Rush University Medical Center has received a $10 million gift from The Grainger Foundation, Lake Forest, Ill., to fund construction of an orthopedic joint replacement surgery center within the new Rush inpatient hospital, currently under construction and scheduled to open in 2012.

The center will be part of the new hospital’s interventional platform comprised of three vertically aligned floors, each containing 14 operating/procedure rooms, associated preparation and recovery rooms and support space. Rush’s department of orthopedic surgery continues to grow and is recognized for its research and innovations including the development of new implant devices, surgical techniques and instrumentation used in joint replacement surgeries world-wide.  

“We are particularly moved and grateful to the The Grainger Foundation, one of a number of individuals and foundations that have made significant financial commitments to Rush even during this difficult economic period for the country. As a nonprofit institution, Rush depends upon generous philanthropic support to provide the resources that enable us to continue to excel and to fulfill our mission of patient care, education, research and community service for generations,” said Dr. Larry J. Goodman Rush CEO and president.

The Grainger Foundation gift, one of the largest gifts Rush has received, caps a very successful six-month period of support for the Rush Transformation that includes a number of other noteworthy gifts including:

-$2.7 million from the estate of Dr. Bertram Capus
-$1 million from Searle Fund at The Chicago Community Trust
-$1 million from Joe and Nancy Masterson

Rush’s seven-year fund raising campaign was launched in 2004. As of February, a total of $263 million in gifts and pledges has been received toward Rush’s fund raising goal of $300 million. Funds raised from the capital campaign will be allocated as follows: $180 million for the Rush campus transformation project; $70 million for research and education; and $50 million to enhance existing clinical and community programs.

The Rush campus redevelopment, referred to as the Rush Transformation, is being funded through operating capital, philanthropy, debt financing and government grants.

Additional Background Information:

Rush’s New Hospital Building and the Rush Campus Transformation

The 14-floor, $585 million, 806,000-square-foot hospital building currently under construction at the corner of Ashland Avenue and Congress Parkway, will house Rush’s acute and critical care patients as well as surgical, diagnostic and therapeutic services utilizing the most advanced technology available. It will incorporate a concept called “the interventional platform,” with three floors devoted to surgery, imaging and specialty procedures. Only two other major academic medical centers are incorporating the interventional platform concept on this scale into their new hospital buildings: UCLA Medical Center (Los Angeles) and Johns Hopkins Hospital Center (Baltimore).

Upper floors will contain 304 acute and intensive care beds, 72 neonatal intensive care unit beds, and 10 labor and delivery suites. The ground floor will house the McCormick Foundation Center for Advanced Emergency Response, with unique capabilities to handle epidemics and mass casualties. To better accommodate increased visits from the West Side community, the size of the emergency department will be double its current size. 

It will be the first full-service, “green” hospital in Chicago. Rush is seeking Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Among the hundreds of energy efficient and sustainable strategies the building will employ are multiple green roofs for slow release of rainwater into storm sewers, extensive use of recycled materials from structural concrete to interior finishes and furniture, and use of energy efficient systems for lighting, heating and cooling.

The new hospital is the centerpiece of a $900 million, ten-year campus redevelopment plan called the Rush Transformation, which also includes a new orthopedic ambulatory building (to open in the Fall), a parking garage and central power plant, renovations of selected older buildings and demolition of obsolete buildings. Perkins+Will, an integrated design firm, is designing the new hospital and other structures that are part of the Rush Transformation. Powers/Jacobs is the firm serving as construction manger.

Rush University Medical Center includes the 674-bed (staffed) hospital; the Johnston R. Bowman Health Center; and Rush University (Rush Medical College, College of Nursing, College of Health Sciences and the Graduate College).