Looking at Advocate Health Care’s $1B plan in Chicago, including a new hospital

Depending on where a resident lives in Chicago, the life expectancy varies greatly.

Advocate Health Care has announced plans to invest $1 billion in Chicago's South Side, including a planned new hospital, shown above.

Advocate Health Care says it is aiming to tackle that challenge.

The health system has announced a sweeping, $1 billion plan to offer expanded services to the South Side of Chicago. The plans include a new hospital and a host of new outpatient clinics.

The system says it will invest the money in a variety of efforts over the next 10 years. Advocate stresses that it developed the plan after getting input from hundreds of voices, including South Side residents, faith and community leaders, healthcare workers and elected officials.

Advocate also plans to hire 1,000 more staff in the South Side, including primary care physicians.

Life expectancy changes significantly depending on the zip code in Chicago. In the South Side, the typical life expectancy is 60 years old, while residents in Chicago’s North Side live up to the age of 90, according to Advocate.

Dia Nichols, president of Advocate Health Care, who oversees the system’s operations in Illinois, said in a statement, “The health disparity gap the South Side communities face keeps me up at night.”

“I am proud of the commitment Advocate Health Care is making to change that for generations to come,” Nichols said.

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The system plans to invest $500 million to improve outpatient care, with 10 new Advocate Health Care Neighborhood Care clinics across the South Side. Advocate is also pledging to offer financial assistance to those in need, so no one is prevented from getting care.

The health system says it plans to open its first neighborhood clinic in the next few months, with two more opening in 2025.

In addition, Advocate Health Care is planning to build a $300 million hospital in the South Side. The system says it has an agreement in place to buy a 23-acre tract for the new facility.

The new hospital will be built at the former U.S. Steel South Works site. It will replace the current Advocate Trinity Hospital building, which is more than 115 years old. The system plans to build a 52-bed hospital with 36 medical surgery beds, four ICU beds, a dialysis unit and an emergency room with 16 beds.

Trinity Hospital will continue to serve patients while the new hospital is being built. When the new hospital opens, Advocate plans to demolish Trinity and use the site for green space and the system said it will consult local officials for the best use of the property.

Advocate also plans to pour $200 million in hospital and outpatient programs and services, with a focus on helping patients manage chronic diseases. The system also says it will invest in other programs to meet social needs that affect health, including better access to healthy foods, prescriptions, housing and transportation.

Officials said they plan to offer free prescription programs for those with low incomes and will also provide home delivery of prescriptions to those who don’t have easy access to a local pharmacy.

Advocate also aims to expand services to improve the maternal health of Black patients, which is a dire problem nationwide. The system has set a goal of an additional 5,000 OB-GYN visits annually and plans services to help patients throughout their pregnancy.

The system is also planning to spend $25 million to expand its workforce in the South Side, including the hiring of 1,000 new employees over the next three years.

A host of elected officials and community leaders in Chicago lauded Advocate’s plans.

U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, an Illinois Democrat, praised the initiative, including the new hospital that will be built in her district. In a post on X, Kelly said, “This will go a long way to help close health disparities faced by Black and Brown communities.”

In a statement accompanying Advocate’s news release, U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth said the plans will improve health outcomes and address disparities in care.

“This billion-dollar investment is an historic commitment to expanding access to high quality health care state of the art facilities on the South Side,” Duckworth said.

Advocate also produced a video outlining the project.

Advocate Health Care is part of Advocate Health, the system created by the merger of Atrium Health and Advocate Aurora Health in 2022.

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