Lawndale Christian Health Center Program

Family Medicine Analyst Verified · Aug 31, 2026

Lawndale Christian Health Center Program

Lawndale Christian Health Center Program is a residency program specializing in Family Medicine, located in Chicago, Illinois, directed by Benjamin Preyss, MD, MBA and coordinated by Benjamin Preyss. The program accepts applications through December 31, 2026 and holds an accreditation status of Continued. International Medical Graduates interested in this program may contact the program coordinator directly at [email protected] or (872) 588-3210. IMGPrep analysts have verified and compiled this program’s IMG acceptance rate, USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 score requirements, Visa Sponsorship Policy, graduation year cutoff, and ECFMG certificate requirements — available to IMGPrep subscribers.

Program Identity & Fit

Lawndale Christian FMR is a faith-based, community health center-sponsored Teaching Health Center on Chicago's West Side, one of only two THCGME programs in Illinois and the only one independently sponsored by a CHC rather than an academic medical center. Training is explicitly "Clinic First," anchored in continuity care at LCHC (200,000+ annual visits) with resident-run "Lawndale" inpatient services at Mount Sinai and Saint Anthony hospitals, emphasizing unopposed OB volume, addiction medicine, street medicine/homeless health, PACE geriatrics, and integrated behavioral health for a marginalized, underserved, immigrant-heavy population. The curriculum is individualized around an "Area of Concentration" and Individual Learning Plan, with heavy procedural training and a "Faith in Medicine" longitudinal thread woven through every rotation, reflecting a mission centered on serving vulnerable populations with an explicitly Christian ethos. Research is available through scholarly projects and electives but is not the program's organizing purpose; the program values mission-alignment, community commitment, procedural competence, and a long-term calling to underserved/community health practice over academic or subspecialty ambition.

Who it fits

An applicant whose ERAS narrative reflects a personal calling to faith-integrated, underserved community medicine—demonstrated through work with homeless, immigrant, addiction, or safety-net populations—and who seeks broad-scope, procedure-rich full-spectrum family medicine rather than fellowship subspecialization.

Research intensity

Low - scholarly projects and research electives are available but not emphasized as central to program identity.

Career orientation

Primary Care - training explicitly prepares graduates for full-spectrum, unopposed community-based family medicine practice in underserved settings rather than fellowship or academic pathways.

Important

The program explicitly participates in program signaling and considers it during interview-offer decisions (though not in final ranking), and holistic review specifically weighs CV/personal statement content reflecting alignment with the program's faith-based mission and vision of serving marginalized populations.

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