Advocate Health Care To Build A $300 Million New Hospital Facility

Advocate Health Care recently announced a $1 billion investment for the South Side. PHOTO BY ADVOCATE HEALTH CARE.
Advocate Health Care recently announced a $1 billion investment for the South Side. PHOTO BY ADVOCATE HEALTH CARE.

Advocate Health Care To Build A $300 Million New Hospital Facility 

Health Care System to Invest $1 billion in South Side

By Tia Carol Jones

Advocate Health Care announced a $1 billion investment to expand access to primary care, wellness services and specialty care on the South side during a recent press conference at Imani Village, in the city’s Cottage Grove Heights neighborhood. Advocate Health also announced a new $300 million Advocate Trinity Hospital facility on the former U.S. South Works Steel Site.

More than $500 million will be devoted to expanding outpatient care. This includes adding 85,000 new appointments annually, establishing 10 new neighborhood care locations, expanding Imani Village to add more doctors, services and appointments, as well as adding a mobile medicine vehicle. 

More than $200 million will be invested in hospital and outpatient services and programs. It will include expanding access to pharmacy services, with a free prescription program for patients in need; a food farmacy program that will distribute fresh produce and healthy items to patients with conditions like heart disease and diabetes, by doctor’s orders: expansion of pre and post natal care, by adding 5,000 annual OB’GYN visits, as well as new wraparound services.

The $300 million state-of-the art hospital will be located on 23 -acres of land, which Advocate has an agreement to purchase. The plan is to build a 52-bed hospital, with 36 medical surgery beds, four ICU beds, a four-bed dialysis unit, eight dedicated observation beds, and an emergency room, with 16 beds/bays.

The current hospital will continue to serve patients while the new hospital is being built. Once the new facility opens, the hospital at 93rd street will be demolished. Remediation of the new facility site will take place prior to construction.

Dia Nichols, President of Advocate Health Care, said he has been alarmed by the fact that citizens on the South Side of Chicago live 30 years less than their counterparts on the North Side of the city, simply because of their zip codes. He said that the health disparity gaps across the country keep him awake at night. He said the largest health disparity gap is in the city of Chicago.

“What I want to make sure happens, is that everyone, regardless of who you are, regardless of where you’re from, regardless of what you earn, regardless of what your zip code is, that everyone receives equitable care,” Nichols said.

Nichols added that while progress has been made, there is still work to do. He said with Advocate Health Care’s $1 billion investment, it will build a new model of care that is designed to prevent and manage common conditions that contribute to shorter life expectancy. He said the new model would keep people out of the hospital and meet them before they become patients in the hospital. He added that he was grateful for the community’s feedback, ideas and suggestions on how to improve health care.

Michelle Blakely, PhD, President of Advocate Trinity Hospital, expressed her excitement about the investment. She said the hospital has invested millions of dollars throughout the years in its facility. 

“Health and wellness does not start in the hospital. We want to provide our community with the resources they need to stay well and stay out of the hospital,” Blakely said.

Blakely talked about the listening session Advocate Trinity hosted earlier in the year and how it used the feedback to better address the needs of the community. The first neighborhood care facility would be located at the South Side YMCA. She added that as part of the commitment to the South Side, Advocate Trinity Hospital is embarking on a hiring campaign, with a goal to hire more than 1,000 new team members.

Seventh Ward Alderman Greg Mitchell said he has been working with Advocate Trinity to bring a hospital to the vacant site because he believes in the potential of the neighborhood and what it deserves – investment, opportunity and growth.

“Today marks the transformative moment for the 7th Ward and for the Southeast Side of Chicago. This new hospital represents more than just a building, it’s a significant investment and a symbol of progress in the 7th Ward and a powerful catalyst for revitalization, laying the foundation for stabilization and further investments throughout the 7th Ward,” Mitchell said.

For more information about Advocate Health Care’s $1 billion investment, visit www.advocatehealth.com/MyVoiceMyHealth.


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