Governor Pritzker joined Humboldt Park Health leaders to announce $20 million in funding for the safety-net hospital on the west side of Chicago, a product of the Governor’s historic Rebuild Illinois infrastructure plan. A total of $19 million will establish the new, state-of-the-art Humboldt Park Health Wellness Center – set to open 18 months after construction kicks off this summer – and an additional $1 million is supporting infrastructure improvements throughout the hospital. The new Humboldt Park Health Wellness Center will serve as a low-cost community hub for area residents to access exercise equipment, individual and group fitness classes, swimming facilities, community gathering spaces, and much more. In March of 2021, Governor Pritzker signed into law the Hospital and Healthcare Transformation Bill, increasing access to community-based health services and creating innovative collaborations that bridge gaps in the delivery of care. With support from federal matching funds, Illinois is investing up to $150 million annually into collaboratives that fill healthcare gaps and focus on underlying health conditions in areas high on the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s social vulnerability index scale, communities that have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and areas served by critical access and safety net hospitals, including rural parts of the state. Just last month, the first ribbon cutting was held for one of the Healthcare Transformation Collaboratives, the 55th and Pulaski Health Collaborative, which is based in the Gage Park/West Elsdon community.