Cermak Health Services is the daily provider of healthcare to the approximately 10,000 detainees at the Cook County Department of Corrections and the Department of Community Supervision and Intervention. Located on the near Southwest Side of Chicago, Cermak Health Services is accredited by the National Association of Correctional Health Facilities. It is the largest freestanding correctional healthcare facility in the country.
To provide more timely and efficient service and reduce the need for transportation to a hospital, a new expanded facility opened in the fall of 1998 that allows for increased on-site services. The 100,000-square-foot building provides a comprehensive range of non-emergency services, including primary care, dental and mental health services, laboratory work, a pharmacy, rehabilitative care, same day surgery and an infirmary. Cermak provides 13 subspecialty clinics, and dialysis is provided on-site.
Committed to a public health model of care, the staff members at Cermak actively work to treat and prevent chronic and communicable diseases, including AIDS and tuberculosis.