News at UI Health

Leaders from UI Health, Chicago Public Schools, and the Chicago Department of Public Health celebrated the opening of the Cynthia Barnes-Boyd/Drake Health & Wellness Center, a renovated school-based community health center in Chicago's Douglas neighborhood.

The clinic is part of the UI Health Mile Square Health Center network of federally qualified health centers and is located on-site at John B. Drake Elementary School, part of CPS.

The renovated clinic, which is named in honor of the late Cynthia Barnes-Boyd, includes three exam rooms, a behavioral health room, and an on-site laboratory. Comprehensive clinical services include immunizations, physical exams, sports physicals, reproductive healthcare, and behavioral health support. Services will be provided to students, their families, and the entire community.

Located near the intersection of State and 26th Streets, the full-service health center "will fill a significant need in the medically underserved community," said Angela Ellison, senior director of the Office of Community Engagement and Neighborhood Health Partnerships at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

"The Dr. Cynthia Barnes-Boyd/Drake Health and Wellness Center will provide much-needed care to students and community members living on the South Side of Chicago," Ellison said. "Dr. Barnes-Boyd dedicated her life to serving UIC and Chicago communities and we will never forget her legacy."

Renovations began in 2017 with significant funding from the City of Chicago. The center, which is one of six school-based clinics in the UI Health Mile Square network, will begin serving students and the community on March 12.