Health Care Experience Transformed with Opening of $8 Million Women's Health Center at Swedish Covenant Hospital

Swedish Covenant Hospital opened the Mayora Rosenberg Women Health Center today, an integrated medical care facility that provides women on Chicago’s north side with increased access to health care in a stunningly elegant setting unlike any other in the city.

The $8 million health center is located in the Galter Medical Pavilion on Swedish Covenant Hospital’s California Avenue campus. Approximately $2.4 million in Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funding was provided to support the project development, with the remainder financed by hospital investments and a capital campaign being undertaken by the Swedish Covenant Hospital Foundation.

Additional TIF funds were approved to facilitate an expansion of the hospital’s emergency department. Together, the two projects will create 200 full time, temporary construction jobs and 30 permanent full time positions, including female doctors, nurses and technicians.

“For years, Swedish Covenant has been an integral part of this community, providing quality health care to Chicago residents who otherwise would have difficulty accessing these services,” said Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. “This new women’s health center - in addition to an updated and revitalized emergency facility - will allow Swedish Covenant to continue this important work, remove barriers to quality health services for women on Chicago’s north side and create new jobs.”
Swedish Covenant Hospital is located in the most diverse area in Chicago. For many women living in it its service area, socioeconomic barriers, cultural beliefs, language needs or a lack of accessible information act as roadblocks to receiving health care. As a result, many remain without basic services like primary care, wellness screenings and even specialty care for chronic medical conditions.

Meanwhile, inconvenient wait times and a lack of childcare options can be a major hindrance to receiving care for many single mothers or busy professionals.

“The Mayora Rosenberg Women’s Health Center puts a woman’s values and lifestyle at the center of her care, fundamentally reimagining how to improve health outcomes by focusing on each individual patient’s unique needs,” said Mark Newton, Swedish Covenant Hospital CEO and president. “We believe that a welcoming facility, equipped with the most advanced technologies and staffed by only top-performing care providers, will provide all women in our community with an unmatched patient experience.”

This comprehensive health center breaks down access barriers and enables an intimate health care experience by providing several unique features and programs:

• Female staffing and women-only patient areas. The private facility will help make women’s health care visits comfortable and is sensitive to the needs of several north side religious and cultural groups.
• Advanced screenings. Women will have access to private mammography suites with 3-D mammogram technology, as well as breast health navigators to guide them through diagnostic testing, treatment and survivorship. Nutrition services, bone health services, customized wellness physicals and dermatological treatments are just a few of the additional services that will be offered.
• Support for uninsured and underinsured patients. The Community Breast Health Program at Swedish Covenant Hospital provides women with access to lifesaving screenings that can help them achieve their personal health and wellness goals.
• Flexible, child-friendly appointment times. The center will offer convenient online scheduling, including evening and weekend appointments, to fit into women’s busy lives, appointments during which child care is available, and same day test results.
• Interpretation services. The center will include trained medical interpreters and dedicated phone lines for telephonic translation services in more than 180 languages.
• Community Access and Education Programs. In coordination with community leaders, Swedish Covenant Hospital will tailor health education programs that address the needs of the population of underserved women.
• Health Resource Center. Hospital patients and members of the community will have access to a broad spectrum of health information and resources. The Resource Center will house computer stations for on line access to healthcare research and information, a multi-language library of health related materials, and a multipurpose event space.

A key offering of the center will be its navigation services. Women’s Health and Breast Health Navigators function as the single-point-of-contact through which each woman’s care is coordinated, both in-house and across the community’s system of care. In these patient-centered roles, the navigators are responsible for ensuring that patient’s diagnostic, treatment, and support needs are holistically, comprehensively, and expediently addressed.

“Women in our community are in need of an accessible and convenient health care option that allows them to serve as active partners in their health care, and that of their families,” said 40th Ward Alderman Pat O’Connor. “The Mayora Rosenberg Women’s Health Center will help break down language, financial and cultural barriers that prevent women from accessing the life-saving services and treatments they need.”

The services offered by the new Women’s Health Center were determined in collaboration with 12 community organizations that include Centro Romero, Indo-American Center, the Polish Initiative of Chicago and Korean American Community Services.

“Our mission is to provide social services to immigrant refugees, and Swedish Covenant Hospital has been a vital partner in helping us achieve our mission by providing the highest quality health care services to our residents,” said Patricia Robles, family support services director at Centro Romero. “Centro Romero agency fully supports the building of a Women’s Health Center since this investment in Swedish Covenant Hospital’s health care services will benefit those served in our community.”

The Women’s Health Center is a cornerstone investment of Swedish Covenant Hospital’s Women’s Health Initiative, and ambitious effort designed to ensure that every woman on Chicago’s north side has access to high-quality health care and resources.