Our programs

Our community health work is driven by a vision we call Well Community: a commitment to provide compassionate, holistic care to people who are vulnerable and would otherwise lack access to essential services.

We rely on an evidence-based approach to assess community health needs and cultivate a network of meaningful partnerships with community organizations, allowing us to provide a unique combination of innovative, inclusive services.

Signature focus

As the backbone of our Well Community approach, our signature focus is access to care for people with disproportionate unmet health needs.

Through a variety of initiatives, we help people in underserved populations establish a “health home” for high-quality care on an ongoing basis.

• Partnerships between our hospitals and Federally Qualified Health Centers or free clinics help emergency care patients gain access to primary care providers, as well as certain hospital services.
• Aurora Walkers Point Community Clinic, located in the heart of Milwaukee’s most diverse south-side community, provides bilingual urgent, primary, preventive and specialty health care; bilingual mental health services; an emergency department and hospital referrals for uninsured persons.
• Aurora works with Bread of Healing Clinic to assure free services to low-income, uninsured people on the north side of Milwaukee, operating from community churches to improve chronic health conditions among the city’s most vulnerable populations.
• Aurora Family Service and its team of dedicated practitioners provide access to a full continuum of services in the community to address social determinants of health. They promote self-sufficiency through every stage of life, integrating:
  • Health
  • Mental health
  • Social services
  • Family and marriage therapy
  • Comprehensive services for seniors
  • Parenting education
  • Home visitation
  • Financial wellness programs
• Aurora Behavioral Health Services continues to expand and extend access points throughout eastern Wisconsin through inpatient and outpatient services, a recovery center, and its psychiatric hospital and campus facilities.

Read about our progress [PDF]

Coverage to Care

An intensive case management initiative of Aurora Family Service, Coverage to Care provides guidance and self-advocacy coaching to at-risk patients significantly impacted by their environment, social conditions and other factors beyond their control.

This model places social service navigators in emergency departments to provide patients with knowledge and tools to manage their health care effectively and establish a meaningful relationship with a primary care provider.

Learn more about Aurora Family Service

Aurora Healing & Advocacy Services

Aurora Healing and Advocacy Services is an abuse-response program for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. They work with hospitals to provide a range of resources for healing:

• A 24-hour sexual assault hotline
• Forensic nurse examiners staffed in nine Aurora hospitals
• Advocates who accompany survivors of assault through their entire healing journey, beginning with their arrival in the emergency department
• Acute and long-term counseling services
• Support groups
• With 2 locations, the Healing Center includes therapeutic community programs, and cross-functional partnerships to support survivors of violence and abuse

Learn more about our Healing & Advocacy Services

Better Together

Partnerships are a key component of our Community Benefit efforts, allowing us to incorporate the strengths, capabilities and community relationships of local organizations that align with our purpose – and make a more lasting impact in the communities we serve.

Through the Aurora Better Together Fund, we provided financial support through grants for local non-profits that provided access to a continuum of health care. Through continued partnerships with Aurora Better Together Fund recipients, we continue to find new ways to collaborate in response to evolving community health needs.

Learn more about the Aurora Better Together Fund

Financial assistance

Our financial assistance services help to lessen the financial burden of healthcare for those who are uninsured and financially disadvantaged.

Financial Advocates are available to provide personalized financial assessments, explain potential medical costs, discuss financial assistance resources, and help patients make the best decisions for their personal and financial health.

Our Helping Hand program also is available for qualifying patients who need help with costs for necessary medical procedures due to illness or injury.

Learn more about Financial assistance

Local services guide

We’re committed to helping people live well. That starts with meeting needs for basic services such as food, safe housing, child care and transportation. It’s easy to find free and low-cost options for these local services and more in our online services guide.