Programs

Eradicate The Life Expectancy Gap Between Ten West Side Neighborhoods And Chicago’s Loop

West Side United (WSU) improves health and life expectancy on Chicago’s West Side through programs targeting maternal health, hypertension, food access, and workforce development.

Initiatives like Westside Healthy Parents and Babies offer maternal support resources, while Live Healthy West Side tackles hypertension with screenings and clinic partnerships. The Hospital Food Pantry Network and Food Equity Collaborative address food insecurity, connecting hospitals with local pantries. WSU also drives local hiring and economic growth with Local Procurement and Workforce Development, fostering community resilience and health equity.

Accelerate West Side Economy

  • Local Procurement

  • Workforce Development

  • Impact Investing

  • Small Business Accelerator

Live Healthy West Side

  • West Side Healthy Parents and Babies

  • Live Healthy Chicago

  • Hospital-Food Pantry Network

  • Food Equity Collaborative

  • Wellness West

  • Healthy Chicago Equity Zones

Unite The West Side

  • Fillmore Center Laundry Linen

  • Sankofa Wellness Village

  • Community Grocer Initiative

Pilot West Side

  • Community Organizations Learning

  • Lifting and Building (COLLAB) Network

  • Community Food Investment

Local Procurement

Increase local spending by hospitals with West Side businesses, creating procurement plans to support local vendors.

  • The Local Procurement program by West Side United (WSU) is designed to boost economic impact on Chicago’s West Side by increasing local spending by hospitals and other anchor institutions with West Side businesses. WSU partners with founding hospitals and the American Medical Association to create a coordinated approach, aiming to increase the healthcare sector's local spend from a historically low 0.5% to 1% over time.

    The program operates by identifying specific spending categories where procurement can feasibly shift to local vendors. While some categories, like medical devices, pose challenges due to limited local suppliers, other areas—such as landscaping, catering, and custodial services—are prime opportunities for local contracting. When contracts in these categories come up for renewal, hospitals look to West Side businesses as potential new vendors.

    To support these efforts, WSU conducts monthly meetings with procurement representatives from participating hospitals. These meetings are used to share strategies, highlight spending opportunities, and host external experts who offer insights on best practices for local purchasing. WSU also organizes vendor registration events to connect West Side businesses with hospital procurement teams, offering toolkits and guidance on becoming certified vendors (e.g., for Women and Minority Business certification) where necessary.

    The program has shown tangible results, with hospitals collectively channeling $40 million to West Side businesses last year. This approach not only stimulates local economic growth but also strengthens ties between community businesses and major healthcare institutions, creating more sustainable business opportunities on the West Side.

Accelerate West Side Economy

  • Harness collective impact of anchor organizations and accelerate anchor strategies

  • Invest in local workforce

  • Invest in local businesses

 

Programs
Community Organizations Learning Lifting and Building
Community Organizations Learning Lifting and Building

The COLLAB Network strengthens West Side food access organizations through substantial grants, collaborative training, and resource-sharing opportunities that build capacity and amplify their collective impact on community nutrition.

  • Training on program design, evaluation, and implementation

  • Peer networking and collaboration

  • $40,000 grants to support programming


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Fillmore Center Laundry Linen
Fillmore Center Laundry Linen

The Fillmore Center Laundry Linen project brings hospital laundry services back to the West Side, creating local jobs and economic opportunities while reducing environmental costs through community-focused hiring practices.

  • Keeps jobs and investment local (up to 300 jobs at full scale)

  • Hires West Side residents, including formerly incarcerated individuals

  • Cuts environmental and transportation costs


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Food Equity Collaborative
Food Equity Collaborative

The Food Equity Collaborative unites diverse West Side organizations to coordinate resources, share strategies, and implement innovative solutions that collectively combat food insecurity across the community.

  • Sharing resources and strategies

  • Coordinating efforts (like volunteer recruitment and grocery initiatives)

  • Amplifying grassroots innovations


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Local Procurement
Local Procurement

Local Procurement redirects millions in hospital purchasing power to West Side businesses, creating jobs and economic stability while helping local vendors secure valuable institutional contracts that fuel community growth.

  • Vendor readiness support

  • Access to a West Side vendor directory

  • Ongoing push to grow local contracts (already $40M+ spent annually)


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Impact Investing
Impact Investing

Impact Investing channels hospital and partner resources through mission-driven lenders to fuel West Side businesses, affordable housing, and community projects, creating sustainable economic growth and opportunity for residents.

  • Mission-driven CDFIs that support small businesses, nonprofits, and housing

  • A focus on local economic growth and reinvestment


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West Side Healthy Parents and Babies
West Side Healthy Parents and Babies

West Side Healthy Parents and Babies combats maternal health disparities by connecting expecting mothers with doulas, consultants, and social support services for healthier pregnancies and empowered beginnings in their own neighborhoods.

  • Doulas, lactation consultants, and care coordinators

  • Screenings for social needs like food and housing

  • Referrals to appropriate healthcare and social services


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Wellness West
Wellness West

Wellness West embeds community health workers in trusted local spaces to connect West Side residents with chronic conditions to vital healthcare services, creating a proactive bridge to treatment and support.

  • Embedding community health workers in trusted local orgs

  • Providing screenings, education, and care navigation


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Community Food Investment
Community Food Investment

Community Food Investment builds sustainable nutrition security on the West Side through community-led projects like grocery store development and innovative food retail solutions that address long-term food access while strengthening local economies.

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Healthy Chicago Equity Zones
Healthy Chicago Equity Zones

Healthy Chicago Equity Zones combats health disparities by addressing root social and economic factors through community-driven programs that ensure all Chicagoans have equal opportunities for health and wellbeing.

  • Community-driven program design

  • Hyper-local implementation

  • Partnerships with grassroots organizations


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The Sankofa Wellness Village
The Sankofa Wellness Village

The Sankofa Wellness Village transforms West Garfield Park through comprehensive healthcare services and community revitalization initiatives, creating opportunity in a historically underserved neighborhood.

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Live Healthy Chicago
Live Healthy Chicago

Live Healthy Chicago tackles hypertension across Chicago communities through comprehensive screenings, care connections, and improved clinical protocols to reduce health disparities and extend lives.

  • Community screenings and connections to care

  • Awareness campaigns to identify and manage hypertension

  • Clinic support to adopt best practices in care


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Workforce Development
Workforce Development

West Side United creates sustainable career pathways by helping residents transition from entry-level positions to clinical roles through comprehensive support programs that simultaneously benefit local hospitals and strengthen community economic stability.

  • Supporting training for clinical roles (e.g., medical assistants)

  • Covering tuition, supplies, transportation

  • Hosting hospital-based hiring events

  • Aligning hospital HR policies with inclusive hiring goals


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Small Business Accelerator
Small Business Accelerator

West Side United's Small Business Accelerator provides grants, coaching and professional connections to help local entrepreneurs overcome resource gaps and build sustainable businesses that strengthen the West Side economy.

  • Grant funding (non-repayable)

  • Professional coaching (brand marketing, financial support)

  • Connections to hospital contract opportunities


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Hospital Food Pantry Network
Hospital Food Pantry Network

The Hospital-Food Pantry Network pairs local hospitals with food pantries to strengthen emergency food resources and create a seamless connection between healthcare and food security for West Side residents.

Pairs hospitals with local pantries to:

  • Build pantry capacity

  • Support patients experiencing food insecurity

  • Foster collaboration and best-practice sharing among pantries


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