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Swedish Covenant Hospital Announces $8M Women's Health Center

 Swedish Covenant Hospital's Women's Health Center is set to open this fall, with the goal of removing economic and cultural barriers that keep women from obtaining health care.
Swedish Covenant Hospital's Women's Health Center is set to open this fall, with the goal of removing economic and cultural barriers that keep women from obtaining health care.
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Facebook/Swedish Covenant Hospital

LINCOLN SQUARE — Swedish Covenant Hospital has announced that work has begun on the $8 million Mayora Rosenberg Women's Health Center, set to open in the fall with unique features like translation services and women-only patient areas.

The center is being constructed inside the hospital's Galter Medical Pavilion, 5145 N. California Ave.

The center "will help break down language, financial and cultural barriers that prevent women from accessing the life-saving services and treatments they need," Ald. Pat O'Connor (40th) said in a statement.

In March, the alderman created a Tax Increment Financing district around the hospital to provide $2.4 million in funding toward the center. Swedish Covenant is financing the remainder of the project.

Programs to be offered by the center were developed in collaboration with various community organizations, taking into account the unique needs of the hospital's diverse patient population.

According to Swedish Covenant, more than 35 percent of Chicago's foreign-born residents live within the hospital's service area. Of the women treated at the hospital, 40 percent are non-English speaking and 25 percent lack health care insurance.

As a result, the center's staff will include trained medical interpreters and dedicated phone lines providing translation services in more than 180 languages. Evening and weekend appointments will be available to accommodate working mothers, with childcare provided.

Out of sensitivity to various religious and cultural practices, the center will also feature female staffing and women-only patient areas.

Swedish Covenant opened in 1886 and has since expanded from 12 beds to more than 300, with a staff of 2,200. It's administered by the Covenant Board of Benevolence on behalf of the Evangelical Covenant Church.

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