CHICAGO, IL – April 6, 2020 –
The Loretto Hospital in Conjunction with Representative Ford’s Office, West Side United, and ASAFEHAVEN will be holding a press conference to discuss the disparity faced in our community and the desperate need for resources, at 11:30am on April 7, 2020 at The Loretto Hospital, 645 S. Central Avenue, Chicago, IL 60644
You may be surprised to know that the life expectancies in predominately-black
communities are up to 30 years less than their white counterparts in other
communities, just a few miles away. The failure of the government’s
ability to supply even the minimum resources in the black, latino and
low income communities is deadly and unjust.
A recent statistic states that of the reported deaths in Cook County linked
to the COVID-19 outbreak, 76% were Black or Hispanic.
“The current COVID-19 epidemic serves to further illustrate the
urgency of addressing the underlying root causes poverty, educational
deprivation, structural racism and we are eager to work alongside Loretto
and others to rapidly move the needle on these critical metrics across
the West Side and Chicago.” Said Ayesha Jaco, Executive Director
of West Side United
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, The Loretto Hospital in
conjunction with our State Representative LaShawn K. Ford have repeatedly
requested resources from the Governor’s office, to help communicate
the severity of the COVID-19 infection in our community. Today we continue
to have unresolved issues about PPE, testing, nursing home transfers,
the homeless, and are beginning to lose nurses and physicians to the COVID-19
facility at McCormick Place.
These requests and pleas for additional and timely resources, continue
to go unfulfilled. The people in Chicago must have greater information
and far more resources than currently available to deal safely and effectively
with this pandemic.
George N. Miller, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of The Loretto
Hospital in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago says “We are already
at a disadvantage fighting this war; without the resources needed from
the state and federal government, we will face a serious crisis here in
the Austin neighborhood. If we have to shut our doors because we don’t
have the resources or staff to take care of the patients, it will be the
greatest failure our community has ever experienced.”
In Chicago, I'm urging Mayor Lori Lightfoot, President Toni Preckwinkle,
and Governor J.B. Pritzker to not ignore the health care needs of the
Black Community during this COVID-19 Pandemic. We need testing sites in
the black communities and resouces to meet the needs of those testing
positive for the virus. Homicides and COVID-19 are destroying generations
of Black Families in this state.” said State Representative for
the 9th District, LaShawn K. Ford.
“I can attest to the need to make sure that safety-net homeless
providers that serve as first responders in helping the most disenfranchised
populations, deserve to be considered priority partners with the State,
along with hospitals and nursing homes in the fight against the COVID-19
pandemic. The lack of medical supplies and financial support to the anchor
organizations within the community is needed to protect our front line
staff and to meet the unexpected surge in costs. This puts us at higher
risk of exposure to contracting the disease and incurring additional financial
hardships” said Neli Vazquez Rowland, President and Co-founder A
Safe Haven Foundation
To learn more about The Loretto Hospital please contact Mark A. Walker,
MHA, MBA, Director of Business Development & Community Relations,
at 312-758-2376 or via email at
Mark.Walker@lorettohospital.org.