The University of Chicago Medicine has taken its first step toward offering greater access to medical care on the city’s South Side.
Officials announced Thursday that they are seeking state approval for a major three-pronged project that includes:
- Relocating and expanding UChicago Medicine’s adult emergency department to the Center for Care and Discovery
- Create a Level 1 adult trauma center on the Hyde Park campus
- Redevelop Mitchell Hospital into a cancer center
The new emergency department would be built on the first floor of what is now a parking garage in the 5600 block of South Maryland Avenue.
“It’s a response to the need we see in our hospital every day and the projections that we think that need is going to continue to grow,” Cristal Thomas, VP for Community Health Engagement, said.
The $269 million expansion would create more than 1,000 permanent positions, according to officials.
The development plan, called Get CARE, comes after years of protests demanding that the university re-establish the trauma center it shut down in 1988.
Neighbors say the trauma center is needed more than ever in the wake of increased shootings and violence in recent years.
“If one of my children were to get into a traumatic experience or have a traumatic experience, I wouldn’t want to have to worry about being a Bronzeville resident who has to travel 30 to 35 minutes away to get that trauma addressed,” Pastor Chris Harris of Bright Star Church of God in Christ said.
For 310 days last year, the hospital had to turn patients away because it was so full, according a statement from Sharon O’Keefe, president of the University of Chicago Medical Center.
The project would add 188 new hospital beds, bringing the total beds at UChicago Medicine to 805, according to officials. In comparison, Northwestern Medicine maintains 894 hospital beds and Rush University Medical Center has 731 beds.
Construction crews could break ground as early as March, but it could take two to three years before the project is completed.
