Center for Better Aging opens on Chicago's South Side

CHICAGO - A new medical facility for older Chicagoans opened on the South Side.

The Center for Better Aging, located at 63rd and Halsted in Englewood, will serve 160,000 older adults on the South Side, a growing population of patients.

"Here at the Center for Better Aging, we're bringing much-needed services right to the South Side in a specialized, compassionate way. We’ve designed the space with older adults in mind. We’ve even carefully selected even the fixtures like the coffee table in the welcoming and reception area, just a little touch that reminds them of home because we are truly caring for the community members like our own," Executive Director Estrellita Harmon said.

Harmon said the space was designed with accessibility in mind so patients have the freedom to flow through the space. 

"There are handrails throughout, there are handicap accessible doors, even the bathroom, there are additional railings to ensure that they’re able to pull up [in a wheelchair]," Harmon said.

The scales are also equipped with handles to hang onto while being weighed.

Appointments are spaced so patients can have extra time with their medical team. 

"We have one-hour visits for primary care visits and 30-minute consults. That additional time allows us not only to be present, fully present with the patient, but it also allows us to have our full interdisciplinary care team all see that member at one time. So they’ll be seen by their geriatrician, their primary care provider. They’ll be seen by the medical assistant, but they'll also be seen by a social worker, a pharmacist and a dietitian," Harmon said.

The Center for Better Aging was established in March 2024 with the support of a grant from the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services under the HFS Healthcare Transformation Collaboratives program.