Community Health Emergency Services (C.H.E.S.I.) was established in 1981 to address the unmet needs of residents of Cairo and two surrounding counties in Southern Illinois. The community could not attract a sufficient number of physicians to meet the area’s health care needs, and was facing increasing demand.
The leadership of a dedicated Board helped the center to establish itself and plan for growth to address community need. In 1986, the area’s community hospital closed and C.H.E.S.I. responded by operating a an emergency room for eighteen months in the former hospital building, while its Cairo Megaclinic was designed and built. The Cairo Megaclinic, one of 11 locations now providing comprehensive medical and dental care to the region, includes an ambulatory surgical treatment center (ASTC), which is distinctive among FQHCs. The ASTC is an example of C.H.E.S.I’s commitment to meeting a full spectrum of health care needs, short of inpatient care, for the entire community.
