The NUHS Whole Health Center-Chicago has partnered for several years with CommunityHealth, the largest volunteer-based free clinic in Illinois.  The organization’s West Town clinic relies on the volunteer efforts of physicians and interns from many Chicago area hospitals and medical schools, including NUHS, in order to provide free medical and dental care to Chicago’s uninsured and medically underserved.

“We have developed a program for patients of West Town to come to our NUHS clinic on Maxwell Street and receive free chiropractic medical care,” says Dr. April Miller, faculty clinician for the NUHS Whole Health Center-Chicago.

“Whenever physicians or interns working at West Town determine that a patient can benefit from chiropractic medicine, that patient receives a referral and is welcome to make an appointment with us at any time that is convenient for them,” explains Dr. April Miller.

“The whole partnership speaks to the philosophy of our organization. We want to treat the whole patient, which goes beyond just seeing the patient in the exam room,” says Aleta Rupert, director of development for CommunityHealth. “The goal is to empower our patients to take ownership and control of their own health and to provide them the tools and the education they need to do that. That’s why chiropractic care is a part of that picture.”

NUHS also has been fortunate to have interns and staff who are fluent in Spanish and Polish at its Whole Health Center in Chicago. “For many of the West Town patients, English is not their first language,” says Dr. Miller. “A large number of our West Town patients are from the Polish community.”

The partnership is beneficial for both patients and NUHS, as patients receive much needed care, and chiropractic interns are able to see a wider range of health conditions and gain experience in working with community health organizations.

Working with West Town clinic is one of many ways in which National University and its students offer care to the medically underserved in the greater Chicago area. Learn more about our clinics and their community outreach programs at NUHS.