Newswise — The University of Chicago Medicine is opening a multilingual clinic in downtown Chicago for international patients and their families who need primary care beginning Aug. 15.
While any UChicago Medicine patient has access to medical interpretation services, the UChicago Medicine International Clinic will be staffed by bilingual patient coordinators who speak Arabic, Mandarin, Cantonese, Spanish and Korean.
“This clinic is specifically designed to provide easy access to UChicago Medicine’s primary care services, particularly for any patient whose first language isn’t English,” said Diala Atassi, executive director of the medical center’s international programs. “We know our international patients and their families may also need basic medical care when they’re here, above and beyond the specialty care services that brought them to Chicago in the first place. This dedicated clinic ensures we can provide them with routine medical services, too. We believe this clinic will also benefit patients from the Chicago ethnic communities with special features designed for international patients.”
UChicago Medicine’s international program helps overseas patients develop treatment plans and schedule and coordinate appointments. It also offers comprehensive non-clinical services such as lodging arrangements. In addition, dedicated bilingual community liaisons also work as the main points of contact for any patients who need linguistic and cultural support.
The new clinic is located inside UChicago Medicine’s facilities at 150 E. Huron St. in downtown Chicago. It operates out of the International Patient Lounge on the building’s 8th floor, one floor below UChicago Medicine’s multidisciplinary medical practice.
The clinic is led by Dr. Cheng-Kai Kao, an assistant professor of medicine who is the medical director of international patient services. Kao is fluent in Mandarin and is assisted onsite by multilingual community liaisons.
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About the University of Chicago Medicine International Clinic
The International Clinic is a new service launched in 2017 by the University of Chicago Medicine to provide primary care to international patients and their families. It is located at 150 E. Huron St., 8th Floor. To request an appointment, contact +1-773-702-0506 or [email protected].
About the University of Chicago Medicine & Biological Sciences
The University of Chicago Medicine, with a history dating back to 1927, is one of the nation’s leading academic medical institutions. It comprises the Medical Center, Pritzker School of Medicine and the Biological Sciences Division. Its main Hyde Park campus is home to the Center for Care and Discovery, Bernard Mitchell Hospital, Comer Children’s Hospital and the Duchossois Center for Advanced Medicine. It also has a 108,000-square-foot facility in Orland Park as well as affiliations and partnerships that create a regional network of doctors in dozens of Chicago-area communities. UChicago Medicine offers a full range of specialty-care services for adults and children through more than 40 institutes and centers including an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. It has 811 licensed beds, nearly 850 attending physicians, about 2,500 nurses and over 1,100 residents and fellows. Harvey-based Ingalls Health joined UChicago Medicine’s network in 2016.
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