The Chicago Department of Health’s Englewood Neighborhood Health Center has been the last resort for many Black patients since 1973. The center, at 641 W. 63rd St., was recently recognized by city officials for its 35 years of service to the Englewo
The Chicago Department of Health’s Englewood Neighborhood Health Center has been the last resort for many Black patients since 1973.
The center, at 641 W. 63rd St., was recently recognized by city officials for its 35 years of service to the Englewood community on the South Side.
“I remember when my daughter was 3 years old and was sick with a high fever,” said Ethel Jenkins, 56, a longtime Englewood resident. “I was a single mother with a part-time job and no health insurance. Cook County Hospital was too far so I walked up the street to the clinic for help. Not only were the doctors able to get her high fever down, they also gave me free medicine.”
Bob Fishman, 68, remembers developing a rash on his leg after going camping at age 12.
“My mom thought it was poison ivy so she took me to the clinic,” he recalls. “Turns out I was having an allergic reaction to baby oil, so the doctor put some skin cream on my leg and gave me additional ointments. Little did I know that all services at the clinic were free.”
Other residents said they appreciate the city keeping the clinic open during tough economic times.
“I come here for everything from Pap smears to annual check ups,” said Bridgette Stubbs, 30, a regular patient at the clinic. “The clinic is best known though for its pediatrics and specialty clinic.”
Dr. Terry Mason, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Health, said the clinic deserves much praise for the work it does.
“From head to toe, from womb to tomb–this clinic has played and continues to play a vital role in the health of thousands of men, women and children in the greater Englewood area,” he said. “May it continue its long and proud history of service to the community for many years to come.”
In addition to primary care for people of all ages, the clinic is home to a number of specialty programs that provide such outpatient services as mammography, nutrition counseling and Women, Infant and Children nutrition program vouchers, dentistry, violence prevention, family planning, parenting and male responsibility classes, mental health therapy, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS care, rape crisis counseling and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases.
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