ENGLEWOOD — St. Bernard Hospital and Healthcare Center plans to use a $50,000 grant to hire an outreach coordinator for its Pediatric Asthma Clinic that will be moved to its new ambulatory care center in 2016.
The hospital is one of six institutions sharing a $253,475 grant from the University of Chicago Medicine’s new Community Benefits Grant Program, which is a joint initiative between the Urban Health Initiative and the Institute for Translational Medicine.
“This new grant program works to improve health and access to medical care on the South Side through patient care, research and medical education," said Brenda Battle, vice president of care for the Urban Health Initiative.
Besides St. Bernard Hospital, 326 W. 64th St., the other South Side institutions sharing the grant are CommunityHealth, $50,000; Asian Health Coalition, $29,500; Chicago Asthma Consortium, $48,425; Mobile C.A.R.E Foundation; $45,000; and Respiratory Health Association, $30,000.
"A lot of times children come to our emergency room for asthma attacks and we refer them to our asthma clinic, but we want to do more outreach to educate parents about asthma," said Evelyn Jones, vice president of nursing services for St. Bernard Hospital.
A 2012 report by the University of Chicago Medical Center identified diabetes, breast and colorectal cancer, pediatric asthma, pediatric obesity, and access to care as the five greatest health needs on the South Side.
That's why St. Bernard Hospital will move its Pediatric Asthma Clinic to the new ambulatory care center at 63rd Street and Stewart Avenue when its finished by April 2016.
"The clinic will have more space over there too," added Jones.
Construction on the three-story, 70,000-square-foot facility is expected to begin by Nov. 1, said Toni Graham, a spokeswoman for Berglund Construction, the general contractor for the project.
Hospital officials said they is currently working on a plan to ensure employment opportunities exist for Englewood residents during both construction and at the new center.
The new center will sit across the street from Johnson College Prep, Team Englewood and Urban Prep for Young Men high schools. At a Friday community meeting in which hospital officials discussed the planned ambulatory care center community organizations stressed to hospital officials the need to also devise a plan to create internship opportunities for students.
"Nearby Simeon high school has cut out its electrical program and now more than ever our students need trade opportunities to improve their chances of finding a job after high school," said John Paul Jones, president of Sustainable Englewood Initiatives. "I hope by the center being this close to three high schools that those opportunities exist."
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