CHICAGO — Patients, community advocates, and health care leaders will gather Sunday, February 1, at 3401 W. Roosevelt Road for the 340B Saves Lives Action Day: A Community Celebration, calling on policymakers to protect a program organizers describe as “a critical lifeline that helps save lives and allows community health centers and safety net hospitals serve patients most in need.”

The event begins with a press conference at 2:30 p.m., followed by a community celebration from 3 to 4 p.m. Organizers say the gathering will bring together “patients, advocates, legislators, [and] community leaders” alongside some of the region’s most prominent safety-net providers.

According to the event’s media alert, “The 340B program allows eligible hospitals and community health centers to stretch limited resources, providing affordable medications and essential health care services to low-income, urban and rural uninsured patients.” Those savings, health leaders say, make it possible for clinics and hospitals to maintain access in communities that already face significant health disparities.

The alert warns that “ongoing attacks to the discount drug program threaten patients’ access to care and could force providers to cut critical programs and services.” As a result, Sunday’s Action Day is designed to send “a clear message: 340B saves lives.”

Speakers will include patients and community health leaders who rely on the program to deliver care in underserved neighborhoods. Scheduled participants include Dr. James Brooks, CEO of Lawndale Christian Health Center; Mahomed Ouedraogo, CEO of Access Community Health Network; Dr. Lisa Green of Family Christian Health Center; and Dr. Ngozi Ezike, President and CEO of Sinai Chicago.

Organizers emphasize that “the future of 340B is at risk.” The alert states plainly: “Without 340B patients lose access to affordable, lifesaving medications and safety net providers will be forced to close their doors.”

The event is expected to feature rally signs, patient speakers, crowd shots, and on-site interviews, offering a visual and personal look at how the program affects real families.

The gathering comes as Illinois lawmakers continue to debate how best to protect community providers from interference in accessing 340B medications. Advocates argue that preserving the program is essential to ensuring continuity of care for vulnerable residents across the state.

Sunday’s Action Day is open to the public and intended to be both a rally and a celebration of the care that safety-net providers deliver every day. As organizers put it, the goal is to remind policymakers and the public alike that “340B saves lives.”