State Panel Approves University Of Chicago Hospital Expansion
(CBS) -- A state panel has approved an expansion plan by University of Chicago Medicine that includes adding an adult trauma center and more patient beds to their medical center campus in Hyde Park, according to the university.
The Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board unanimously approved the $269 million plan.
The hospital says it can now begin building the expanded emergency department that will house four trauma bays and a dedicated cancer treatment facility and will seek approval to become a Level 1 adult trauma center from the Chicago Trauma Network and the Illinois Department of Public Health.
"The board's vote today will have a significant impact on our community," said Sharon O'Keefe, president of the University of Chicago Medical Center. "Our community needs and deserves equal access to quality health care, and we are now one giant step closer to being able to offer that access at UChicago Medicine."
UChicago Medicine says the new emergency department is expected to open in late 2017, with adult trauma services several months later.