Distinct leaders in the South Side of Chicago are eyeing to create a new health care model to address chronic illness and the COVID-19 pandemic that widely affects the Latino community, as well as Blacks.

According to the Chicago Sun Times, the initiative will be called South Side Health Transformation Project, with the University of Chicago and Advocate Trinity and St. Bernard hospitals leading.

Rashard Johnson, president of Advocate Trinity Hospital, said that looking at the effects of COVID-19 on their community highlighted many things they have known for years.

In collaboration with community leaders, the three hospitals propose a system with health clinics and social service organizations. This proposal includes building a preventive care network that would better use technology.

Aside from that, they proposed to create a group of community health workers to help guide patients. These patients have chronic health conditions. The plan also includes hiring primary and specialty doctors and creating a shared database for patient records.

The South Side also has a large proportion of residents with diabetes, asthma, heart conditions, and other health issues. Hospital executives said that they would allot a portion of the $150 million in state funding available to hospitals that need it more.

Charles Holland, chief executive of St. Bernard Hospital, said that the issues did not go away even though the overall discussions ended. Holland added that the COVID-19 pandemic just further intensified it.

House Majority Leader Greg Harris, a Chicago Democrat, said he is aware of the challenges on the South Side.

"COVID has been devastating for hospitals and a lot of health care providers and it has shown how many disproportionate impacts it has on communities," Harris said in a Chicago Sun Times report. 

Chicago Latino Community

Meanwhile, the Chicago Sun Times also reported that Latinos in Illinois had contracted COVID-19 more than three times the rate of the white population.

An analysis by the Latino Policy Forum found that about 2.9 percent of Latinos across the state have had the COVID-19.

Chicago's public health commissioner, Dr. Allison Arwady, acknowledged the rise in COVID-19 cases in Latino communities. Arwady cited specifically the Southwest Side and Northwest Side.

Some Latino political leaders and health experts questioned whether city officials have participated in victim-blaming and whether more can be done with workplace enforcement.

Latino officials, state Mayor Lori Lightfoot, and Arwady had met in mid-August to discuss how to reach the Latino community in the state expansively.

Sylvia Puente, the Latino Policy Forum's executive director, said her concern is that the framing does not acknowledge the economic hardship that Latino communities face. Puente added that many Latinos are essential workers and are in multigenerational households.

"This is only going to be exacerbated because of months of not being able to pay rent and families doubling or tripling up," Puente noted in a report.

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