Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

CORE Center working on HIV/AIDS healthcare
by Erica Demarest, Windy City Times
2012-05-02

This article shared 6087 times since Wed May 2, 2012
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


In the mid-1990s, HIV/AIDS treatment in Cook County could best be described as disjointed.

Medical, mental health, pharmaceutical and case management services were housed in different locations; and Chicago's thousands of HIV-positive residents were bounced among city hospitals with limited to no HIV-dedicated space. Privacy concerns were common in cramped corridors, and long walks between services left patients exhausted.

Doctors, city officials and patients began kicking around ideas for an AIDS-specific facility, and concept for the CORE Center was born.

"The goal was to provide comprehensive medical and support services in a single location," said Associate Director Chet Kelly, who joined CORE in 2000 after a long stint with the Illinois Dept. of Public Health ( and prior to that with the Chicago Dept. of Public Health ) .

Operated by the Cook County Health and Hospitals System ( HHS ) and founded by the Cook County Bureau of Health Services and Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center, the CORE Center was the first comprehensive outpatient facility in the Midwest for people living with AIDS.

It provides a one-stop shop, where clients have access to dental care, medical care, a pharmacy, research trials and case managers. All payments are made on a sliding-scale basis.

In 1994, the fledgling health center set a $25 million fundraising goal and enlisted former Playboy Enterprises CEO Christie Hefner as a project director.

"In the early '80s, [ Playboy ] started to write about AIDS with the goal of countering the scare tactics that were out there about transmission," Hefner told TimeOut Chicago in 2005. " [ Playboy ] historically has been an important force as far as issues related to health and particularly issues that also touch on human sexuality."

Under Hefner's guidance, the CORE Center far surpassed its goal, raising more than $30 million by 1998.

"I'd never really been that involved in a capital campaign, and I think I said yes because I didn't really know how hard it was going to be," Hefner told TimeOut.

"But I did say yes," she continued, "and I was able to put together a board representing people in the business community, the arts community, the public sector and the medical sector. Also, we did something quite innovative, which is put together a community action council … the idea was that the people who were actually going to be the patients ought to have input into how the facility was designed and the kind of programs it would run."

The CORE Center, later renamed the Ruth M. Rothstein CORE Center, opened its doors to the public in October 1998. The four-story, 60,000-square-foot building proved to be as innovative as the facility's programming.

Designed by Ralph Johnson and health architect Jocelyn Lum Frederick, the building was largely a collaborative effort. Members of the community, including doctors and HIV-positive patients, contributed complaints and suggestions.

The result was a sunny, welcoming facility devoid of the meandering hallways and dreary colors often associated with medical centers. Clients had complained about navigation difficulties and privacy concerns; color-coded departments and private enclaves were worked into the design.

"The concept was to provide a light, airy and positive environment," Kelly said.

That environment has changed over the years, constantly adapting to meet the needs of an evolving virus.

When construction on the CORE Center began, Executive Director Kathi Braswell said, bronchoscopies were such a common treatment that an entire room was devoted to the procedure. But by the time CORE opened its doors in 1998, highly active antiretroviral therapies had all but eliminated the need for bronchoscopies. The space was repurposed.

"Over the years, we've done extensive renovations to the building," Kelly said.

These renovations have offered new facilities, greater privacy and additional programming. Recent structural and organizational additions have included a Hepatitis clinic, bilingual clinic and dental center.

One of the most innovative programs the CORE Center has developed is the Continuity Clinic, which targets recently released detainees and prisoners. Clinic physicians work at both the CORE Center and in facilities operated by the Cook County Dept. of Corrections, so that people who are incarcerated can see the same doctors once they've been released from jail.

The transitional assistance makes it easier for patients to adhere to medications and remain in treatment, which could reduce the community viral load.

Today, the CORE Center provides counseling and support services to more than 15,000 people annually. Clients are charged on a sliding-scale basis, and the majority of patients are un- or underinsured.

"We're a safety net facility," Kelly explained.

In 2010, according to HHS data, about 60 percent of patients had no insurance and 37 percent were covered by Medicaid or Medicare.

That same year, 62 percent of clients were Black, 17 percent were Latino and 15 percent were white. The overwhelming majority ( more than 70 percent ) was male. All clients have access to medical care, a pharmacy, peer support, research trials and case managers.

Aurora Pineda, a longtime LGBT activist and CORE Center employee, said case managers provide a necessary link for an often complex web of services.

"We're somewhere in between a mental health provider and an advocate for the client," Pineda said. "The client tells you the truth. He tells you [ in regard to medication ] , 'I'm not taking that crap.' Or, 'Oh I forgot to take this pill.' Or, 'I don't get sick with this pill, so I'll only take this one.' We're like: No, you can't be doing that. Talk to the pharmacist. We tell them where to go … , [ Do you need ] food stamps? Then go talk to this caseworker. We point them to the right direction."

For clients who face homelessness, poverty, transportation issues and language barriers, staying on top of healthcare can be especially challenging.

"I have a lot of clients who can't read well," said the bilingual Pineda, who regularly works with native Spanish speakers. "They'll maybe have a third- or fourth-grade reading level, and then they get those papers from SSI [ Supplemental Security Income ] that are very intimidating."

Helping clients stay connected to care is a chief priority for the CORE Center. It participates in Project IN-CARE, which links men of color to care, and is one of 12 sites across the country to participate in a federally funded project that links, engages and retains HIV-positive women of color to care.

In addition to regular programming for those who are already HIV-positive, the CORE Center offers a weekday walk-in clinic for free HIV testing. Roughly 7,000 to 8,000 people are tested on-site annually.

"Because we do rapid tests," Kelly said, "we're able to directly link people who test positive into follow-up care at the time they get their results."

Clients are able to set up appointments with case managers and doctors.

"We also have peers and mental health professionals available to provide psychological and emotional support," Kelly said, noting that few people request such services. "It doesn't come up a lot, actually. People take bad news quite well, usually."

Moving forward, the CORE Center will continue to focus on meeting clients' needs and participating in research trials.

The medical center participates in the Chicago D-CFAR, a collaboration between Rush University Medical Center, the University of Illinois at Chicago and Cook County Health & Hospitals System.

"It's designed to support early research and various research projects that can then be expanded," Kelly explained. "We support researchers with small grants, so they can start research that they can then use to apply for larger and broader grants [ including those from the National Institutes of Health ] ."

An important push for 2012 will be to further develop the center's state-of-the-art dental facility, which was renovated in mid-2011.

"Access to dental care is very important for persons with HIV," Kelly said. "We recently renovated our dental facility to have the physical space to be able to provide those health services on-site … . Now, we're in the process of securing resources to adequately staff the facility."

To learn more about the CORE Center, visit www.cookcountyhhs.org or www.corecenter.org .


This article shared 6087 times since Wed May 2, 2012
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

Brown Elephant Returns To Northalsted
2024-03-26
Brown Elephant's Lake View location is moving to Northalsted and already accepting donations. Howard Brown Health, the largest LGBTQ+ health center in the midwest, operates three Brown Elephant resale shops in the Chicagoland area to help ...


Gay News

An interstate trans healthcare crisis: Illinois prepares for influx of people seeking gender-affirming care
2024-03-26
With hard-won rights, such as access to hormone replacement therapy or permission to use one's chosen pronouns in school, breaking down in states across the country, trans residents of all ages are left with a choice: ...


Gay News

Planned Parenthood of Illinois expands Orland Park health center
2024-03-26
--From a press release - ORLAND PARK, Ill. - Planned Parenthood of Illinois (PPIL) announces the expansion of its existing Orland Park Health Center at 14470 S. LaGrange Rd., Suite 106. The 1,800-square-foot expansion is projected to increase sexual and reproductive ...


Gay News

Wyoming is latest state to ban gender-affirming care for minors
2024-03-24
On March 22, Wyoming became the latest state to prohibit gender-affirming care for minors, The Hill noted. In doing so, it joined 23 other states that passed laws restricting or banning the treatment. Legislators in both ...


Gay News

Chicago's LGBTQ+ Advisory Council sets a new course
2024-03-18
Chicago's LGBTQ+ Advisory Council held its first meeting of the calendar year on Feb. 28 at City Hall in the Loop under the leadership of the recently appointed chair Jin-Soo Huh. The LGBTQ+ Advisory Council is ...


Gay News

WORLD Leaked messages, Panama action, author dies at 32, Japan court, out athletes
2024-03-15
Hundreds of messages from an internal chat board for an international group of transgender health professionals were leaked in a report and framed as revealing serious health risks associated with gender-affirming care, including cancer, according to ...


Gay News

UK health service to stop routinely prescribing puberty blockers to minors
2024-03-14
NHS (National Health Service) England confirmed that children will no longer routinely be prescribed puberty blockers at gender-identity clinics, the BBC reported. The decision came after a review found there was "not enough evidence" that they ...


Gay News

One Roof Chicago launches youth-focused workforce development program
2024-03-14
One Roof Chicago (ORC) is set to launch its first training, education and job placement program for LGBTQ+ young adults in late spring. This Community Health Workers and Elder Care program is a part of ORC's ...


Gay News

Howard Brown experts discuss advocacy and allyship for Chicago's trans community
2024-03-14
By Alec Karam - Howard Brown Health's Trans & Gender Diverse People's Rights & Patient Care panel convened March 12 to discuss both resources for—and opportunities to provide allyship to—the city's trans and gender diverse communities. The event hos ...


Gay News

Howard Brown Health faces October trial if settlement isn't reached with union
2024-03-13
Howard Brown Health could go to trial over unfair labor practice allegations if the LGBTQ+ health center doesn't reach a settlement with its agreement soon. Chicago's regional director of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) filed ...


Gay News

Longtime LGBTQ+-rights activist David Mixner dies at 77
2024-03-12
On March 11, longtime LGBTQ+ and HIV/AIDS activist David Mixner—known for working on Bill Clinton's presidential campaign but then splitting from him over "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT)—died at age 77, The Advocate reported. ...


Gay News

Pro-choice activists protest crisis pregnancy center on International Women's Day
2024-03-11
The rainy weather on March 8 didn't deter a passionate group of pro-choice protesters from gathering in Old Town on International Women's Day. Following the opening of Women's Care Center—a crisis pregnancy center—directly next to Pl ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Altercation, mpox research, Univ. of Fla., George Santos, tech battle
2024-03-08
Video footage uploaded to Facebook showed an altercation between a state trooper and two prominent Philadelphia LGBTQ+ leaders, the Washington Blade reported, republishing an article from Philadelphia Gay News. Celena ...


Gay News

Pride 365 event emphasizes year-round support for LGBTQ+ employees
2024-03-07
Queer employees are queer all year-round. The need for employers to accordingly support and uplift them year-round was the core message at Howard Brown Health and Citywide Pride's Pride 365 "Out of Office to Out in ...


Gay News

AMA launches toolkit to increase screenings for HIV, STIs, hepatitis, tuberculosis
2024-03-06
Press release - CHICAGO — With disruptions in clinical care caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and increasing rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and viral hepatitis across the U.S., the American Medical Association ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.