The mission of the Southside Free Clinic (SSFC) is to provide high quality medical care to people living in the South Side of Chicago, with a focus on addressing the health needs of the black adult population. SSFC was born out of a partnership between the Pritzker School of Medicine’s chapter of the Student National Medical Association, University of Chicago Medicine, and Project H.O.O.D., a non-profit organization with an extensive history of working to reduce poverty, violence, and incarceration in Woodlawn and Englewood since 2011.
SSFC recently had its inaugural clinic day on November 6, 2022, at the New Beginnings Church. Clinic will be held once a month on Sunday afternoons, with the goal of scaling up services and increasing frequency to once a week. In addition to providing primary care services to uninsured and underinsured individuals on site, the clinic also coordinates patient referrals to Federally Qualified Health Centers. In coming months, SSFC plans to bring additional health literacy workshops, screening services, mental health and wellness initiatives, and other health-related events to the community.
As the Southside Free Clinic continues to grow in this inaugural year, it will be guided by a two-fold goal: to empower medical students and professionals to address health disparities directly, while providing invaluable medical services to historically underserved Chicagoans.
Contact: Ahmed Abdel Naby & Kendra Adegbesan
Faculty Advisors: Dr. Sonia Oyola & Dr. David Hampton
Related Article: https://pritzker.uchicago.edu/news/2022-ama-challenge-results
- Hours of Operation: Monthly on Sundays from 1:00pm-4:00pm
- Clinic appointments: email ssfc.uchicago.info@gmail.com or use our scheduling form https://forms.gle/cg1MgihhqTxMfLPb8
- Students take histories and perform physical examinations
- Students practice presenting to attendings
- Physicians and students update patient charts
- Students will work to provide patients with longitudinal care
- SSFC is located in New Beginnings Church at 6620 S Martin Luther King Drive
- Students will coordinate rides to and from the clinic. Parking is available in the back lot of New Beginnings Church or street parking.