MEDICAL STAFF AT ROSELAND COMMUNITY HOSPITAL TREATED TO LUNCH BY LOCAL RESTAURANTS

(from left) Lawrence Henderson, owner of Ruby’s restaurant, and Ald. Carrie Austin (34th) helped pass out free lunches to staff and patients at Roseland Community Hospital thanks to the generosity of Ruby’s and Good Life Soul Food Café. Photo credit: Wendell Hutson
(from left) Lawrence Henderson, owner of Ruby’s restaurant, and Ald. Carrie Austin (34th) helped pass out free lunches to staff and patients at Roseland Community Hospital thanks to the generosity of Ruby’s and Good Life Soul Food Café. Photo credit: Wendell Hutson

MEDICAL STAFF AT ROSELAND COMMUNITY HOSPITAL TREATED TO LUNCH BY LOCAL RESTAURANTS

BY WENDELL HUTSON

Contributing Writer

The medical staff at Roseland Community Hospital, 45 W. 111th St., has eaten well the past few weeks thanks to local restaurants donating lunches to help front line workers who are battling COVID-19.

And not only have staff members been eating well, patients have been too.

On Friday, Josephine “Mother” Wade, co-owner of Josephine’s Southern Cooking, 436 E. 79th St., and the Rev. James Meeks, pastor of Salem Baptist Church, both volunteered to deliver lunches followed by Ruby’s Express, 11028 S. Halsted St., and Good Life Soul Food Café, 11142 S. Halsted St., who donated lunches April 5. But Robinson’s 1 Ribs was the first restaurant to donate lunches to the hospital on March 30, and Ald. Carrie Austin (34th), whose ward includes the hospital, said she hopes more businesses step up to help community health workers.

“We need more community partners to pitch in and do what they can because we are all in this together,” Austin told the Citizen. “I want to thank those businesses that have come forward to help so far and to remind everyone that this effort is not just about the 34th Ward, but also Chicago.”

Both Ruby’s and Good Life Soul Food Café got involved at the request of Austin, who said she plans to personally ask other businesses for help as well.

“Ruby’s is a new business in the 34th Ward and their generosity to help the hospital, who is doing their absolute best for the patients and the ward itself, is a God’s send,” said Austin. “It’s a blessing to have Ruby’s and Good Life Soul Food Café helping the community in this way.”

More than 100 staff and patients were fed with lunches donated by Ruby’s.

Lawrence Henderson who owns Ruby’s, which also has a downtown and a Country Club Hills location, said he was delighted to donate lunches.

“These people [first responders] are unsung heroes. Where would we be without them?” said Henderson. “We are a faith-based business and we believe that this coronavirus outbreak will eventually pass. But until then, we want to continue doing whatever we can to help the community.”

Good Life Soul Food Café is owned by Cook County Circuit Court Judge Carl Boyd and his wife Michelle, who collectively said they are committed to helping the Roseland community and the 34th Ward get through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tremaine White, a mental health counselor at Roseland Hospital, was among the staff that received a free lunch.

“To see the community pulling together pretty much exemplifies what we are all about,” explained White. “We are a small hospital and we are community oriented and the only way we are going to flatten the curve is for everyone to pull all resources together to power through this.”

Roseland Hospital is located in the state’s fourth Medical District and on April 3 it became the first South Side hospital to offer a drive-thru COVID-19 testing site. The cost is $75 for blood tests, $200 for nasal swabs or a patient can have their insurance billed. A medical professional will first take a patients’ temperature to determine if further tests are needed, such as a blood test.

And if a person cannot come to the hospital to get tested, it has turned its dental van into a mobile COVID-19 testing center to travel to local residents, such as seniors, needing testing.

Coronavirus also known as COVID-19 (coronavirus disease of 2019) is the name of the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus and it was originated in Wuhan, China in late 2019, according to the World Health Organization, which said it has now affected more than 1 million people. And symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. The period within which symptoms would appear is two to 14 days.

According to Dr. Terrill Applewhite, chairman of the COVID-19 Task Force for Roseland Hospital, the hospital expects to process 2,800 blood tests daily with results ready in less than three hours, although some test results could take a few weeks to complete.

“This is a safety net hospital where patients are coming from other facilities. We have patients coming from the community at large — with ailments other than COVID,” said Applewhite. “At this point, we feel it is our job and our duty to service this community and to be a leader in this process.”

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