Black doctors collective opens first Black-owned urgent care center in Chicago’s southside
An amazing group of Black doctors are teaming up to open the first Black-owned Urgent Care Center in Chicago's Hyde Park.
An amazing group of Black doctors are teaming up to open the first Black-owned Urgent Care Center in Chicago’s Hyde Park.
According to Because of Them, Premier Health Urgent Care is aiming to provide affordable healthcare to Southside residents and would be the first Urgent Care facility in the area.
“We are happy to open an urgent care in Hyde Park because the community needs it,” said Dr. Reuben C. Rutland. “I see so many urban professionals who either delay or go without care because of time constraints.”
“No one has 8 hours to wait in the emergency department for a minor illness or the flexibility to wait 3 weeks because their primary care doctor is booked solid. We are here to help fill that gap.”
The facility’s founders include Dr. Airron Richardson, Dr. Michael A. McGee, and United States Navy veteran Dr. Reuben C. Rutland. It was opened in a partnership with former Chicago Bears wide receiver Dr. Gregory Primus, who after retiring from the NFL, became the first Black person trained in orthopedic surgery at the University of Chicago.
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“We are not in competition with the doctors offices or the emergency department,” explains Dr. Rutland. “We are a supplement to them both, to help relieve the stress on those two facilities.”
“Once a patient is seen, they are typically treated in less than an hour, making Premier’s walk-in clinic an ideal provider of the immediate care when it’s needed the most,” reads a press release from the founders. “Premier accepts many major types of insurance and offers services at a fraction of the cost of hospital-affiliated urgent care or emergency rooms.”
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