A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held the Saturday before to mark the opening.

The project is framed as improving health care access on Chicago’s Southwest Side.

Friend Health serves more than 40,000 patients annually across six neighborhood centers and six behavioral health clinics, with the Back of the Yards location advancing telehealth, mobile units, and partnerships to boost health equity.

The 15,000-square-foot site expands from the previous center, tripling its size.

Friend Health CEO Wendy Thompson emphasizes delivering high-quality, affordable, and accessible health care regardless of patients’ ability to pay.

The center pairs clinical services with extensive community programming, including insurance enrollment help, social services guidance, fresh food giveaways, and a community health worker training program, with dental care planned for 2026.

Leadership appointments accompany the opening, naming Dr. Sheiva Tsay as OB-GYN Medical Director, Dr. Charles Barron as Chief Medical Officer, and Dr. Bianca Williams as Pediatrics Medical Director, signaling a commitment to high-quality, person-centered care.

The facility emphasizes a wraparound care model that coordinates medical and behavioral health with attention to social needs to reduce barriers like cost, distance, or distrust.

The new facility anchors the New City United Yards development and triples the footprint of the previous neighborhood site, expanding access to primary and whole-person preventive care.

Friend Health opens its largest expansion to date with a 15,000-square-foot Back of the Yards community health center at 4700 S. Ashland Ave., inside the Oppenheimer-Goldblatt Bros. Department Store Building.

City officials and community leaders back the expansion as part of neighborhood health investments, mixed-use development, and broader revitalization.

The Back of the Yards center provides adult and pediatric primary care, maternal health, mental health services, an on-site pharmacy with discounted prescriptions, a full-service laboratory, and dedicated spaces for pediatrics, adult medicine, OB-GYN, and behavioral health, plus dental care.