ENGLEWOOD — Howard Brown Health Clinic is adding its first South Side location — in Englewood.
The LGBT-tailored clinic will be based at 641 W. 63rd St., in a building once operated by the city's Department of Public Health. Clinic spokesman Erik Roldan said the goal is to have the 63rd Street clinic open by May. Howard Brown already has locations in Rogers Park, Uptown and Lakeview.
"Chicago’s LGBT community doesn’t only live on the North Side of the city," Roldan said. "The LGBT community is all over the city, so by having the location on the South Side, we hope to serve more of the people in the community.”
Howard Brown will address a full spectrum of health care services, including weight, cholesterol and hypertension management; treatment for diabetes, HIV and sexually transmitted infections; and healthy lifestyle consultation. The staff also assists people with getting health insurance.
The Health Department has committed to providing grant funding to offer care for uninsured HIV-positive residents.
“Howard Brown is a specialty health care center for HIV,” Roldan said. “We’re bringing our expertise to Englewood, along with our cultural competency across various communities.”
David Ernesto Munar, president and CEO of Howard Brown, said the clinic had been trying to expand on the South Side.
"We have long discussed pathways to serve more of Chicago's communities, with a consistent eye toward the South Side of the city where affirming, quality health care services are needed,” he said in a news release. “The aim of our providers is to deliver holistic healthcare, free of stigma and judgment. We look forward to expanding this level of service to meet the needs of Englewood and surrounding communities."
The clinic will be run by Dr. Maya Green, who has taken the role of site medical director.
“As a native of Chicago's South Side, I'm proud to lead Howard Brown Health's expansion of full-spectrum health care services to an area of the city that needs it," she said.
"Englewood, just like Howard Brown's other clinic neighborhoods, has specific challenges and needs, and we look forward to addressing them with care. Everyone deserves access to health care that meets them where they are, and assists them in their journey to a healthy life.”
Roldan said one way Howard Brown differs from other health clinics is the staff has always strived to make members of the LGBT community feel welcome and not judged.
“We have a long history in Chicago of providing affirming and culturally competent care to transgender people, to young people that are facing stigma or shame regarding their HIV diagnosis,” Roldan said. “We bring a cultural expertise in addition to a health care expertise. We see a lot of patients who come to us because they tried to find a health care provider and didn’t feel accepted as they were."
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