1. Do I need to make an appointment?
If you are HIV Positive and would like to receive medical care at the CORE Center, you will need to make an appointment – (312) 572-4500. Appointments are not needed for the walk-in Screening Clinic where HIV/STI testing and treatment is available Mondays through Fridays.
2. Will my appointments always be on the same day?
Your New Patient appointment will be scheduled at the beginning of a clinic session. It will be either 8:30 A.M. or 12:30 P.M Mondays through Fridays. All follow-up appointments will be scheduled on the same day with the same Medical Providers.
3. How long will my appointment last?
You should be prepared to stay at least 3 hours for your first CORE Center appointment. You will be greeted by a Peer Educator who will assist you with the registration process and serve as a New Patient Orientation Guide during the duration of your visit. The Peer Educator will guide you through a day of orientation to the many programs and services offered at the CORE Center. You might want to bring along a light snack or there is a vending area available on the first floor.
4. What does CORE stand for?
CORE is not an acronym. The letters do not stand for anything. However, we like to think that we get to the CORE of the problems affecting our clients.
5. Who is Ruth M. Rothstein?
Ruth M. Rothstein is a current Cook County Health and Hospitals System Board member, and formerly served as the former Chief of the Cook County Bureau of Health Services. In that role, she was in charge of one of largest Public Health Systems in the nation. During her tenure as Chief, Mrs. Rothstein led the effort to create a freestanding facility to address the needs of the thousands of men, women, children and youth living with and affected by HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases. Her leadership and ability to formulate a collaboration of both public and private entities and funding streams led to the opening of the CORE Center in 1998. In 2004, in tribute to her forty years of service in the Public Health arena and positive impact on HIV services for the citizens of Cook County, the CORE Center was rededicated as the Ruth M. Rothstein CORE Center. For more on the life and career of Ruth M. Rothstein please click here.
6. Does CORE only serve patients who have HIV?
The CORE Center is an infectious disease clinic serving not only the needs of People Living with HIV but also other chronic infectious diseases such as tuberculosis. The CORE Center has a walk-in Screening Clinic for testing, counseling and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, an Infectious Disease Clinic and a Hepatitis Clinic.
