NORTH CHICAGO, IL – Congressional, civic and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs leaders were on hand Oct. 19 to celebrate the opening of a newly located Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) in Evanston, Ill.

Rep. Jan Schakowsky, Illinois 9th Congressional District, Evanston Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl, Dr. Shirley Higginbotham, Evanston CBCOC Primary Care provider, Dr. Jeffery Murawsky, Veterans Integrated Service Network 12 Director, and Patrick L. Sullivan, North Chicago VA Medical Center director  cut the ceremonial ribbon.

“This new location improves access, parking and clinical exam space for the Veterans we serve,” said Sullivan. “Thanks to the concerted effort of many people -- from our congressional representatives and VA leadership, to our Veteran Service Organizations -- we’re able to bring care to the Veterans in their community.”

According to Sullivan, the Evanston CBOC relocated from its previous location to increase its capacity and better meet the ever-growing needs of our Veteran population.

“With an average of 2,000 Veterans seen each year at our Evanston CBOC, it’s vital that we’re giving them the most robust healthcare that a clinic can offer,” he said. “We continually strive to be the provider-of-choice for our Veterans, and the increased capability of this CBOC help us to do just that.”

The new location, at 1942 Dempster Street, provides greater space for laboratory services, including blood draws and other tests.  Additionally, the clinic provides veterans with primary care, mental health services, social work and pharmacy assistance.

The Evanston Community Based Outpatient Clinic is one of three outpatient facilities in Illinois and Wisconsin part of the North Chicago VA Medical Center. The clinics are designed to provide outreaching medical care to veterans.

The North Chicago VA Medical Center is a comprehensive medical facility consisting of nearly 500 beds with a broad spectrum of programs and services to care for our nation’s veterans. North Chicago VAMC is part of the Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 12, which includes Jesse Brown VA Health Care System (IL); Hines VA Hospital (IL); Milwaukee VAMC (WI); Madison VA Hospital (WI); Tomah VAMC (WI); and Iron Mountain VAMC (MI).