Closing The Gap: The Inner Workings Of Chicago’s Health Systems

By Stephanie Kim
Closing The Gap: A Closer Look At Chicago’s Health System
In this Nov. 30, 2010, photo, nurses at University of Chicago Medical Center in Chicago prepare patient Paula Ellis to be transported for tests as she waited more than 24 hours in the emergency room for a bed to open up at the hospital. M. Spencer Green / Associated Press
Closing The Gap: A Closer Look At Chicago’s Health System
In this Nov. 30, 2010, photo, nurses at University of Chicago Medical Center in Chicago prepare patient Paula Ellis to be transported for tests as she waited more than 24 hours in the emergency room for a bed to open up at the hospital. M. Spencer Green / Associated Press

Closing The Gap: The Inner Workings Of Chicago’s Health Systems

By Stephanie Kim
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This is Episode 3 of our new series “Closing the Gap,” where we examine disparities in Chicago and talk to people working to solve them.

In the coming months, we’ll take a look at gaps in education, housing and mental health care. This week, we’re diving into the stark life expectancy gap we see between Chicago’s richest and poorest neighborhoods. 

Earlier this summer, a study out of NYU found residents in a section of Streeterville live to be 90 on average. Yet, several miles down south, in a part of Englewood, that number drops to 60. This 30-year gap is the largest not only in Chicago, but in the nation.

In this third installment, Reset talks to several researchers and health care providers who are working toward closing the life expectancy gap in Chicago.

GUESTS: Maureen Benjamins, senior research fellow at Sinai Urban Health Institute

Dr. Marshall Chin, general internist at University of Chicago Medicine

Donna Thompson, CEO of ACCESS Community Health Network