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We are very pleased to inform you that the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board today approved the University of Chicago Medicine’s application to expand access to health care services on Chicago’s South Side. This approval allows us to develop a new and expanded emergency department containing four trauma bays needed for Level 1 adult trauma services and to completely renovate Mitchell Hospital, converting it into a facility dedicated to the care of patients with cancer. We received approval to expand our bed base by 168 general medical-surgical beds and 20 ICU beds. The Board’s vote was unanimous.
We will now seek approval from the Chicago Trauma Network and the Illinois Department of Public Health to offer Level 1 adult trauma services. Plans are underway to recruit staff for the expansion, and we have launched a national search for a director of the trauma center.
The new emergency department is expected to open in late 2017, and the Adult Trauma Center several months later, supplementing the existing Pediatric Trauma Center and the Burn and Complex Wound Center. The initial conversion of the Mitchell Hospital will be phased in over time beginning later this year.
This is a historic step forward for UChicago Medicine that will greatly expand our ability to provide a broad range of services including emergency and trauma care as well as care for patients with serious and complex medical and surgical conditions. We look forward to working with all of you as we implement this exciting plan in the next few years and appreciate your dedication and commitment to the University of Chicago.
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