Isaac Palmer, President, MATCCH Foundation

Tell us about your organization and the work you do there. 

I am the Founder and President of the MATCCH Foundation which stands for Minority Access to Comprehensive and Coordinated Healthcare. As a nonprofit headquartered in Chicago, our team of community leaders and health advocates ensure that minorities throughout high risk areas on the South and West Sides of Chicago have access to equitable health outcomes without increased financial burden. Our goal is to help support household incomes to boost wealth creation.

What communities and populations do you serve?

We serve minority patients and those with disproportionately poor health outcomes on Chicago’s South and West side.

Why did you decide to join the Illinois Kidney Care Alliance? 

Our organization joined because Black Americans lag in kidney care outcomes due to many of the social determinants of health. In addition, we are always looking for ways to collaborate with other community health organizations throughout the state.

What do you hope the alliance accomplishes? 

I’m hoping we can push for more funding and awareness of kidney disease in the Black community.

What policy changes do those living with kidney disease need now? 

Kidney disease patients need access, a healthcare system they trust, and healthcare professionals that know their social determinants.

What is something most people don’t know about dialysis/kidney disease? 

That it is a manageable disease. The solution is in access and making real connections to patients to increase compliance.

If you can share one story about the work you and your organization do, what would it be? 

My organization assembled eight other community organizations and submitted a grant proposal to the State of Illinois for health transformation dollars. Our collaborative is based on two pillars: integrated care and community ownership. We are now beginning to focus our efforts on Black men and their unique barriers to healthcare. While our focus is on general healthcare, kidney care is a major concern for our target population and I am very interested to learn from the IKCA about how to add a kidney component.