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UChicago, UChicago Medicine and City Colleges of Chicago announce health care education partnership in Washington Park

By India Education Diary Bureau Admin On Mar 26, 2024

The University of Chicago and UChicago Medicine joined City Colleges of Chicago on March 5 to announce plans for a joint project that would create new jobs and establish health care career pathways for South Side residents. The multifaceted project would be built on currently underutilized land on Garfield Boulevard, a historic Washington Park corridor.

The project, which has been guided by community input, includes two related elements. On a vacant parcel of land owned by the University of Chicago, UChicago Medicine plans to build a new facility that consolidates its existing clinical labs, modernizes their operations and maximizes lab test efficiency to ensure best-in-class care.

In the second part of the project, directly west of the proposed UChicago Medicine lab facility, City Colleges of Chicago would build a new learning center for Malcolm X College. The new facility would be built on land owned by the Chicago Transit Authority, immediately east of the Garfield Green Line station.

The connected projects would provide an on-ramp and clear pathway to careers in the health sciences for South Side residents, accelerating their ability to secure in-demand positions that pay well, are available at UChicago Medicine and other South Side hospitals, and are accessible with a one- to two-year degree. Together, the facilities would support approximately 600 jobs, including 200 newly created positions at UChicago Medicine. The Malcolm X College Learning Center in Washington Park will serve up to 800 students and establish the first clinical lab technician program in Chicago.

“The University of Chicago is thrilled to embark on this undertaking, in partnership with the City Colleges and our neighbors in Washington Park,” said University of Chicago President Paul Alivisatos. “Together, we will not only help address the immense unmet demand for health care professionals throughout the region, but through our efforts to educate, train, and employ individuals from our local communities, we are investing in the creation of a more robust service network that will elevate the collective health and wealth of us all.”

“As an academic health system, UChicago Medicine is committed to educating the next generation of health care workers,” said Mark Anderson, University of Chicago Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs. “Our plans in Washington Park will train and empower a more diverse workforce and support the growing clinical needs of our medical campus. We are proud to collaborate with City Colleges and look forward to working together to improve the lives of residents across Chicago’s South Side.”

The proposed Malcolm X Learning Center is part of a broader City Colleges plan to support more South Side residents interested in pursuing health care careers. City Colleges also will bring a full nursing pathway to Kennedy-King College in Englewood, which will include an associate degree in nursing and a licensed practical nursing program operated by Malcolm X College at KKC, and a basic nursing assistant program and general education courses operated by Kennedy-King College.

“We are thrilled to expand access to City Colleges’ quality, affordable health care education and provide connections to in-demand health care careers for residents of the South Side,” said Chancellor Juan Salgado, City Colleges of Chicago. “Working with our partners at UChicago and UChicago Medicine, together we will create new economic opportunities and support healthy communities.”

“This health care pipeline expansion builds on a successful and strong relationship between City Colleges, the University of Chicago and UChicago Medicine that is already placing our students into upwardly mobile careers,” said Mayor Brandon Johnson. “I applaud the partnership and the investment on our great South Side that this project represents.”