University of Chicago Medicine expands primary care offerings with new clinics

Newswise — The University of Chicago Medicine has added two new primary care locations in Chicago’s Hyde Park and Kenwood neighborhoods, as part of continued efforts from the Hyde Park-based academic health system to expand care offerings closer to patients’ homes.

In conjunction with UChicago Medicine Comer Children’s Hospital, UChicago Medicine launched its Cottage Grove clinic on Sept. 1, 2023, to meet growing demand for appointments. The site, located at the corner of Cottage Grove and 55^th Street, includes family medicine physicians and general pediatricians and offers services like lab tests and immunizations.

UChicago Medicine Medical Group* opened the Kenwood primary care and internal medicine site on Oct. 19, 2023, at 4646 S. Drexel Ave. Patients have access to same-day appointments, online scheduling and in-person and virtual visits as part of the full continuum of primary care services offered by the health system.

Senior care will also be offered at the Kenwood site in 2024. It will be the Medical Group’s first location to offer integrated care to people 55 years of age and older, incorporating primary care with nutrition counseling, social work and other health care services.

“We’ve seen a huge, enthusiastic response with the Cottage Grove opening in September that has confirmed our sense that this was a real need in our community,” said Debra Stulberg, MD, Professor of Family Medicine and Chair of the Department of Family Medicine at UChicago Medicine. “I think that’s going to be the same with our Kenwood clinic opening.”

Primary care providers at both locations conduct annual wellness exams, preventive screenings for adults and children, outpatient procedures and diagnostics, school and sports physicals and care for both common and urgent medical issues. UChicago Medicine primary care doctors and nurse practitioners also work together with patients’ specialists to co-manage health needs and provide coordinated care for any health problem.

“We know that there’s been a real need for people to be able to get in with a provider, develop a relationship and come back over time,” Stulberg said. “The whole purpose of primary care is to really develop a long-term relationship between provider and patient that can help improve and promote the health of patients in the entire community, and I think these new locations will allow easier access for people to do just that.”

The two new locations opened on the heels of the health system launching its first women’s health clinic in Chicago’s northern suburbs: a urogynecology outpatient center in Glenview (which will soon permanently relocate to Northbrook), home to four leading UChicago Medicine surgeon-scientists who provide complex pelvic care for patients.

The academic health system also opened three new urgent care sites in 2023, including one in Homewood, another in Dearborn Station and most recently one at its River East location. The sites provide south suburban and Chicago residents with afterhours, weekend and holiday access for time-sensitive medical needs like minor illnesses and injuries.

*UChicago Medicine Medical Group is comprised of UCM Care Network Medical Group, Inc. and Primary Healthcare Associates, S.C. UChicago Medicine Medical Group providers are not employees or agents of The University of Chicago Medical Center, The University of Chicago, UChicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial, or UChicago Medicine Kenwood.