City Transforms Clinic At South Side School Into Community Healthcare Center
WBBM Political Editor Craig Dellimore
(CBS) -- The Emanuel Administration is heralding the establishment of what officials are calling a school-based health center on the Near South Side. It's for more than just students.
WBBM Political Editor Craig Dellimore reports.
City government is using money from the tax on electronic cigarettes to expand the health clinic at the John Drake Elementary School into a full service primary care health center.
It will be staffed in a partnership with the University of Illinois at Chicago's Mile Square Health Center. UIC's Cynthia Barnes Boyd says it will serve students, yes, but it will also serve the Bronzeville area in general.
John Drake Elementary School's clinic is getting a $2 million infusion, and Dr. Julie Morita, Chicago's Health Commissioner, says it will be stronger than ever and wider-reaching.
Ward 3 Ald. Pat Dowell, who pushed for this primary care health center, says it will serve people who've hand limited access to quality care up to now.
The city hopes to open four more centers by the end of 2019.
