Our mission at The Port Free Clinic is to serve the poor in our community "with full hearted service." To better serve our patients we plan to continually expand our clinic hours this year. We recently extended our hours first Saturdays of the month 9:00am-2pm. All other Saturdays 9am-12pm, Tuesdays 11am-1pm (Nurse practitioner only), and Thursdays 12:30-3:30. We also have a podiatrist once a month on Wednesdays.

The Port Free Clinic provides free, local primary healthcare to under-served residents of the Back of the Yards Neighborhood and special referral services to homeless patients. The clinic provides health screening, treatment, and case management referrals -- both medical and for social services. The poor and homeless are aware of Port Ministries' new clinic facility and numbers have increased steadily since its opening in December, 2002. Services are well publicized from the Bread Truck (delivering food to the poor) and signs throughout the neighborhood and facilities of Port Ministries, especially the family transitional shelter.

The clinic had its origin in the overnight men's shelter of Port Ministries. From its opening until December 2002, the clinic operated from the second floor of the soup kitchen building serving an average of 15 patients per week -- all residents of the men's shelter. Services were provided by a staff of 2 doctors and 2 nurses (all volunteers) on 2 days per week. Since moving The Port Free Clinic to its current location in December 2002, hours have been expanded to three days per week and staffing needs are being met to meet the goal of a 5 day per week schedule by January 2004. It is hoped that this expansion will meet the needs of Port Ministries' transitional shelter and neighborhood residents from the Back of the Yards area (43rd to 55th, Halstead to Western Avenues).

Currently, the clinic is managed by a full-time registered nurse. The staff includes 26 volunteer doctors, nurses and nurse practitioners, as well as volunteers from the listening ministry. The specialties represented at the clinic include: infectious disease, oncology, general surgery, family medicine, and podiatry.

Port Ministries was founded in 1985 by Fr. Augustin Milon, OFM, Port Ministries began as a one room soup kitchen in the poor Back of the Yard neighborhood of Chicago. In subsequent years, the ministry has expanded in response to the many critical needs of the residents in the area and now serves the poor and homeless through: The Port, providing food to the poor; Theresa House, a family transitional shelter; the Mantle, an educational center for families with children; Tony's Gym, a recreational facility for children and youth ages 8-18; and the Port Free Clinic which provides primary health care to homeless and uninsured persons in the area.