As a nationally recognized leader in patient safety, cardiovascular care and more, Mercy Hospital & Medical Center draws patients from across the Chicago area. The downtown facility features all the modern amenities one would expect from an exceptional
big-city hospital. But Mercy knows it’s not always easy for people to get downtown. That’s why the hospital is committed to bringing the best of Mercy, including experienced clinicians, a wide array of specialty care and services, preventive care and health education, out into the community.

Located throughout the city, Mercy’s numerous satellite clinics span the vast neighborhoods of Chicago, sharing common strengths and traits: convenience, valued relationships, services for the entire family, cultural sensitivity and exceptional care.

All Under One Roof
Each of the satellite clinics offer primary care for children
and adults, as well as specialty and sub-specialty care, health screenings and more. Mercy Medical at Dearborn Station, for example offers nine medical specialties, plus heart screening, laboratory services, X-ray, ultrasound and mammography. The clinic also provides integrative medicine therapies, laser hair removal and a full-service travel clinic with board-certified infectious disease specialists.

“We have all the services people need in one location,” says Michelle Albovias, M.D., an obstetrician/gynecologist and women’s health specialist at Dearborn Station. “It’s the full continuum of care, all in the neighborhood.”

The same is true at Mercy Medical on Pulaski, says family medicine physician Iouri Melnik, M.D. “A lot of people in the community view the Pulaski office as a mini-hospital because of the availability of so many services,” he says. Likewise, Mercy Medical in Chinatown has on-site cardiology and endocrinology services,
as both heart disease and diabetes are major concerns in the Asian-American community.

Prior to the opening of Mercy Medical in Chatham, many area residents commuted downtown for care, notes Niva Lubin-Johnson, M.D., an internist at the Chatham clinic. And that sometimes meant their healthcare was more piecemeal. “Being in a building where you have other specialists present helps in terms of continuity of care,” she explains. “Patients see that it’s easy for them to see their physician, but also get their blood work done, or see an obstetrician/gynecologist or ophthalmologist. It makes it easier for people to stay on top of their care.”

Having so many specialties under one roof also makes it easy for providers to communicate with one another. And that leads to more responsive care, according to Dr. Albovias. “It’s not unusual for me to receive a phone call from another physician saying, ‘hey this is what’s going on with your patient,’” she says. “That takes time and effort to do, but because we have relationships with each other, we’re all happy to do it.”

“If one of my patients is seeing an obstetrician/gynecologist and there’s some issues that they want to talk to me about, they usually just pick up the phone so we can talk about it—and vice versa,” seconds Dr. Lubin-Johnson. “It’s a lot more personal than just
getting a report in the patient’s medical file.”

Care for the Whole Family
Busy moms are probably the most appreciative of Mercy’s multi-specialty community clinics. “With some hospitals, you might have your doctor from one group, then you have to go somewhere else for your kids and you take your aging mother somewhere else,” says pediatrician Pierre Noisette, M.D., who sees newborns through adolescents at Mercy Medical in Chatham. “Here, you can come with the kids, you can see your obstetrician/gynecologist and your mother can have her diabetes checked.”

Culturally Sensitive, Highly Specialized
While these strong physician-patient relationships may be unusual in larger hospitals, they’re common at Mercy’s satellite clinics. Mercy’s providers deliver highly personalized care, custom-tailored to the health and cultural needs of each patient. At Mercy Medical in Chinatown, for example, providers speak both Cantonese and Mandarin. And at Mercy Medical at Pulaski, the multilingual staff caters to the area’s many Spanish- and Polish-speaking patients, as well as the newer immigrant groups, says Dr. Melnik, who speaks Polish, Spanish, Ukrainian and Russian. And when the staff is not able to personally provide translation services, the clinics utilize a 24-hour language line.

The clinics also feature physicians with community-specific expertise. At Mercy Medical in Chatham, Dr. Adrianne Dade, specializes in the detection and treatment of uterine fibroids, non-cancerous tumors that are common in African-American women.

At the Chinatown clinic, the medical staff includes specialists with experience diagnosing and treating health conditions unique to Asian and South Pacific populations. “The community is very familiar with the centrally located clinic, as it has a long history,” says Dr. Sze Wong, family medicine physician. “But it’s not just that the clinic and its doctors are in the community, we’re actually part of the community. We know the culture and the expectations, how people look at health care and the doctor-patient relationship.”

Community Health
The strong sense of community within the satellite clinics is fostered by the fact that many of the providers live in the communities they serve. Dr. Lubin-Johnson, for example, has lived in Chatham for all but six months of her life and has been at the Chatham clinic since it opened in 1991. “I’m not going anywhere,” she says. “This is my home, literally.”

Likewise, Dr. Wong has been a member of the Chinatown community since settling there with his family when he was 15. Dr. Angeles-Baguisa loves talking about her South Loop neighborhood with her patients/neighbors. “I live there, I belong here and I know the neighborhood,” she says. “I breathe the same air as the patients and I love it here.”

Because of these deep roots, Mercy’s providers are highly committed to the health and wellness of their communities. Dr. Angeles-Baguisa, sees Mercy Medical at Dearborn Station as fostering the growth and health of her community, just as the other seven community clinics tend to the health and wellness of their respective communities. “We’re here to become true partners in the community’s care,” she says. “We’re here for people when they’re sick, but also when they’re well, and everything in between.”

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