Microsite Clinics Bring Free Health Care to Chicago’s Underserved Neighborhoods

In some of Chicago’s most underserved communities, access to health care has gotten easier – thanks to new microsite clinics created by CommunityHealth, in partnership with the AbbVie Foundation. These facilities form a “corridor of care” to address health disparities and access barriers. As of December 2025, CommunityHealth, one of the largest volunteer-based health centers in the nation, operates a total of four microsite clinics in addition to their primary clinic in the Chicagoland area.

The goal? To create a network of accessible care throughout Chicago’s most vulnerable communities.

The AbbVie Foundation has partnered with CommunityHealth for more than two years, serving thousands of uninsured and underserved patients who speak English, Spanish and Polish. CommunityHealth clinician volunteers provide primary and specialty care, medications, lab testing, mental health services and health education at no charge. 

“We are rethinking space and place for point of care to ensure every Chicago resident is able to access high-quality, culturally competent health care closer to home,” said CommunityHealth CEO Steph Willding. “With support from the AbbVie Foundation, we’re able to meet patients where they’re at and ensure greater health equity throughout the city.” 

In 2025, CommunityHealth, supported by the AbbVie Foundation, opened two microsite clinics in Chicago communities:

• The first opened in March in the Back of the Yard’s neighborhood. 
• The second opened in December in Irving Park. 

Both communities have significant uninsured populations, leaving many residents to face economic and cultural barriers to care. Transportation costs and language barriers further complicate access. The clinics offer a variety of essential health care services to uninsured adults. 

Each microsite clinic uses existing community trust and complements services already available at the location: 

• Uninsured and underinsured adults can see a doctor, get laboratory work done, pick up medications and receive referrals to dental and specialty care.
• Virtual appointment options further remove barriers to access, ensuring flexibility for patients with transportation or scheduling challenges.

“The work CommunityHealth does to improve health outcomes is so meaningful, and it is an honor to partner with them to expand their services and reach through the microsite clinics,” said Keya Miller, president, AbbVie Foundation. “The clinics may be small in size but their impact on the local community is profound.” 

Organizations with deep community roots, like CommunityHealth, help build sustainable healthcare initiatives that create meaningful change. The clinics demonstrate the importance of increasing equitable access to quality health care one community, one clinic and one patient at a time.  

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