Chicago Lighthouse Expands UI Health Customer Care Center to Boost Service

CHICAGO, May 7, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Chicago Lighthouse will celebrate the renovation and expansion of its state-of-the-art, fully accessible UI Health Customer Care Center with a special ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday morning, May 8. 

For more information on The Chicago Lighthouse, visit https://chicagolighthouse.org/ 

For more information on UI Health, visit
https://hospital.uillinois.edu/about-ui-health/destination-for-expert-care

The new space will not only consolidate operations and improve efficiencies but will enable the facility to boost overall customer service.  It will also provide a modern work environment for customer care center employees, many of whom are disabled or Veterans.  

The UI Health Customer Care Center provides general information, scheduling and coordinating of patient appointments, referrals and pre-registration, appointment reminders and connections to nurses who can answer health questions.  Last year, the Center handled more than 1 million inbound calls.

The Chicago Lighthouse, which serves people who are visually impaired, blind, disabled and Veterans, has provided employees for UI Health's Customer Care Center since 2014.  Approximately 143 employees of The Lighthouse work for the UI Health Customer Care Center.  Lighthouse employees answering calls for UI Health use software that allows for text-to-speech translation.

"UI Health is pleased to continue our collaboration with The Chicago Lighthouse in support of our hospital and clinic's Customer Care Center," said Dr. Robert Barish, vice chancellor for health affairs at the University of Illinois at Chicago. "This partnership is reflective of how our entire academic health enterprise seeks collaborative opportunities with community organizations to offer exceptional care and customer service for our patients and their families."

"We extend our deepest appreciation to Dr. Barish and his team for the strong vote of confidence they have placed in The Chicago Lighthouse and our talented employees," said Lighthouse President and CEO Dr. Janet Szlyk.  "We commend them for their outstanding commitment to opening doors to greater opportunities for the disabled and Veteran communities."

National statistics show that people with disabilities as well as Veterans cope with a far greater unemployment rate than does the general population.

One of the nation's most comprehensive social service organizations, The Chicago Lighthouse has more than 600 call center employees working for a variety of clients including the Cook County Patient Support Center, the Advocate Healthy You Wellness Center and the Illinois Tollway.

Contact: Dominic Calabrese, Direct: 312/997-3662; Cell: 312/405-3088; [email protected]

SOURCE The Chicago Lighthouse