BRIGHTON PARK — Oak Street Health will cater to Brighton Park's senior citizens when it opens Monday.
The 10,000-square-foot clinic at 4327 S. Archer Ave. will provide seniors with Medicare with exams, rides to and from the center and a care team. It will also schedule patients' referrals, among other services. Eventually, the clinic will add a pharmacy.
The clinic's operator said it will be a community hub with coffee, tea and TV, open to everyone in the area, with classes and events held on an almost daily basis.
Going the Extra Miles
Oak Street Health is "very unique" because it offers services other clinics don't, company Regional Vice President Kristen Kerns said. It will drive patients who live within 5 miles of the clinic to and from appointments, gives patients each at least 20 minutes of face-to-face time with their doctors and give each patient a "care team," she said.
Care teams are composed of a doctor, nurse, medical assistant and other employees who will take care of the patient for each of his or her visits so the patient can develop a "deep, meaningful relationship" with caretakers, said Vanessa Hall, a Oak Street Health spokeswoman.
Other employees focus on helping patients navigate the "Medicare maze," Hall said, and will meet with patients once their exams are over so they can schedule referral appointments on behalf of the patient. There are also employees who will sit with patients and help them fill out their paperwork at their first visit to the clinic instead of asking patients to do it on their own, Hall said.
Oak Street Health will open a pharmacy later on, though Hall said they're not yet sure when that will happen.
The clinic will be handle up to 3,000 patients, Hall said.
Connecting With the Community
Oak Street Health has eight centers, most of them in or around Chicago, Hall said. They will have 15 centers total by the end of the summer, with new clinics also opening in Oak Park and Garfield Park, Hall said. Oak Street Health employees will reach out to Brighton Park seniors to teach them about the center's offerings and availability, Hall said.
Each center tries to "pick up the flavor of [its] neighborhood," Kerns said. In Brighton Park, that means staff members will be able to speak English and Spanish so they can talk to patients from the area, which has a large Latino population, Kerns said.
The clinic's events, which are open to everyone in the community, also will be tailored to the clinic's patients — largely seniors — and the community's Spanish-speaking population. There will be a beginners' jewelry-making class 10-11 a.m. Monday. Some events — like a basic computer class on Tuesday — will be for Spanish speakers.
The clinic will also hire locally, Hall said. Kerns estimated it has created 20 jobs, and as the clinic grows and more patients come in, that will grow to 40-50 employees, she said.
Though Fernando Vaca, who works in the area, said he hasn't heard of Oak Street Health, he thinks a stable business will be good for the street, which has seen businesses come and go. Vaca said the main problem for the area is a lack of parking.
The center will open Monday and there will be open houses on weekdays from July 13-31 so people can stop by to learn about the center. A grand opening with community leaders is scheduled for 11 a.m. July 22.
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