Capping a trajectory of excellence and hope that began in 2004, Esperanza finally realized its long-awaited dream of opening a new health center in Brighton Park. That indescribable moment when, surrounded by friends old and new, we opened our doors for the first time and ushered in a new chapter for quality care on the Southwest Side stands among the proudest and most rewarding in our history.
But it wasn’t the only one. 2019 was also the year when Esperanza earned its third National Quality Leader Award, a milestone achievement for which every member of our team deserves credit. We secured a prestigious Million Hearts Award for our work with hypertensive patients and launched our postgraduate training program for nurse practitioners — a first-of-its-kind program in Chicago that is allowing us to train a new generation of providers and invest in the future of community health for our neighborhoods.
Whether we judge our year by the quality of our care, the innovation of our programs, our policy wins, or the stories of our patients, it is clear we have so much to celebrate and much more to be thankful for. We especially want to acknowledge the Esperanza staff who work tirelessly to advance our mission and the thousands of patients who trust us with their care. But we also want to thank the many donors, partners, and friends without whose support Esperanza could not be what it is today. Your continued belief in Esperanza inspires us to aim higher and to welcome every challenge as an opportunity to do more for our patients and the communities we call home.
With that, we invite you to take a few moments to read our annual report and to relive with us the moments that truly made 2019 a year worth remembering.