CHICAGO—University of Chicago Medicine will open a 10-story, $700 million replacement hospital next month, and officials gave politicians and other VIPs a sneak peek at the hospital last week. The hospital is set to admit its first patients Feb. 23. The new facility, named the Center for Care and Discovery, will serve as the center of the University of Chicago Medicine campus. It replaces a building constructed in 1983. Officials plan to convert the old building into a rehabilitation facility and make all of its rooms private. Workers began construction on the new hospital in 2009. U of C Medicine is covering $500 million of the cost with bond proceeds and the remaining $200 million with cash and donations. The 1.2 million-square-foot research and teaching facility spans two city blocks and includes 21 operating rooms and 240 private patient rooms. The hospital has room for as many as 28 operating rooms and includes nine advanced imaging and interventional procedure suites for services including cardiac and neurological care. The facility will focus on complex specialty care, such as cancer, gastrointestinal diseases and advanced surgeries. Twelve rooms are dedicated to gastrointestinal and pulmonary procedures. Officials stressed the space's flexible nature; two floors have been reserved as expansion space for future technology. Rafael Vinoly Architects and Cannon Design developed the building.
—Ashok Selvam