Dozens of health service providers and health care advocates gathered Saturday to give women access to medical services in an historically underserved part of the Chicago area during the Southland Women’s Health and Wellness summit at South Suburban College.
The event in South Holland, organized by the Six Intentional Servants, Cook County Health and the Cook County Physicians Association, was an opportunity to think and plan for big, ambitious care development and also a platform to educate about existing resources residents.
The Six Intentional Servants are six area women who work together to improve lives in the southland region.
Group member and Cook County Commissioner Monica Gordon explained the group hopes the event will be an annual tradition, as the health needs in the area are many, though the needs of women of color are often overlooked. She said she was happy with the turnout of dozens of women — an important first step in even addressing the issue of service availability.
“When I say I’m so optimistic, it’s because there are so many people who are focused on these disparities,” she said.
Gordon said many health issues that affect women specifically, such as menopause, are vaguely thought to be associated with other health issues, like cognitive problems, but research is slow to make much connection and it’s underfunded.
If there are relationships, they’re not well known and most providers won’t or can’t address them, she said. Meanwhile, she said the people in the area also suffer from a very clear lack of existing resources.
“I’ll say this, one of the issues on the South Side is we don’t have a trauma center,” Gordon said. “If someone gets into a car crash, they have to make it all the way to Christ.”
Advocate Christ Medical Center is a level-one trauma center, and it’s in Oak Lawn and also one of the busiest trauma centers in the area. Gordon said this lack of immediate, urgent care is wrong.
“It’s life expectancy based on your ZIP code and it’s not fair,” she said.
While the summit did not promise plans for a new trauma center, it did offer a few basic services to women, including a mammogram van, outside of which a line formed for free screenings. Even such a basic service is often too far or too expensive for area residents, Gordon said.
“That’s another issue of access,” she said. “A lot of people don’t have access to a mammogram so we’re bringing a mammogram to the community.”
Even that basic access point to health care was a welcome sight to some attendees. Pam Henning said she lived in the area and attended because she has several health issues and wanted to make sure she was aware of all the community resources she could access. For her, the morning was a learning experience.
“I’m very pleased,” she said, surrounded by informational tables manned by health provider service groups. “This is all very nice, and very informative.”
The summit also brought out some political star power, including Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, both of whom dropped by to offer well wishes and opening remarks.
Preckwinkle said the health of the family is predicated on the health of the mother — or matriarch.
“It’s important we prioritize our own health because if we’re not healthy then we can’t take care of the people we love,” she said.
Preckwinkle said the county has some of the oldest free access points to health care in the area, and they’re always looking to expand services, such as doula services — workers who don’t provide direct health care but help mothers through the birthing process and act as their advocates. She said county health providers have a long tradition of helping anyone who needs it.
“For almost two centuries we’ve provided care for just about anyone who comes through our door regardless of their ability to pay, their race, their gender or their class, and we’re very proud of that,” Preckwinkle said.
Stratton said it’s incumbent on health providers and the government to listen to women, and said women have to speak up for themselves. The state tries to encourage that relationship, she said.
“The bottom line is this, in Illinois we trust women,” Stratton said. “We listen to women and we advocate for women. And with partners like the Six International Servants and the women in this room, that will never change.”
Jesse Wright is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
