CommunityHealth

What CommunityHealth does

CommunityHealth is a nonprofit free health clinic founded in 1993 by Dr. Serafino Garella in Chicago's West Town neighborhood. It provides comprehensive medical, dental, pharmacy, mental health, and health education services to approximately 8,000 active patients who are uninsured, underinsured, or undocumented, with the majority of patients identifying as Latino. Services are delivered at no charge through five physical locations: the main Lederman Family Health Center and four microsites embedded within community partner organizations (Onward House in Belmont Cragin, Enlace in Little Village, The Resurrection Project in Back of the Yards, and Rincon Family Services in Irving Park), supplemented by mobile care units deployed to police precincts and respite centers serving migrants and asylum seekers.

The underlying technology stack is deliberately lean: an athenahealth electronic health record and patient portal, telehealth micro-clinics at partner sites, and a novel sleep medicine program (Patient-Centered Apnea Protocols, or CHI-PAP) that uses 3D-printed CPAP masks and CPAP machine stewardship. Clinical capacity is delivered primarily through a volunteer model with over 1,000 volunteer healthcare professionals, medical students, and interpreters, supported by 42 paid employees. The organization maintains NCQA Patient-Centered Medical Home recognition and provides multilingual services in English, Spanish, and Polish.

The business model is that of a charitable nonprofit rather than a commercial enterprise. All patient services are free; there are no copays, fees, or insurance billing. Operating revenue consists of donations from individuals, foundation grants, corporate contributions (notably Lundbeck, Americares, AbbVie Foundation, and Lloyd A. Fry Foundation), donated medications, and in-kind contributions of volunteer labor and partner-provided space. Quantitatively, the organization delivered over $29 million in care in the prior year, helped Illinois hospitals avoid an estimated $36 million in unnecessary emergency room visits, and consistently reports appointment demand outpacing capacity. A secondary mission is training the next generation of healthcare professionals through formal partnerships with Northwestern, Rush, UIC, and Lurie Children's Hospital.

Name

CommunityHealth

Legal name

CommunityHealth

Website

https://communityhealth.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CommunityHealth is a Chicago-based nonprofit free health clinic operating five locations, delivering primary, specialty, dental, pharmacy, and mental health care at no cost to roughly 8,000 uninsured, underinsured, and undocumented adults via 42 paid staff and over 1,000 volunteers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Free Community Health Clinic Services

NAICS

Ambulatory Health Care Services (621), Social Assistance (624)

SIC

Services-Offices & Clinics Of Doctors Of Medicine (8011), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Primary Care for Underserved Populations (e.g., migrant, homeless, refugee clinics) (HLAFAGAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Health & Health Equity Organizations (BPAGACAL), Community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs) & Public Behavioral Health Providers (HLAFACAI)

Keywords

• Free clinic services
• Community health center
• Primary care
• Pharmacy services
• Health education programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: CommunityHealth operates as a nonprofit free clinic funded entirely through charitable donations from individuals, foundations, and corporations. They do not charge patients for services.
2. Free Care Model: All services are provided at no cost to patients; medications, lab testing, specialty care, and primary care are all free. The clinic relies on donated medications and volunteer healthcare providers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

CommunityHealth provides free primary care, 20+ medical specialties, dental care, pharmacy dispensing, laboratory testing, mental health services, sleep medicine, and health education to uninsured, underinsured, and undocumented adults in Chicago, entirely at no cost to patients. Services are delivered through one main clinic, four community-embedded microsites, mobile care units, and telehealth, supported by a volunteer workforce of more than 1,000 healthcare professionals and students.

Product overview

CommunityHealth is a volunteer-based free healthcare clinic operating as a network of five clinic locations across Chicago: the main Lederman Family Health Center, four microsites at community partner locations (Onward House, Enlace, The Resurrection Project, and Rincon Family Services), and mobile care units. The organization provides comprehensive healthcare services including primary care, over 20 medical specialties, dental care, pharmacy, mental health services, health education workshops, sleep medicine, and laboratory testing—all at no charge to uninsured, underserved, and undocumented adults. The clinic operates a secondary mission to train healthcare professionals through Student Run Clinics partnerships with medical institutions. Services are available in patients' native languages including English, Spanish, and Polish, supported by volunteer medical interpreters. The organization recently expanded sleep medicine capabilities and continues to deploy mobile care units for migrant and asylum-seeking populations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Primary and Specialty Medical Care

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $29 million in care provided annually
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Rincon Family ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 December 2025Community organization hosting CommunityHealth's fifth microsite location in Irving Park neighborhood, opened December 2025.
• The Resurrection ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 March 2025Community organization hosting CommunityHealth's fourth microsite in the Back of the Yards neighborhood, expanding access to underserved communities.
• Lurie Children's HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2023Partnership for mobile care units at local police precincts serving asylum seekers. Lurie Children's visits CommunityHealth Wednesday twice weekly to support pediatric care for migrants.
• Enlace ChicagocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2022Social service agency in Little Village hosting CommunityHealth's third clinic location, bringing free healthcare services directly to the Little Village neighborhood.
• Onward Neighborhood HousecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Community organization hosting CommunityHealth microsite in Belmont Cragin. Partnership resulted in decreased appointment no-show rates and increased patient satisfaction.
• Northwestern Memorial HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Justin Fiala, a physician at Northwestern, introduced sleep medicine at CommunityHealth and launched the first sleep clinic in 2021, implementing Patient-Centered Apnea Protocols.
• Rush University Medical CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic practice partnership training nurse practitioner students. Dr. Margaret Bavis has faculty role at Rush and mentors students at CommunityHealth. Multiple Rush medical students volunteer and train at the clinic.
• University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUIC medical students and residents train at CommunityHealth through Urban Medicine program and other academic partnerships, providing clinical experience in community health settings.
• Equal HopeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCEO Steph Willding featured on Equal Hope's 'Disrupting Privilege' podcast discussing healthcare equity and the payor-model healthcare system.
• Healthcare Council of Chicago (HC3)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunityHealth participates in HC3 events and discussions on healthcare access and the future of health in Illinois.
• Feinberg School of Medicine (Northwestern)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeinberg medical students conduct quality improvement projects at CommunityHealth, including food insecurity screening and rideshare barrier assessments.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Suitcase Clinic: Berkeley-based student-run free clinic providing health and social services to uninsured populations; smaller and student-led, but uses a comparable volunteer primary care model.

Others

• Americares: Global health-focused nonprofit that has provided COVID-19 grants to CommunityHealth; functions as a peer funder and supply-chain partner within the free-clinic ecosystem rather than a direct care provider.
• National Association of Free & Charitable Clinics: Umbrella association representing the network of free and charitable clinics across the U.S.; a sector peer and likely member/peer reference point for CommunityHealth.

Direct peers

• CrossOver Healthcare Ministry: Richmond, VA nonprofit delivering free, high-quality healthcare to uninsured patients through volunteer providers and community partners — directly comparable in model and population served.
• Volunteers in Medicine: National network of free, volunteer-based primary care clinics for uninsured and underserved populations; the closest model-match to CommunityHealth's volunteer-driven free-clinic model.
• Remote Area Medical: Operates mobile pop-up free clinics delivering medical, dental, and vision care to underserved communities across the U.S., overlapping with CommunityHealth's mission and mobile-unit approach.
• RotaCare Bay Area: Volunteer-driven free clinic network providing primary care to uninsured individuals in the Bay Area, closely comparable to CommunityHealth's model of free primary care for uninsured adults.
• Healthcare for the Homeless Houston: Houston nonprofit providing free medical, dental, and behavioral health care to uninsured homeless and underserved populations, mirroring CommunityHealth's safety-net service model.
• HealthNet (Indianapolis): Indianapolis-based nonprofit health center providing free and sliding-scale primary care to uninsured and underinsured residents; comparable safety-net mission and urban footprint.

Broad incumbents

• Project HOPE: Large global health nonprofit with programs focused on expanding healthcare access for underserved populations; broader in scope but shares the charitable-care and health-equity mission.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/CommHealthChi
• Facebookfacebook.com/CommunityHealthChicago
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/communityhealth
• Instagraminstagram.com/communityhealthchicago
• TikToktiktok.com/@communityhealthchicago
• Xx.com/CommHealthChi

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CommunityHealth