@willcountyhealth.org (815)774-7312) or Aishwarya

Balakrishna (abalakrishna@willcountyhealth.org (815)774-7343) for more information.

Pace Suburban Bus Vouchers are available at the following Will County locations. Please mention the Well-Woman Bus Voucher when you call or stop by.

Will County Community Health Center 1106 Neal Avenue Joliet, IL 60433 Phone: (815)727-8670   

Will County Health Department – North Branch Office 323 Quadrangle Dr. Ste. 335

Bolingbrook, IL 60440

Phone: (630) 679-7000

Will Grundy Medical Clinic

213 E Cass St, Joliet, IL 60432

Phone: (815) 726-3377

Spanish Community Center/BluePrint Agency

309 N Eastern Ave, Joliet, IL 60432

Phone: (815) 727-3683

For additional information on Well-Woman visits, resources, transportation and more, check out the Will County Health Department Well-Woman page at www.willcountyhealth.org/well-

woman.

The Will County Public Health dates to 1942 when $50,000 was allocated for local Environmental Health, Maternal-Child Health, and Infectious Disease Control initiatives. In 1940, roughly 115,000 people called Will County home; in 2020, nearly 700,000 do. Today Will County Health Department strives to bring its vision—to deliver sustainable programs and policies in response to the public health needs of the community—to all the people of Will County.

815.727.8670 willcountyhealth.org WillCoHealth