In the four closest ZIP codes – 60641, 60618, 60639, 60647 – more than 135,000 people were uninsured, according to public data. Also, there were few safety-net health care facilities in the area – clinics and hospitals whose mission it is to serve the poor and the uninsured.

The longtime friends wanted to locate the clinic in an area with a significant need for health care services. Market research helped them pick the neighborhood around Addison Street and Pulaski Road.

Dr. Charles Martinez, 74, who worked as a nuclear medicine specialist, wasn’t initially inclined to go along. But then, at a medical school reunion, he heard an 87-year-old colleague talk about starting a free clinic and his interest was piqued. Soon, he embraced the project.

George Maltezos, 72, came up with the idea first. “Each of us felt we needed to do something after retirement,” said Maltezos, a former mental health and substance abuse professional. “And we both were fully aware of how many people don’t have health insurance.”

As boys, they lived across the street from each other on the Near North Side. They’ve been buddies ever since. Now, these two older men are engaged in a demanding venture – providing free health care to the uninsured.

A search for space turned up a 750-square-foot storefront at 4008 W. Addison St. – just enough for two examining rooms -- and the Old Irving Park Community Clinic opened its doors in December 2007. Since then, 400 patients have been scheduled for 1,000 medical visits, Maltezos said.

To qualify for care, people have to establish they’re uninsured, meet income guidelines (under 250 percent of the federal poverty level, or $27,000 for a single person) and have symptoms or a previously diagnosed existing medical condition such as diabetes. (The clinic doesn’t perform routine physicals or take care of pregnant women.)

Each patient gets a comprehensive assessment and evaluation before being connected with a physician. Medical visits are by appointment only. For mental health or substance abuse issues, people are referred to community resources.

It’s a volunteer operation, funded entirely by private donations and staffed by 10 physicians, 10 nurses, 16 people who contribute clerical services and a part-time paid nurse manager. If a patient needs specialty care, Martinez turns to rheumatologists, orthopedic surgeons, endocrinologists, dermatologists, cardiologists, podiatrists and gynecologists who have agreed to donate services.

Patients go to a nearby Quest Diagnostics service center for laboratory tests, and the clinic picks up the discounted charge. For medications, people go to Walgreens, CVS or Target for prescriptions that typically cost $4 apiece. If expensive drugs are required, clinic volunteers try to negotiate a price-break with the manufacturer. For surgery, patients are referred to Cook County’s Stroger Hospital.

That leaves a major gap: securing costly imaging studies such as CT scans, MRIs or ultrasounds for patients. Martinez has asked seven local hospitals to contribute two imaging studies each month. So far, two have said yes and one is on the cusp, he said.

“It’s a little overwhelming, to be perfectly frank,” said Maltezos, who’s working harder in his retirement than he did when employed full time. “When you compare what we’re doing to the need that’s out there, we’re not even close to providing a significant level of care.”

Still, the work is a source of satisfaction to both founders.

Martinez said he knows what families are going through from his own experience. His parents, who had 11 kids, never had much money or any health insurance when he was growing up. The doctor remembers running into a steel fence when he was 15 years old and thinking “How are we going to pay for this?” as he was taken to the hospital.

To be able to give back now to others in need, he said, is “very rewarding because the people we’re helping have no place else to turn.”

To contact the clinic, call (773) 427-0298.



