Chicago Women’s Health Center | Best Care Services

Chicago Women’s Health Center (CWHC) promotes women's, transgender people's, and young people's empowerment by providing health care and health education in a respectful setting where people pay what they can afford.

CWHC provides health services to nearly 6,000 women, trans persons, and young people each year.

Chicago Women’s Health Center provides treatment and services that individuals in Chicago require but can't always get elsewhere. CWHC's services have been developed by their customers' and students' demands for affordable, comprehensive health care and health education since they first opened their doors in 1975.

Chicago Women’s Health Center Strategy

They approach clients and students as individuals, assisting them in better understanding and awareness of their personal health care needs. Clients are encouraged to be self-advocates and active participants in their health care as a result of this. They routinely express gratitude for their collaborative approach, which honors each individual's needs and provides time for clients to acclimate.

Chicago Women’s Health Center Services

Payment services

They think that everyone, regardless of their financial situation, should have access to high-quality health care. All services are available on a sliding fee for self-pay.

They accept cash, checks, money orders, debit, and credit cards (VISA, Mastercard). Some of their services have payment plans available.

Paying as much as you can

They ask that you pay as much as you can afford for your visit so that they can continue to provide high-quality care on a sliding basis. They believe you are the greatest judge of your financial situation and can evaluate what you can afford.

CWHC must pay lab fees and other hard expenditures. Every payment you make contributes to making health care more accessible to others.

Gynecology Services

Women, transmasculine, and genderqueer people are all served by Chicago Women’s Health Center specialists. They are dedicated to collaborating with all of their clients to deliver care that honors each person's unique relationship with their body.

Gynecology services include:

• Annual Gynecological Exam is one of the gynecological services offered (including pap smear, pelvic exam, and chest exam)

• Follow-Up on an Abnormal Pap Smear

• Counseling on birth control

• Diaphragm Adapter

• Contraception for an Emergent Situation

• Testing for Pregnancy

• Screening for Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)

• Check for Vaginal Infections

• Check for Infection in the Urinary Tract

Primary care services

Individuals aged 18 and over are eligible for Primary Care services. A Nurse Practitioner is a healthcare professional who treats both acute and chronic illnesses. A Nurse Practitioner can diagnose and treat clients as well as provide prevention-focused health education and screenings as an Advanced Practice Nurse. Nurse Practitioners can provide comprehensive primary care and/or treatment for specific demographics or specialist clinical areas such as Women's Health, depending on their expertise. Nurse Practitioners have extensive expertise in primary care for people of all ages.

Primary care addresses a wide range of health issues, including (but not limited to):

• Allergies

• Anxiety and/or depression 

• Asthma

• Diabetes

• Digestive Issues

• Headaches

• High Blood Pressure (HBP) 

• Pain in the Joints

• Physicals

• Infection of the lungs

• Screenings

• STIs (Sexually Transmitted Infections) are infections that are spread by sexual

The following are some examples of issues that are acceptable for same-day visits:

• Allergies 

• Check for lumps in the breast

• Minor burns, such as sunburn, as well as other skin issues like rash, hives, or inflammation

• Coughs and flu-like symptoms 

• Infections of the urinary tract (UTI)

• Thyroid Disorders

Counseling services

Trauma and oppressive systems such as racism, ableism, classism, fatphobia, transphobia, and homophobia are addressed. Since 1989, CWHC has provided counseling services.

Counselors include licensed staff employees, clinical interns in the last stages of their graduate studies, and volunteer counselors who donate their time to the counseling program. Their therapy approach is feminist, relational, and anti-oppressive. Counselors at the CWHC see themselves as partners and supporters rather than specialists.

Depression, anxiety, marital difficulties, childhood trauma, sexual assault, intimate partner violence, sexuality, gender identity, and health concerns are among the issues that counselors address.

Chicago Women’s Health Center provides therapy on a sliding basis and encourages clients who can afford to pay more to do so, so others who can't afford to pay more may get mental health care. Their price is $150 for each session, and it varies depending on the overall household income and the number of individuals who rely on it. They want to make mental health treatments as affordable as possible, so please talk to the intake counselor about a reasonable cost.

Health education services

Since 1988, the CWHC has provided instructional programs. They provide educational programs as well as in-house workshops in schools and organizations. The Outreach and Education Program now offers virtual learning, both synchronous and asynchronous, as well as in-person classes.

They follow a Chicago Public Schools-approved comprehensive sex education program. Their curriculum is gender-inclusive, queer-inclusive, and body-positive. The entire program adheres to the National Sexuality Education Standards.

The Health Educators at CWHC are experienced in a variety of contexts, and lectures usually run between 50 and 90 minutes. They may give one-time lessons as well as multi-class series, and they can modify their presentation structure based on the demands of the attendees.

Examples of health education topics:

• Physical, emotional, and social changes occur throughout puberty.

• Anatomy and hygiene

• The Monthly Menstrual Cycle

• Prevention of Sexually Transmitted Infections

• Pregnancy Initiation + Preventative Measures

• Options for Pregnancy

• Sexuality

• Gender Expression, Identity, and Presentation

• Family, friends, and crushes are all examples of healthy relationships.

• Consent, Communication, and Decision Making

• The Relationship Between Body Image and Self-Esteem

• Knowledge of the media

• Self-Advocacy + Health-Care Access

• The Gynecological Exam: A Guide to Understanding It

• Awareness of Fertility

• Menopause

• Self-Examination of the Chest + Chest Health

• Companionship for Abortion

• Workshops for Adult Allies

• Workshops for Parents and Children

Certified Health Educators have enough time in this multi-class series to give evidence-based, age-appropriate material, life skills for putting this new knowledge into practice, and enough time to answer students' questions. Schools can choose which programs best suit the requirements of their communities, and Health Educators can adapt sessions to match the needs of specific schools.

Acupuncture and bodywork services

Acupuncture

Acupuncture is a form of traditional Chinese medicine, which can help improve general health and cure various ailments. The World Health Organization recognizes acupuncture (the insertion of extremely small needles into the skin) as a useful therapeutic method, and it is increasingly used in combination with Western medicine in the United States. It's a branch of Traditional Chinese Medicine that focuses on treating the whole person and promoting optimal homeostasis (balance) in the body.

Traditional Chinese Medicine can help with a wide range of health issues. Consider using it for the following purposes:

• Chronic Pain 

• Headaches

• Colds and/or infections regularly

• Issues with the Digestive System

• Anxiety, depression, and/or stress

• Irregularities in the Menstrual Cycle

• Fertility Boosting

Make an appointment with a certified acupuncturist at CWHC's partnering practitioner. Tuesday afternoons and early nights are reserved for appointments at CWHC. Individual consultations cost $80-$40 on a sliding basis.

What Should You Bring?

Bring or wear loose-fitting, comfortable clothes. The following elements may be useful, but they are not required: Medical history and current diagnosis, most recent blood tests and labs, current medicines and supplements.

Bodywork and massage

On a sliding fee, CWHC provides bodywork and massage therapy treatments with qualified massage therapists and bodyworkers.

Massage and Bodywork Benefits

• Relaxation and stress alleviation.

• Muscle tension and discomfort are reduced.

• Improved sleeping habits.

• Circulation and metabolism improve (encourages detoxification of the body).

• Helps avoid injuries by speeding up the recovery of muscular damage.

• Athletic performance has improved.

• The range of motion is improved.

• Overall well-being, bodily awareness, and sensation of being in the body have all improved.

• Improve and treat long-term physical and mental health issues.

Massage and bodywork include a wide range of methods and styles. Practitioners are frequently trained in a variety of methods and blend them to fit the requirements of their clients. They want to provide a variety of modalities and practitioners so that you can receive the best care possible.

Pieces of Advice offer to get more for your session:

• Request that the practitioner describe their technique and go over what to expect during and after the session.

• Tell the practitioner about any tightness, discomfort, or pain you're experiencing, as well as any places you'd want the practitioner to concentrate on.

• If you are uncomfortable having work done on specific regions of your body or in certain positions, tell the practitioner.

• During the session, give the practitioner feedback on the pressure and feelings you're experiencing. The practitioner's objective is to operate inside the client's comfort zone at all times.

• Inquire about self-care recommendations from the practitioner.

Chicago Women’s Health Center seeks to improve access to high-quality, affordable health care. As a result, They offer appointments on a sliding scale ranging from $80 to $50. They will suggest an amount depending on your income and household size within that range. If that sum is too much for you, you can choose an amount from the range that you can afford.

Alternative Insemination Services

CWHC established the Midwest's first Alternative Insemination (AI) Program for lesbians, bisexual and queer couples, single women of any sexual orientation, and trans individuals in 1983. CWHC has provided sensitive health treatment and emotional support throughout this private journey since then. They provide you with a range of tools to assist you in making health-care and family-related decisions.

They offer known donor consultations, at-home insemination instruction, and support, as well as in-office intrauterine inseminations.

The majority of their clients don't have reproductive issues; they only require sperm and inseminations. As a result, their program supports a low-intervention approach that honors each person's normal reproductive cycle. They assist you in learning more about fertility indicators and provide opportunities for you to become more involved in your health care and the process of becoming a parent.

Insemination Types

Although Alternative Insemination is sometimes referred to as "artificial insemination," CWHC prefers the word "alternative" because the procedure is everything but "artificial." At their clinic, they offer both intrauterine and vaginal inseminations. They give insemination every day and evening, including weekends, since their approach respects the body's natural reproductive cycles. They can also teach you how to do vaginal inseminations at home and supply you with the necessary tools.

The Chicago Women’s Health Center has a sliding-scale cycle charge that is determined by household income. This cycle cost covers sperm order and shipping management, two inseminations every cycle, and on-call assistance seven days a week. (This price is not included in the sperm bank fees.)

Depending on your cycle charge and the sperm bank you choose, total expenditures per cycle range from $1,225 to $2,600.

The Sperm Bank of California, Pacific Reproductive Services, California Cryobank, Seattle Sperm Bank, Cryogam, Midwest Sperm Bank, Fairfax Cryobank, and Northwest Cryobank are among the sperm banks with whom they operate. The Food and Drug Administration regulates them all, and the American Association of Tissue Banks or a similar organization accredits them.

Nutritional advice services

CWHC collaborates with Martha Burla, MPH, CHES, an intuitive eating counselor and certified health education expert, to provide one-on-one sessions for clients seeking basic nutrition instruction or assistance in building a more positive connection with food.

Healthy eating for hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, or pre-diabetes (including diets like DASH or Mediterranean), as well as general healthy eating advice, is provided. Intuitive Eating consultations are available for those who want to create a healthy relationship with food.

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