An apartment fire put Willie Taylor out of his home two years ago on Springfield's east side and threw his life into chaos.
A survivor of two strokes who deals with high blood pressure and other health problems, Taylor, 71, is on more stable footing these days. He attributes the improvement to Derek Rimelspach, a community health worker based in a primary care clinic at Springfield's Southern Illinois University School of Medicine.
"If it wasn't for that guy, I don't know what I would have done," Taylor said of Rimelspach, 46, who helped him find temporary housing and get a new Social Security card, birth certificate and new clothes.
Rimelspach also helped Taylor, a retired former cook, fill out forms and applications that resulted in him moving into his current home, a subsidized apartment in Capitol Plaza, 1210 E. Washington St., also on the east side.
About 5,200 clients in Sangamon County and elsewhere in central and southern Illinois – including Springfield, Taylorville, Lincoln, Jacksonville, Carbondale, Decatur and Quincy – receive a variety of non-medical services from SIU community health workers each year.
The 10-year-old program is supported by a mix of about $1.5 million in annual grants, contracts and federal funding, according to Molly Williams, a health care administrator in SIU's Office of Community Health Work. Included is a $500,000, three-year total commitment of funding split equally between Springfield Memorial Hospital and HSHS St. John's Hospital, and $135,000 over a three-year period from the United Way of Central Illinois. Donors also provide support through the SIU Foundation.
Erin Jones, SIU's director of community health, said the program helps to reduce the health disparities people face because of poverty, emotional trauma and other disadvantages by addressing what are known as the "social drivers of health."
Studies document that 80% of a person's health is influenced by factors outside of what happens inside a doctor's office or hospital, Jones said. Those factors can include the quality and stability of their housing, food insecurity, neighborhood and family violence, and income. Income disparities can be stark in Springfield, and the long-term effect of those disparities can be seen in life expectancy.
Dr. Shreepada Tripathy, a pediatrician and data strategist in SIU's Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, made a presentation on the topic this year to members of the Massey Commission, which is examining ways of reducing racial and economic disparities in the community in the wake of the July 2024 killing of Sonya Massey.
Tripathy examined a national database of death records and other data and found that life expectancy in certain census tracts in Springfield's north and east sides can be 10 to 20 years shorter than in census tracts in more affluent areas, including parts of the west and south sides near Lake Springfield.
The variation includes life expectancies as low as 62 to 65 years in certain parts of inner-city Springfield and more than 80 years in other parts of the city, its suburbs and in rural Sangamon County.
The differences corresponded with income levels, Tripathy said.
When looking at data by ZIP code – a different geographic identifier that can include a wider variety of income levels – Tripathy found that the ZIP codes 62702 and 62703 had the shortest life expectancy (72 to 74 years) of any ZIP codes in the county. Life expectancy in the United States currently is 77. People in ZIP codes with higher income levels enjoyed some of the longest life expectancies – more than 80 years in 62711, for example.
Illinois Times found that the Springfield area posts some of the highest economic disparities by race in the United States. In particular, the newspaper found that based on Census data, the Springfield metro area posted the highest Black poverty rate in Illinois in 2023 – 40.3% – and the fourth-highest Black poverty rate among more than 240 other metro areas in the United States with 10,000 or more Black residents.
Black residents in Sangamon County are concentrated in neighborhoods on the city of Springfield's east and north sides, where they make up between one-third and three-fourths of residents in some census tracts. Those neighborhoods have some of Sangamon County's highest poverty rates – between 30% and 50%.
The connection among poverty, income and life expectancy is logical, Tripathy said. If someone is struggling to afford "bare necessities," he or she often will prioritize rent and food over medicine and doctor visits to check and treat high blood pressure and diabetes, Tripathy said.
Community health workers can help improve life expectancy as well as day-to-day living, Jones said. She wasn't surprised by the differences that Tripathy found by Census tract and ZIP code.
Community health workers can help intervene in the trends by assisting clients with access to income support services, housing, mental health counseling and medicine, Jones said. They also can help clients establish a medical home with a primary care provider, bring them to appointments and avoid unnecessary visits to the emergency room, Jones said.
"I do know that they have a harder time accessing care," she said. "They have a harder time with transportation. ... and it interrupts their health care."
SIU's 38 community health workers come from a variety of backgrounds, Jones said. Some are based in medical clinics. Some are stationed at Washington Street Mission and Helping Hands of Springfield. Many have direct ties to the neighborhoods they serve, which can help break down the mistrust in the medical community that many people harbor, she said.
Without a doubt, their assistance has improved and saved lives, she said.
"They know they are making a difference," Jones said. "They have hard days when things are not going their way, but there are those days when they see a patient just thrive, whether they are finally getting a test they needed or maybe the surgery they needed or maybe getting housing."
Rimelspach, the community health worker who helped Willie Taylor, said, "We see a lot of sad situations and people in tough spots. We meet people where they're at."
