North Central College Receives Endeavor Health’s Community Investment Fund Grant to Expand Delivery of Telehealth Services

North Central College has been selected as a grant recipient by Endeavor Health's 2026 Community Investment Fund (CIF). The College received a Capacity Builder Award in the amount of $101,626 to support its “Workforce without Walls: Bridging Gaps and Building Skills through Community Telehealth” initiative. The project is designed to increase access to care while preparing the next generation of health care professionals through the expansion of technology and infrastructure to deliver community telehealth services. North Central will partner with West Suburban Community Pantry (WSCP) to develop and deliver free telehealth services in the areas of nutrition and occupational therapy (OT).

“We are grateful to Endeavor Health for their leadership and commitment to enhancing community health in Naperville and beyond,” said Dr. Abiódún Gòkè-Paríolá, president of North Central College. “Their generous financial support will enable North Central to deliver on our mission of developing the next generation of ethical and skilled health care professionals within our School of Education and Health Sciences, while simultaneously addressing gaps in health care access within the local community.”

Endeavor Health selected North Central College as one of nine new Capacity Builder recipients and 42 current partners across the Chicago area to collaborate on community health needs related to behavioral health, food and housing insecurity, access to care and careers in healthcare.

“Endeavor Health is here every day to support the health and well-being of our patients and their families,” said Kristen Murtos, chief innovation and transformation officer of Endeavor Health. “Through our Community Investment Fund, we’re collaborating with local organizations that people know and trust — helping them remove barriers to care, meet immediate needs and create long-term solutions that help individuals and families thrive.”

During the initiative’s capacity building phase, North Central will use grant funds to purchase hardware and software, improve network infrastructure, and provide professional development in telehealth delivery for its students and faculty members. Working with its partners at WSCP, the College will establish policies and procedures for providing virtual counseling services to community clients – particularly those with mobility challenges and in remote areas without easy access to care – to provide nutrition counseling and post-stroke OT care.

The project team from North Central College includes Dr. Mary Groll, dean of the School of Education and Health Sciences; Dr. Kelly Frystak, associate professor of occupational therapy; and Dr. Kim Milano, assistant professor of health sciences and director of the College’s Nutrition Science Program.

For more information about North Central College, visit northcentralcollege.edu. To learn more about Endeavor Health’s Community Investment Fund, visit endeavorhealth.org/cif. 

Media Contact:
Jeremy Borling, Senior Director of Communication, North Central College
jaborling@noctrl.edu

About North Central College  

North Central College provides students with the confidence, instruction and direction they need to exceed their personal best inside and outside of the classroom and throughout their careers. Founded in 1861 and located just 28 miles west of Chicago in the Historic District of Naperville, Ill. — named among the nation’s “Best Places to Live” by Money magazine — North Central is home to more than 3,100 students and offers more than 90 undergraduate majors, 67 additional undergraduate minors and concentrations, and 25 graduate degree and graduate certificate programs. Visit northcentralcollege.edu to discover why U.S. News & World Report has named North Central a “Best in the Midwest” school for more than 30 years in a row, and to learn more about the College’s state-of-the-art facilities and distinctive programs, particularly in the sciences and business.

About Endeavor Health

Endeavor Health℠ is a Chicagoland-based integrated health system driven by our mission to help everyone in our communities be their best. As Illinois’ third-largest health system and third-largest medical group, we proudly serve an area of more than 4.1 million residents across seven northeast Illinois counties. Our more than 28,300 team members, including more than 1,900 employed physicians, are the heart of our organization, delivering seamless access to personalized, pioneering, world-class patient care across more than 300 ambulatory locations and nine hospitals, including eight Magnet-recognized acute care hospitals – Edward (Naperville), Elmhurst, Evanston, Glenbrook (Glenview), Highland Park, Northwest Community (Arlington Heights), Skokie and Swedish (Chicago) and Linden Oaks Behavioral Health Hospital (Naperville). For more information, visit www.endeavorhealth.org.