Healthcare professionals deserve their flowers now more than ever, especially this group of Black doctors.

Last Spring, ER and trauma physicians Reuben C. Rutland, Airron Richardson, Michael A. McGee, and Gregory Primus united to open the first Black-owned urgent care facility in Chicago. Premier Health Urgent Care is located in the city’s Hyde Park neighborhood, an urban community that can benefit immensely from local and affordable health resources.

Relief for the Southside

“We live in the neighborhood and recognize when our children were injured or sick there was no urgent care nearby,” Dr. Richardson told ABC7. “You had to go to a completely different neighborhood several miles away.”

This group of co-founders developed the idea for Premier due to the healthcare gap in the area. As a result, they offer proper care and support to those in need, as well as alleviate the growing strain on neighboring healthcare centers. The facility not only provides urgent physical care but also offers mental health and wellness services.

“We are happy to open an urgent care in Hyde Park because the community needs it,” Dr. Rutland said in a statement. “We are not in competition with the doctors’ offices or the emergency department. We are a supplement to them both, to help relieve the stress on those two facilities.”

More than medicine

In addition to supporting the community with healthcare, these medical professionals will donate a portion of their revenue to local programs designed to help combat violence in the Windy City.

”It’s good to be able to be in the neighborhood, be a part of the community and give back in some way,” urgent care physician Dr. Renita White said.

The recent health crisis is ravaging the Black population at an alarming rate. Thus, urgent care centers filled with doctors who cater to our community, like Premier, are a godsend.

Airron Richardson

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