Advocate Health Care on Dec. 17 unveiled plans to expand on Chicago's South Side with $1 billion invested in new facilities and services.
What does the investment entail, exactly? Here are five things to know:
1. More than $500 million will go toward expanded outpatient care with the goal of adding 85,000 new appointments annually, making it easier to access both primary care and specialists. This includes 10 new Advocate Health Care Neighborhood Care locations, with the first opening in the coming months at the South Side YMCA.
2. Advocate is allocating $300 million to build a state-of-the-art hospital on the former U.S. Steel South Works site on the lakefront, replacing the 115-year-old Advocate Trinity Hospital. The system has an agreement to purchase 23 acres of land for its planned 52-bed hospital, which will contain 36 medical surgery beds, four ICU beds, eight dedicated observation beds, a four-bed dialysis unit and an emergency room with 16 beds or bays.
4. More than $200 million will target community-centered hospital and outpatient programs, with a focus on managing chronic diseases and tackling social determinants of health. This includes boosting OB-GYN services by 5,000 visits annually and providing robust wrap-around care — patient navigation, education, connection to midwives and social workers — to ensure comprehensive support throughout the pregnancy journey.
5. Advocate will invest $25 million in workforce development, committing to retain all current South Side employees and hire more than 1,000 new team members over the next three years. These efforts aim to strengthen the community's economic health and ensure a pipeline of skilled healthcare professionals.
Advocate Health Care said it conducted more than 20 listening sessions with South Side residents in what it described as an extensive community input process over much of 2024, informing its investment strategy. Advocate Health Care, part of Charlotte, N.C.-based Advocate Health system, already operates a significant network in Illinois, with over 250 sites of care, including 11 hospitals.
Chicago's South Side has faced substantial challenges in healthcare access over the past two decades, including 20 hospital closures since 2000. Between 2019 and 2022 alone, four hospitals on the city's South and West Sides were scheduled to close. One of these, Mercy Hospital, narrowly avoided closure when it was acquired by an out-of-state investor.
"This is a transformative moment for the 7th Ward, especially for the South Shore and South Chicago communities," Greg Mitchell, 7th Ward Alderman, said in a system news release. "For over 30 years, this vacant site has stood as a symbol of disinvestment and missed opportunities that have deeply impacted the entire Southeast Side. The new state-of-the-art hospital represents far more than a building. It's a significant investment in the 7th Ward and a powerful catalyst for revitalization."