New health care services coming to Englewood
Published: October 28, 2014
St. Bernard Hospital will break ground on its new Ambulatory Care Center on Wednesday, October 29 at 10 a.m., at the corner of 63rd Street and Stewart Avenue in Chicago. The project, which was approved by the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board earlier this month, has been welcomed by area residents and business groups.
Located in the heart of the South Side, the Ambulatory Care Center will offer new and existing services in an expansive and modern environment. The three-story, 70,000-square-foot building will include services like outpatient pharmacy, orthopedics, and radiology. It will also house the Prenatal Women’s Wellness Clinic, specialty clinics like the Pediatric Asthma Clinic and Diabetes Clinic, and a walk-in clinic for non-emergent health care. Construction is expected to take approximately 18 months with a projected completion date set for summer 2016.
The hospital’s Community Health Needs Assessment, which was completed in 2012, identified the health care needs in the area. In addition, many area residents have to travel outside the community for outpatient and specialist services. “The need for additional health care resources in our community has been recognized for some time,” says Charles Holland, St. Bernard’s president and CEO. “The Ambulatory Care Center is an exceptional opportunity for us to expand access to preventive medicine for thousands of people.” He said.
The vision for the Center is a one-stop health care facility with a patient friendly environment. After studying the Community Health Needs Assessment and in response to initiatives of the Affordable Care Act, Mr. Holland and his senior team developed a strategy to improve community health outcomes. “People should be able to access health care services close to their homes,” says Holland.
The new structure will provide spacious and modern clinics and offices. Having exhausted the capacity to expand in their current buildings, Mr. Holland noted that “This new facility will not only help St. Bernard Hospital meet many current service demands, but provide the opportunity to bring additional services online in the future as we adapt to the quickly changing landscape of health care.”
In 2013, the emergency department at St. Bernard received the highest number of Chicago Fire Department Emergency Medical Service runs citywide. Currently serving over 42,000 patients annually, the demand on emergency services has steadily increased. A walk-in clinic has long been needed to provide access to non-emergency immediate care for which emergency departments have been inappropriately used. A walk-in clinic will provide greater access, as well as lower the cost to our overall healthcare system.
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