In 1964, Dr. Gloria Jackson worked part-time at a public health clinic at Altgeld Gardens, an impoverished community on Chicago’s far South Side. By 1970, she had become so engrossed in her patients’ unmet needs and so appalled by the lack of quality public health services available that she founded a new medical clinic. The Clinic at Altgeld, Inc. (now TCA Health) would provide care to thousands of patients annually. As Founder and Executive Medical Director, Dr. Bacon guided The Clinic at Altgeld to have an enormous impact in the area – most notably was a significant drop in the community’s infant mortality from 50.2 deaths per thousand in 1970 to 9.2 by 1990.
More than 30 years later, in 1997, after the opening of a new state-of-the-art facility, Dr. Bacon retired as Medical Director, continuing as a consultant until 2001. Satisfied that the clinic would continue to provide critical health care, she was eager to expand her service to the community beyond traditional health care to help the children she cared for succeed in life. “I saw that the medicine that people came to the doctor for was only a little piece of the care they needed,” Jackson Bacon recalled as she retired. “They had so many other needs.”
On Friday, February 9, 2024, Dr. Bacon passed away in New Orleans, leaving behind a profound void in our hearts and the communities we serve.
Her visionary leadership has left an indelible mark on our organization and the communities we serve. TCA Health remains dedicated to continuing Dr. Bacon’s legacy, and we will honor her memory by serving as a healthcare resource for the communities of Altgeld Gardens and Chatham. We will also be bringing her legacy to the communities of Hegewisch and Hammond, Indiana in the near future.
Dr. Gloria Jackson Bacon’s remarkable journey and extraordinary contributions will forever be cherished by all whose lives she touched. May her spirit of service and compassion guide us as we strive to fulfill her vision of a healthier, more equitable world.