Advocate Health Care is investing $1 billion in Chicago's South Side, including a new hospital

chicago – Advocate Health Care announced it plans to spend $1 billion to expand access to health care on Chicago's South Side, including building a new hospital to replace Trinity Hospital.

The health care provider said the investment is aimed at closing the 30-year life expectancy gap between Chicago's South Side residents and North Side residents, according to a news release.

“This visionary initiative, rooted in the voices and ideas of South Side residents, directly targets systemic inequities that have persisted for generations,” Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a statement.

Expanding outpatient care

Part of the investment includes $500 million to expand outpatient care on the South Side. The expansion will result in an additional 85,000 appointments residents can make annually for both primary care and specialists, Advocate said.

Advocate will add 10 new “neighborhood care” locations, including the first location at the South Side YMCA in the coming months and two more in the next year.

New hospital

Advocate plans to spend $300 million to build a new 52-bed hospital at the former US Steel South Works site near the lakefront.

The new hospital will replace the current Advocate Trinity Hospital building, which is more than 115 years old, Advocate said. The current building will continue to be used until the new hospital opens.

The new hospital will be LEED certified and carbon neutral, representing a more environmentally conscious project for a part of the city that has seen disproportionate impacts from pollution, Advocate said.

Along with building new facilities, Advocate said it will hire more than 1,000 new workers over the next three years throughout the South Side region. She also said she plans to keep all of her employees currently working on the South Side.

The lawyer did not give a specific timetable for the construction of the new hospital.

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