Babies at Provident Hospital, 1942

Situated in relatively poor communities for the 96 years of its independent existence, Provident was a private institution relying partly on patient fees for income. Since many patients were unable to pay the cost of services, the hospital also depended on welfare reimbursements and charity, both of which proved inadequate. Paradoxically, civil rights legislation in the 1960s further reduced Provident's income, by enabling black patients to patronize other hospitals.

Provident Hospital was scheduled to close when in the 1970s a federal loan enabled the construction of a new facility, completed in 1981. Quickly falling into arrears, however, the hospital shut its doors in 1987. Cook County bought the building and opened it as a satellite medical facility in 1993.

Paul A. Buelow