Advocate unveils $1B expansion on Chicago's South Side

Advocate Health Care will announce on Dec. 17 a landmark $1 billion investment to enhance healthcare access and services on Chicago's South Side. 

The plan includes a new hospital, expanded outpatient services and more than 10 new Neighborhood Care locations focused on preventive care and disease management. The investment aims to address long-standing healthcare disparities in the city, particularly the stark 30-year life expectancy gap between residents of the North Side and South Side. 

While the specific locations of the new facilities were not disclosed in the initial announcement, Advocate Health Care plans to provide further details during an in-person announcement with health system, city and community leaders in Chicago's Calumet Heights area Dec. 17.

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. Its existing South Side footprint includes Advocate Christ Medical Center, Advocate Trinity Hospital, and several outpatient, behavioral health and primary care facilities.

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.

Advocate Health recently posted an operating income of $964.2 million (3.7% operating margin) through the first three quarters of 2024, up from $79.4 million (0.3% margin) reported over the same period last year. As of Sept. 30, the system had 281 days cash on hand.

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