For around seven months now, Deanna Branch has had to spend $80 for a round trip visit to her children’s current pediatric clinic, compared to the $16 she used to pay at the nearby Next Door Pediatrics Clinic-Children’s.
“People don’t understand how much it affects the community when clinics like this close,” said Branch, a mother and advocate for pediatric care and lead safety.
Next Door Pediatrics, which was located in Metcalfe Park, closed in December. Children’s Wisconsin, which ran it, has said it has no plans to reopen the facility.
The closing has left many North Side residents like Branch with limited health care options.
Before closing, Next Door Pediatrics saw 1,700 patients who used primary care and single-time services, according to Children’s Wisconsin.
Many of those patients rely on Medicaid to cover medical costs, according to advocates at Metcalfe Park Community Bridges, a neighborhood group.
Now, community members are asking Children’s, the City of Milwaukee and partners to re-establish services in the neighborhood.
Ashley Janzen, a representative from Children’s, said in an email, that the hospital understands “the desire for health care for people of all ages,” but that a clinic accessible to all ages is “beyond the scope” of services the hospital can provide.
However, she said Children’s would explore partnerships with other organizations.
‘More stress’
Some Milwaukee residents expressed worries about a pattern they say leaves Black and Brown mothers and children behind.
“These facility closures only add more stress to already marginalized communities,” said Catie Petralia, co-outreach chair of Reproductive Justice Action-Milwaukee and an organizer with Save Milwaukee Health Care Coalition.
Petralia said the closing of Next Door Pediatrics is similar to Ascension Wisconsin’s decision to shutter the labor and delivery unit at St. Francis Hospital in December 2022. The unit served many Latino residents on the South Side.
For mothers like Branch and her son Aiden, the pediatric care clinic’s closure is a real issue.
“My son’s lead level was at toxic levels before Dr. Chowdhury at Next Door got him tested,” Branch said.
Because of the relationship with her family and Chowdhury, Branch decided to follow their pediatrician to Forest Home Pediatrics- Children’s Wisconsin, adding to the family’s financial and travel hurdles.
“It doesn’t matter if Wauwatosa has great services. If I can’t get there, how will that help me?” asked Diannia Merriett, health equity organizer of Milwaukee Inner-City Congregations for Allied Hope, or MICAH. She fears the impact of losing health care access on the North Side.
According to Melody McCurtis, deputy director of Metcalfe Park Community Bridges, the nearest pediatric clinic is Progressive Community Health Centers in Midtown, but it isn’t walkable for many families.
Health care as ‘life or death’
Metcalfe Park faces many challenges as one of the nation’s poorest, unhealthiest and most dangerous neighborhoods, according to a 2020 Metcalfe Park Community Bridges’ study.
“We do not have the tools we need for the community to thrive,” McCurtis said.
“We’re in dire need of health care services for children and mothers,” Merriett added.
What’s next for Metcalfe Park?
“Milwaukee needs more of all sorts of health services and clinics, but the first step would be to re-establish services at the Next Door location,” Merriett said.
At a community meeting in June on the future of the Next Door Pediatrics building, members called for other health centers and nonprofits to step up.
Progressive Community Health Centers was one of the clinics mentioned. The health center did not respond to a request for comment.
Meanwhile, Branch is still fighting for another clinic that will be accessible to her and others in the community.
“My goal is a clinic by the community, for the community with providers that look like us,” she said.
For more help and information
Visit Forward Health, a program of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, for assistance with medical needs.
Progressive Community Health Centers now offers pediatric walk-ins at 3522 W. Lisbon Ave. More information here.
Sixteenth Street, located at 1032 S. Cesar E. Chavez Drive, offers a variety of pediatric care from walk-ins to behavioral health. More information here.
Check out the City of Milwaukee’s website for a list of free and low-cost clinics.
In case you missed it: Community Heroes: Metcalfe Park organizers go digital with mass-texting and mutual aid during COVID-19 crisis
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