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The CommunityHealth History
Shocked by those results, and driven by the belief that all people have the right to receive health care, Dr. Garella secured funding and a storefront location. He next recruited several health care professionals to his cause, and with that, CommunityHealth was born.  In the beginning, the clinic was open just a few hours per week. Since then, as the demand for services ballooned and the number of volunteers grew, CommunityHealth has relocated twice and greatly expanded its hours, services and programs. Today, thanks to a successful capital campaign, CommunityHealth owns the building that houses its clinic at 2611 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago.
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CommunityHealth was founded in 1993 by Serafino Garella, M.D., a board-certified Internist and Nephrologist. Then chairman of the Department of Medicine at St. Joseph Hospital, Dr. Garella was struck by the growing numbers of uninsured and curious about the extent of the crisis. He and a group of colleagues went door-to-door in several Chicago neighborhoods, asking people about their health care situation. Nearly half of the people he surveyed had no insurance, nor access to reliable health care.
In 2005, CommunityHealth's clinic was renamed the Lederman Family Health Center, in recognition of a major gift from long-time friend and contributor Sam Lederman.