Howard Brown Health, on March 10, announced that it would be taking over management of the HIV practice formerly operated by the Chicago Department of Public Health ( CDPH ) at a clinic at 641 W. 63rd St.
The new operation will be Howard Brown's fifth facility in the city and should be open by May, according to officials. Dr. Maya Green, MD, who has been a physician provider at the Ruth M. Rothstein CORE Center, will be medical director.
David Munar, president and CEO of Howard Brown, said the arrangement makes sense both for his organization and underserved populations in the neighborhood.
"We've seen a surge of patients since the Affordable Care Act went into effect," he said, noting that Howard Brown's patient population went up 25 percent in 2014, and 20 percent in 2015. "We expect the number for 2016 to be about the same or more."
The new clinic would reduce strained capacities at Howard Brown's main clinic and allow local residents to be treated closer to home, he added. "Our goal is to see patients living and working all over the city."
Munar said that the city had been "pretty transparent" in turning over its practices to private providers such as Howard Brown, and that the new plan would reach more patients and cost less. The turnover came as the result of infrastructure challenges, many of which stemmed from difficulties in implementing and maintaining electronic medical records.
"The city really leveraged its facilities to help community partners," he added.
CDPH also implemented partnerships with University of Illinois-Chicago, which will manage HIV clinics in Uptown, South Chicago and Humboldt Park. CDPH Commissioner Julie Morita said that the number of patients receiving primary care from the clinicsabout 500would expand by over 800.
"The health department had made huge strides in increasing ways to improve access and do more," said Morita.
Related information at the link: www.windycitymediagroup.com/lgbt/Howard-Brown-Health-announces-new-clinic-in-Englewood-neighborhood-/54564.html .