Outpatient urgent care, diagnostic center coming to Bronzeville as Mercy Hospital prepares to close

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A new outpatient center will be coming to Chicago's South Side near a hospital that's slated to close.

Trinity Health announced plans Friday to open the Mercy Care Center at 3753 South Cottage Grove in the Bronzeville neighborhood.

RELATED: Mercy Hospital's slated closure among wave of medical centers vanishing from Chicago area

Mercy would be the fourth hospital on Chicago's South or West sides to close since 2018.

It will offer urgent care and diagnostic services to more than 65,000 patients a year, Trinity said.

Trinity said the move comes in response to concerns from health care officials about the growing disparities in outcomes of health among African Americans and other diverse patients, a concerning trend that pre-dates the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic but is made worse by it. These disparities include an increased incidence of higher blood pressure, diabetes and obesity, which are all illnesses treated today in outpatient settings many on the South Side are unable to access, officials said.

RELATED: Mercy Hospital's closing will create South Side healthcare desert, activists say

Plans for the outpatient developed after Trinity officials said it was decided to close nearby Mercy Hospital. The plan to close that hospital is pending state regulatory approval but there is a fight underway to keep it open.

WATCH: Protest demands Mercy Hospital be saved

A Tuesday protest, the latest in a line of many protests, is calling for the city to save Mercy Hospital, arguing that closing it as planned would greatly damage the community.

"Mercy has a long history in Chicago of providing compassionate care to those in need," explained Mike Slubowski, President and CEO of Trinity Health. "While the way in which patients receive that care might change over the years, our mission to serve the most vulnerable among us remains the same."