Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1501973
6 | Summer 2023 HEN ONE OF THE FEW SPECIALTY CLINICS serving Chicago's Southwest Side was shuttered in June 2021, the closure left a gaping hole in the city's healthcare safety net. Without a local clinic where they could see the specialists they needed, Gage Park and West Elsdon residents with chronic health conditions were left scrambling. Some, unsure where to turn, put their healthcare on hold. In an area with disproportionately high rates of diabetes, heart disease, adult and childhood obesity, cancer and pregnancy risk factors, it was a recipe for disaster. But what happened next changed everything. In September 2021, the University of Illinois purchased the vacant clinic at 5525 S. Pulaski Road previously operated by Mercy Medical Center—a move that paved the way for the launch of the 55th & Pulaski Health Collaborative. Led by UI Health, the collaborative brings together three federally qualified health centers: Alivio Medical Center, a bilingual and bicultural facility that supports obstetrics and gynecology; Friend Health, which provides behavioral health, mental health and urgent care services; and UI Health's Mile Square Health Center, which provides dental care. Other partners include the UIC College of Applied Health Sciences, which provides physical therapy, occupational therapy and nutrition services, and the UIC Office of Community Engagement and Neighborhood Health Health Equity Comes to Chicago's Southwest Side With specialty care, advanced diagnostics, urgent care, a women's wellness center, behavioral and mental health services, and a dental clinic—all under one roof just steps from a CTA stop—the 55th & Pulaski Health Collaborative led by UI Health has transformed a former healthcare desert into a comprehensive healthcare oasis. W UI Health formally inaugurated the 55th & Pulaski Health Collaborative with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in May 2022. From left: Sandi McCullough, Nancy Tartt, Pilar Carmona, Cook County Commissioner Alma Anaya, Shane Phillips, HFS Assistant Director Jenny Aguirre, Illinois Rep. Angelica Guerrero-Cuellar, Dr. Heather M. Prendergast, Dr. Jorge Cavero, Alderwoman Silvana Tabares, Dr. Mark Rosenblatt, Dr. Robert Barish, HFS Deputy Director Kim McCullough and Friend Health CEO Verneda Bachus. P H O T O : S E B A S T I A N O R T I Z / U I C