Maya Green, M.D., medical director of Howard Brown Health's Englewood clinic, calls her new role "a whirlwind of fun and challenges. It's been a great experience in teamwork, community and sharing."
The clinic opened in May of this year, and represents an effort by Howard Brown Health to both expand its services to Chicago's South Side and alleviate overcrowding in its North Side flagship.
Green is a South Side native and is excited to serve South Side residents "in the manner that I believe they should be served," she said. "A lot of times when I see how systems operate, and I disagree with it, sometimes I think it's not my place to say anything. But, in this case, this is a place to create opportunities, where we can create options and service-styles."
She defined those service styles as ones that embrace inclusiveness and supportiveness and serve clients without bias. "The question [facing patients] is not whether or not they should take their lives in a certain direction," Green explained. "The question is, 'How do we assist them in an optimum manner in this process?'"
Green, who was previously a provider with the Ruth Rothstein CORE Center, also consulted with Howard Brown Health for about three years. She and Chief Clinical Officer Magda Houlberg would frequently discuss the need for expansion to the South Side, she recalled, so she was gratified when the organization was able to take action to bring culturally-inclusive care there.
"In a way, that's what Howard Brown does," Green said. "Since 1974, we have been advocating for the LGBT community, specifically a community in need of healthcare delivery in a way that helps them along their path in life. … The fact that they are coming to the South Side is wonderful, but there was an expressed need. It's great that patients on the South Side don't have to travel up north for LGBTQ services, but also we've opened up for people with HIV or who need primary care, or routine care."
The timing of the clinic's opening at first presented Green and her staff with their biggest challenges, she recalled. They got access to the space in the first week of May, then opened their doors to patients the third week.
"The time during which we could adjust the clinic to the way we wanted to operate was difficult," she said. "But the great thing was, in that time, we discovered the next great challenge: space. Now as we build, we have demand and must find the capacity to grow. We have the demand from the community to grow. It's excitingif you'd asked me before I started, if this would be happening so quickly, I would have told you no. It goes to show that, on everybody's path and journey, there's always a plethora of opportunity and space to grow."
The clinic celebrated its grand opening with an open house in early September. Green said that, so far, "no day has been like the next one."
She also has been gratified that the clinic has been embraced by the community. "I'm excited to see where this journey goes," Green added.