U of Chicago Medicine’s expansion criticized by state regulators
A $269 million expansion plan to add a new cancer and trauma center at the University of Chicago Medical Center may be too costly and could outpace local need for more beds, according to a report from Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board.
The report said the project’s estimated cost is $18 million too high, based on state standards.
“Historical utilization of medical surgical and intensive care beds at the University of Chicago Medical Center for the past two years (2014-2015) will justify 343 medical surgical beds and not the 506 medical surgical beds being requested,” the report said.
The report also questioned why the center needs the additional beds when several nearby hospitals appear to have too many—by the board’s calculation, an excess of 557 medical surgical beds and 23 ICU beds in the planning area.
The medical center believes the report is actually a good sign that the project will be approved.
“We appreciated the staff’s time reviewing our extensive proposal and were pleased that the staff made positive findings on 16 of the 19 review criteria on the state board report,” said University of Chicago Medical Center President Sharon O’Keefe in a statement. “We are encouraged to be one step closer to delivering the care our community wants and needs.”
The concerns about cost are based on state expectations for a hospital expansion project. The center estimated the construction costs to be $618 per square foot, $115 above the state’s projections.
“A good deal of the cost of this work is entailed by turning a 1983 building into one that will become a 2016-era hospital with greatly improved layouts and building systems that provide the correct environment for tertiary level specialty care for many patients who will be immune compromised,” the medical center said to DNAInfo Chicago in response to those criticisms.
The report doesn’t rule out a vote in favor of the project when it's presented to the nine-member board May 10.
John joined TriMed in 2016, focusing on healthcare policy and regulation. After graduating from Columbia College Chicago, he worked at FM News Chicago and Rivet News Radio, and worked on the state government and politics beat for the Illinois Radio Network. Outside of work, you may find him adding to his never-ending graphic novel collection.