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Lawndale Christian Health
Center
Lawndale Christian Health Center has its roots in the efforts of a group
of community residents, largely from Lawndale Community Church, who in 1984
spearheaded an effort to address the lack of affordable, quality health
care services in their community. With many hours of volunteer time and
a $150,000 grant from the Chicago Community Trust, a former Cadillac dealership
was transformed into the facility that is now Lawndale Christian Health
Center (LCHC). LCC subsequently launched Lawndale Christian Development
Corporation (LCDC), which originally focused on the development of affordable
housing, but has since expanded to include educational programs and community
organizing efforts. Originally all three occupied the present structure
of LCHC, but, as each ministry grew, additional buildings were acquired,
leaving only the health center occupying the original structure (apart from
a gymnasium used by LCC). LCC also has a sister church in South Lawndale
called La Villita Community Church (LVCC). LCHC's original facility on Ogden
artist's rendering of renovated Ogden facility.
Since its founding, LCHC has grown rapidly to the point that over 110,000
patients are now seen each year. Services have expanded to include ancillary
services such as laboratory, radiology, and pharmacy, a dental and eye clinic,
and health support services for targeted populations such as pregnant women,
asthmatics, diabetics, and persons with HIV. LCHC's expansion has continued
with new sites located in Homan Square and at Farragut High School (soon to be expnading in size to accomodate deman), as well
a fitness center created within out main location.
In recent years, both North and South Lawndale have seen a number of new
primary health care providers enter the local market. This has been a positive
development for both the neighborhood and LCHC. Particularly in La Villita,
as the population continues to grow, the need for additional health care
services increases as well. For LCHC in particular, the introduction of
"competitors" is a challenge to continually improve the quality
of care being offered, as residents have an increasing number of alternative
choices for health care services.
Specific efforts have also been undertaken to not only expand the scope
of services offered at LCHC, but also the quality of care. One ongoing effort
seeks to combat long cycle times experienced by patients at LCHC (the time
from a patient's arrival to their departure). Another collaborative involving
diabetic patients seeks to improve patients' abilities to self-manage their
diabetes. Other targeted areas include asthma, lead poisoning, HIV, substance
abuse, perinatal care, adolescent health, immunization and well child care,
and tuberculosis.
Despite the many attributes that make North and South Lawndale an attractive
place for many people to call home, there remain some persistent, significant
indicators of poor health and quality of life in Lawndale. Although it is
beyond the scope of this introduction to address why these disparities in
health quality exist, they are undeniable and important to recognize in
the context of providing quality health care.
The following Table reports a number of health status indicators three of
the closest neighborhoods to the North of LCHC's Ogden clinic. Each of the
communities is over 95% African American. The disparities are noted by comparison
to the City of Chicago's total statistics. By ranking, of the 77 neighborhoods
in the City of Chicago, East Garfield, West Garfield, and North Lawndale
or ranked 75, 76, and 77 as having the greatest disparity of women not receiving
prenatal care prior to delivery. LCHC's medical staff delivers about 700
babies per year, but the need to provide more services will exist for some
time.
| |
North |
East |
West |
|
| Health Data Indicator |
Lawndale |
Garfield |
Garfield |
Chicago |
| Infant Mortality (rate) |
14.2 |
15.7 |
22.4 |
11.4 |
| Low Birthweight Births |
15% |
17% |
16% |
11% |
| Births to Mothers with No Prenatal Care |
9% |
9% |
11% |
3% |
| Births to Mothers Younger than Twenty |
30% |
30% |
31% |
18% |
| Births to Mothers Who Smoked During Pregnancy |
17% |
19% |
17% |
10% |
| Syphilis Cases (rate) |
61 |
62 |
73 |
19 |
| Gonorrhea Cases (rate) |
722 |
899 |
969 |
469 |
| AIDS Cases (rate) |
57 |
112 |
71 |
45 |
| Tuberculosis Cases (rate) |
35 |
93 |
43 |
23 |
| Children >Age Seven w. Elevated Lead (rate) |
267 |
255 |
283 |
108 |
| Domestic Violence - Women Age 18 & older (rate) |
4,073 |
5,103 |
5,019 |
3,384 |
| Source: Chicago Department of Public Health, 1995-1997. |
As a predominantly Hispanic area, South Lawndale's health statistics, though
not as poor as those listed above, present disparities primarily in the
form of access. Many of the community's 81,000 person population are uninsured
by virtue of either being a non-citizen residency status or by being employed
in low wage positions that do not provide insurance coverage. South Lawndale's
household income average places it in the bottom 30% in the City of Chicago,
indicating that many of residents have poor paying jobs that are not likely
to provide health insurance. It has been estimated that 33% of Hispanics
living in Illinois are uninsured, meaning that at least 27,000 people in
South Lawndale are uninsured. The American College of Physicians report
that uninsured Hispanics are 1.8 times less likely to obtain prenatal care
in the first trimester and are 2.3 times more likely to be diagnosed with
breast cancer at a later stage. Access to care issues for South Lawndale
residents are complicated by the fact that 70% of its residents do not have
a high school education, reducing the likelihood that access to appropriate
health care for issues such diabetes is being sought. Issues of access and
disparities continue to exist for the South Lawndale community. |
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