Ambulatory and Community Health Network

The Cook County Ambulatory and Community Health Network (ACHN) was created in 1994 to provide out-patient community health services to the most medically under served residents of Cook County. ACHN’s mission is to assure that an appropriate set of outpatient and community health services are effectively delivered to the patients of the Bureau with particular emphasis on developing comprehensive, community-oriented primary care in the communities in which those patients reside and providing effective links to needed specialty and diagnostic services.
With over 1 million ambulatory visits per year, ambulatory care has always been a major component of the Bureau's integrated system of services. The largest site of the ACHN network is the Fantus Clinic, which houses the General Medicine Clinic (GMC) that provides primary medical care. The clinic is staffed by attending and resident physicians, using more than 30 examination rooms on the second floor of the Fantus Clinic in the Stroger Hospital medical complex. The services provided include the care of chronic illnesses (such as diabetes, HIV/ AIDS, hypertension, and asthma), prevention services (immunizations, cervical and breast cancer screening, and obstetrics), and care for urgent medical problems such as infections and diagnostic care.

Hektoen provides grants management services for two HIV/AIDS programs located at ACHN sites – Cottage Health Center and the Austin Clinic. The South Suburban HIV/AIDS Regional Coalition (SSHARC) operates a HIV program at the Cottage Grove Health Center providing services to far South Suburban residents of Cook County and the CBC Initiative HIV Program housed at the Austin clinic provides services to residents from Westside community areas. Both the Westside of Chicago and the South Suburbs are disproportionately affected by high HIV prevalence rates that are among the highest in the city of Chicago as well as Cook County. These HIV programs are part of the HIV Coordinated Program and provide much needed services including outpatient primary care, mental health, psychosocial, substance abuse, medication adherence, outreach/prevention and case management services.