Live Healthy Chicago is a cross-sector, citywide initiative to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke by improving blood pressure control.

Announcing Live Healthy Chicago

We know that cardiovascular disease (CVD) and stroke are among the leading contributors to Chicago’s life expectancy gap — one of the largest in the nation. As a result, African American residents in the city live, on average, nearly 11 years less than other Chicagoans. That is unacceptable — and changing it will require coordinated commitment and effort.

Live Healthy Chicago brings together partners, programs and resources from across the healthcare ecosystem to take meaningful steps toward heart health, to center care within the community and to foster partnerships that lead to improved care.

Over the next three years, this initiative will focus on 27 community areas across Chicago’s West and South Side neighborhoods with the highest rates of CVD and stroke mortality to ensure every Chicagoan has a fair chance at a long, healthy life. By partnering with community-based organizations and hundreds of embedded community health workers, we’re employing evidence-based hypertension control strategies to more than 75 community and hospital health centers. Together, we’re aiming for a measurable outcome — a 1% reduction in heart disease risk across these neighborhoods.

Our Model

Live Healthy Chicago's model aligns payors, providers, and communities around improved outcomes across an entire geography. This includes improvements at the clinic level, such as the integration of pharmacists into the primary care team, as well as the deployment of mobile outreach teams that work in partnership with community organizations, and a city-wide public health campaign co-designed by individuals with relevant lived expertise.

The result is a model that delivers meaningful, authentic and community-driven impact across all levels of care. 

This effort will also be powered by data. Through CAPriCORN, a federated electronic health record network, we’ll have access to data and insights that enable us to continuously measure progress and initiate timely improvements. Historically limited to hospitals and academic institutions, under Live Health Chicago the network will be expanded to include community clinics – providing insights at the population level.

Live Healthy Chicago Priority Neighborhoods

27 neighborhoods on the south and west sides of Chicago

  • Montclare

  • Morgan Park

  • North Lawndale

  • Oakland

  • Riverdale

  • Roseland

  • South Chicago

  • South Lawndale

  • South Shore

  • Washington Heights

  • West Englewood

  • West Garfield Park

  • West Pullman

  • Woodlawn

  • Auburn Gresham

  • Austin

  • Avalon Park

  • Burnside

  • Calumet Heights

  • Chatham

  • Douglas

  • East Garfield Park

  • Englewood

  • Fuller Park

  • Garfield Ridge

  • Grand Boulevard

  • Greater Grand Crossing

Partners

Community Health Centers

ACCESS Community Health Network

Lawndale Christian Health Center

Hospitals

Cook County Health

Rush University Medical Center

Sinai Health

Saint Anthony Hospital

University of Chicago Medicine

University of Illinois at Chicago

Health Care Networks

AllianceChicago

Illinois Primary Health Care Association

Medical Home Network

Public Health Institutions

American Heart Association

American Medical Association

Chicago Department of Public Health

Illinois Department of Public Health

Northwestern Medicine

Other Organizations

Health Management Associates

Rush BMO Institute for Health Equity

South Side Healthy Community Organization and its partners

Wellness West and its partners

West Side United and its partners

Partner with us!

We are looking for more community sites to join on as well as funding to support community screenings and citywide communication campaigns.

Fill out the form to learn more about how you can get involved! Together, we can build a healthier, more equitable Chicago.