Accessible Parking

• Rush University Medical Center offers a discounted rate for valet parking to people with disabilities.
• Wheelchair assistance is available at the valet parking entrances at the hospital, the Professional Offices Building and the Joan and Paul Rubschlager Building. 
• Designated parking for people with disabilities is available on the fourth and fifth floor levels of Section A in the Medical Center's parking garage and on every floor near the elevators of the Joan and Paul Rubschlager Building parking garage. A valid disability license plate or placard must be visible.

Find out more about parking at Rush.

Public Transportation

Two ADA-accessible Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) train stations are adjacent to the Medical Center campus:

• Illinois Medical District (Blue Line)
• Polk (Pink Line)

The following CTA bus routes include stops at or near Rush:

• #7 Harrison (weekdays)
• #9 Ashland (weekdays and weekends)
• #126 Jackson (weekdays and weekends)
• #157 Streeterville/Taylor (weekdays)

PACE Route 755 provides weekday, rush-hour service between Plainfield and downtown Chicago. Inbound buses stop at Harrison and Paulina streets in the morning. Outbound buses stop in the afternoon.

Find out more about public transportation near Rush.

Service Animals

Rush provides access to service animals whenever possible. There is a pet relief area located on the grassy area at the west end of the Joan and Paul Rubschlager Building. Find out more about Rush’s service animal policy.

Preparing for Your Hospital Visit

Coming to the hospital can be particularly stressful and overwhelming if you or your loved one has an intellectual or developmental disability. Rush offers customized services to help make sure you have a positive experience here.

We offer the following services:

• Clear masks: Clear face masks are available. To help improve communications, Rush visitors and patients can request that providers and staff switch from paper masks to a transparent mask. Please contact the clinic or provider's office before your appointment, if possible. You can also request clear masks when you check in for your appointment.
• Disability assistance: Our team can do everything from assisting with scheduling to making arrangements for personalized requests based on your individual needs or concerns.
• Buddy program: We can assign a “buddy” to help your loved ones when they are in the hospital. These are volunteers who have been specifically trained to work with people with intellectual disabilities. The buddies know how to help patients with disabilities find appropriate activities, stay with them while their parent or caregiver gets rest and explain what is happening in the hospital.
• Hospital tours: Our special two-hour tours help adults with intellectual disabilities prepare for hospitalization and, if needed, surgery. The tour offers developmentally appropriate explanations about why they are coming to the hospital and what will happen when they are here. They’ll also get a chance to tour the different parts of the hospital and see and handle some of the medical equipment that may be used to care for them, such as stethoscopes, syringes, blood pressure cuffs and oxygen masks.

To take advantage of any of these services, please contact:

Kevin Irvine
(312) 942-1999
disability_access@rush.edu

Interpreter and Captioning Services

To request sign language interpreter and/or real-time captioning services, please call (312) 563-2987 or email disability_access@rush.edu.

Other Useful Resources

• Get tips for your next doctor’s visit from the Illinois Disability and Health Program.
• Fill out your My Health Passport (available in English or Spanish) before you come to the hospital and keep it in your wallet or purse.