UChicago Medicine wants to build $633M cancer facility by 2026
CHICAGO (AP) — A $633 million and 500,000-square-foot cancer hospital through University of Chicago Medicine has been pitched for the city’s South Side.
Hospital officials have submitted an application for site planning to the state Health Facilities and Services Review Board.
Construction wouldn’t begin until next year and the hospital could open to patients by 2026.
Backers hope the facility will help address health inequities on Chicago’s South Side, where many black residents live. The area has higher cancer death rates and has seen several hospital closures in recent years.
The new center would include space for outpatient procedures and services, along with 128 hospital beds.
“This will have a major impact in terms of our ability to take care of patients coming from our South Side community,” said Dr. Kunle Odunsi, director of UChicago Medicine’s Comprehensive Cancer Center. “This kind of hospital provides a unique opportunity to not only meet the needs of cancer patients in the new hospital but also meet the needs of other noncancer patients as well.”
The facility is also expected to include an urgent care and be a research center, with clinical trials enrolling area patients.
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