About the Clinic
Alivio Medical Center (AMC) is a bilingual, bicultural Federally-Qualified Health Center providing primary and preventative health services to an expanding service area that encompasses the predominantly Mexican communities of Southwest Chicago including Pilsen, Little Village, Heart of Chicago and Back of the yards. AMC provides a comprehensive range of clinical and education/outreach services to the community. Services include: family and adult medicine; obstetrics, gynecology and midwifery; pediatrics; prenatal; diagnostic laboratory; dentistry; glaucoma screenings; and pharmacy services. The medical center aims to be a one-stop provider of primary and preventative health services for all of its patients.
Ninety-eight percent of AMC’s patients fall at or below 200% of the federal poverty level, 90% are uninsured or dependent on Medicaid, and 97% are Latino. Alivio sees more than 20,000 patients annually, many in need of X-ray. Since AMC does not currently have X-ray capabilities, it is estimated that in 2009, more than 2,600 patients were referred to emergency departments for X-rays. Their current need for X-ray includes:
- Fractures and/or dislocations (including cervical spine, foot and ankle, hand and wrist)
- Infections (including tuberculosis, septic arthritis, and soft tissue infection)
- Arthritis (including osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout and juvenile chronic arthritis)
- Haemopoietic and Lymphoreticular disorders (including sickle cell, thalassaemia and lymphoma)
- Congenital and developmental disorders (including spinal deformities)
Equipping AMC with X-ray capabilities would provide important benefits to its patients including reducing the amount of time spent in search of a diagnosis and treatment. Additionally AMC’s X-ray capabilities would benefit the larger community as these services would also be available to patients of other clinics and private physicians that serve communities overlapping and surrounding AMC’s service area. AMC currently receives referrals from these sources for other services that they already offer.
