UPTOWN — As a child, Theresa Siaw spent many days traveling from the South Side to visit family in Uptown.
Siaw, who now handles business development for newly opened Uptown clinic Omni Healthcare, said the community has gone through some changes since those days.
In particular, she pointed out the changing attitudes toward less-fortunate people in the area — the patients Omni expects to serve at its walk-in medical clinic at 4609 N. Sheridan Rd.: "A lot of people have problems with people sleeping on benches, people living under the bridge," Siaw said.
She said Uptowners used to be more empathetic: "We're human beings, we should be helping each other out."
Helping the less fortunate is what Omni's "payer blind" model aims to do.
"Everyone should have the same kind of treatment no matter what," Siaw said. At the new location, and at its Humboldt Park clinic at 2720 W. Division St., Omni Healthcare focuses on patients with Medicaid or those who can't otherwise afford pricey private hospitals.
The company spent about two years scanning Broadway for the perfect location for the clinic before finding the spot, which was bustling with patients Thursday.
The clinic has five exam rooms, each equipped with a TV, a lab room and conference room with a view of Broadway. The lobby seats about 10 people with glass tables topped with flowers.
Though the clinic "is starting brand new," they aren't doing "too bad for just four days," said Charlene Wells, who's in charge of community relations. "People are coming in to see what kind of medicine we do. We've had appointments all week."
The clinic, which takes appointments and walk-ins, has three internal medicine doctors with more than 60 combined years of experience. One doctor also speaks Hindu, Urdu and Gujarati.
The clinic will be open from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Mondays, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and 1-4 p.m. Thursdays, Wells said.
As the company grows, it hopes to eventually add psychiatric and pain management services as well as more hours of service, she said.
The opening was first reported by Uptown Update.
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