Provident Hosp Of Cook Cnty

Description

Provident Hospital earned its place in Chicago history when Dr Daniel Hale Williams an AfricanAmerican conducted the first successful openheart surgery there Provident began a new chapter when a renovated modern hospital reopened in 1993 as an affiliate of the Cook County Bureau of Health Services

As a community teaching hospital it meets community healthcare needs including primary specialized emergency sameday surgery maternity family practice and critical care services Provident Hospitals emergency room is the third busiest in the city serving more than 50000 persons per year A predominantly female staff of physicians and nurse midwives deliver more than 900 babies a year many of whom continue to receive care at the Southside Childrens Center as they grow

Actively committed to prevention Provident staff and volunteers work with community residents to promote good health and wellness Through health fairs a speakers bureau support groups and other activities Provident Hospital works to improve the health status of communities throughout the Southside of Chicago

Provident staff members conduct three large community health fairs a year for children seniors and men They also participate in more than 70 communitybased health fairs annually Based on an ongoing evaluation of community need Provident offers a full menu of community education programs concerning asthma diabetes and sexual health The hospital hosts support groups for cancer alcohol and substance abuse and HIV as well as a senior wellness club Typical of its outreach efforts the Nursing Department offers health tips to the community through a monthly column in the Chicago Defender

Deeply integrated in the south side community Provident expands its scope of services to meet changing community needs It was one of three hospitals selected to launch the Chicago Board of Education quotCradle to Classroomquot initiative which assists pregnant teenagers in achieving successful deliveries and staying in school A partnership between the Bureau and the Ounce of Prevention Fund has resulted in Provident physicians contributing to the staffing of three schoolbased clinics on the south side of Chicago The hospital provides medical care for the Interfaith House Chicagos only residential facility for persons with AIDS and their families It also addresses the special needs of male healthcare through its quot4 Men Onlyquot healthcare group which meets monthly and offers special wellness services

Fulfilling the Bureaus goal of expanding outpatient services into the community Provident is home to three Ambulatory and Community Health Network clinics Sengstacke Professional Building with 30 specialty clinics Southside Childrens Health Center and Southside Obstetrics and Gynecology Center As a community hospital Provident also serves three Ambulatory and Community Health Network outpatient clinics in Woodlawn Englewood and Douglas communities

Provident has served an increasing number of persons who are receiving cancer treatment As part of the coordinated Bureau of Health Services approach to cancer care Provident expanded its mammography capacity and this past summer opened a chemotherapy unit to allow cancer patients to get treatment nearer to their own homes New specialty services also include orthopedics podiatry and an expanded urology service

In the year 2000 Provident is turning the clock back to a time when doctors made house calls Resident physicians from Loyola University and Cook County Hospital visit lowincome elderly patients in their homes These patients in turn are able to select one of the Ambulatory Network health centers as their primary care site To further serve the elderly of the community Provident is providing services in a local senior citizen housing complex and will soon open a comprehensive diabetes clinic in collaboration with staff from Cook County Hospital

Provident works closely with the other affiliates to identify the best site for treatment of a particular medical need For instance persons with specialized cancer needs are referred to Cook County Hospital as are most highrisk pregnancies Persons with less specialized needs are treated at Provident closer to their homes Routine day surgery is being increasingly performed at Provident making such procedures more convenient for south side residents

As a community hospital Provident takes seriously its goal of partnering with the community for better health It is a relationship consistent with Providents goal of being part of an extended family of care As a member of the Cook County Bureau of Health Services Provident is able to combine the personal care of a community hospital with the diverse specialized services of a nationallyrecognized healthcare system