Still, despite the inherent danger involved with her job, Kairis said she derives strength and the courage to continue providing care from the patients themselves.

"I am forever changed by these amazing people," said Kairis. "They have to motivate twice. Motivate because they are dealing with horrific sicknesses or the end of their life, and then you walk into their neighborhoods and there are drug dealers everywhere.

"This is what they're dealing with, yet they're still able to overcome, to go on with their day."

Horne said the care she is providing is personal, intertwined with her own history. She grew up in Englewood, another neighborhood on the South Side weighed down by gun violence, and witnessed violence firsthand.

She also said she feels drawn to Englewood by her mother and grandmother, who still live in the neighborhood. The patients there are, in essence, her people.

"I do it because I care about the patients," said Horne. "That's the No. 1 reason I'm out there. I care about my job and the services we provide to these patients. They can't help the communities they're in."