Introduction
The University of Chicago held a groundbreaking ceremony on September 15, 2017 for the South Side’s newest emergency department, which will also offer Level 1 adult trauma care.
Features
The ceremony marked the start of a US$43 million project to convert part of a parking garage into a new emergency department at University of Chicago Medicine.
The event marked the first step in implementing UChicago Medicine’s Get CARE plan, which will increase access to emergency, trauma and specialty care, and includes a dedicated cancer hospital.
The new department is scheduled to open in January 2018, and trauma services will likely be offered in early spring 2018.
Features will include four trauma resuscitation bays specifically for treating trauma patients, private patient rooms rather than spaces divided by curtains, and separate entrances for emergency medical service workers and patients who arrive on their own.
It will also include a bariatric room with lifts in the ceiling for treating morbidly obese patients and on-site biocontainment for patients exposed to biological dangers such as Ebola.
The new expanded emergency department will treat an additional 25, 000 patient visits a year by 2021. More than 2,000 adult trauma patients are expected in the first full year of trauma center designation.
UChicago Medicine has begun proceedings with regional trauma directors and the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Recruitment for the new trauma center has started and UChicago Medicine has already begun identifying and recruiting staff.
The hospital posted the trauma director position over the summer and expects to have every faculty position within the new trauma center posted in the coming weeks.
The project is expected to cost US$39 million to build. The entire Get CARE plan is projected to cost US$269 million, which includes financing and creates more than 1,000 permanent positions and 400 construction jobs, representing a significant investment in the South Side.
University of Chicago Medicine also plans to add a dedicated cancer hospital and 188 beds. The new emergency department will be 76 percent larger than the current one.
Specifications:
| Name | University of Chicago Medicine |
| Location | Chicago, Illinois |
| Type | Construction |
| Estimated Budget | $39 Million |
| Parties Involved | University of Chicago Medicine, Illinois Department of Public Health |
| Schedule | Scheduled to open in January 2018 |
