In 2009, two people envisioned a place where better health and wellness existed, without discrimination.  They imagined physical and mental health care readily available and accessible to everyone.  Unfortunately, what they sought and what they found were vastly different.  Treaters were limited, specialty care was a rarity, mental health care remained stigmatized, physical health care was for those with resources, all while substance abuse, disability, and crime were rapidly increasing. 

To change the landscape of healthcare they hoped to develop a plan to promote improvements in mental and physical healthcare.  To address what they saw as the disparity, they turned to the patients to better understand the barriers in accessing appropriate treatment.  At the core, they found patient outcomes to be affected by poverty, racial disparities, and social inequality.  In 2010 they established an integrated medical model, pioneering programs of service to address the inextricably linked fields of mental and physical healthcare. Their sole focus, to improve lives of patients experiencing marginalization in and around the Chicago area.  As their programs saw success, they realized the only way to make sustainable change was to involve more people.  Without funding at grant, state, or federal levels, their only option was to do this themselves. In 2010 OnePatient Global Health Initiative (OPGHI), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, was formed.  

Today, OPGHI offers a wide range of mental and musculoskeletal health care services informed by best practices and designed to address the structural drivers of health equality. Using innovative care models to improve patient health outcomes, co-founders Dr. Daniel Ivankovich, Medical Director, and Dr. Karla Ivankovich, President and Clinical Mental Health Director, along with their many students and volunteers, simultaneously treat patients while training future health professionals on the multidisciplinary care necessary to end health disparity.  In doing so they enrich patient and provider support through partnership, education, inclusion, and advocacy. OnePatient Global Health Initiative has emerged as a valued leader in the community offering opportunities to underserved populations in Cook County and throughout the State of Illinois.