University of Illinois Health
SCB
Specialty Care Building
Completed June 2022
The UIC Health Specialty Care Building (SCB) is the first new building for the university’s academic and clinical health enterprise, UI Health, since 2014. This $197-million and 195,000-square-foot facility provides a more efficient, comfortable and patient-friendly home for outpatient surgery, that were formerly performed within the operating suite at the University of Illinois Hospital. With a growing clinical program, there was a need for more space, and this new facility enables UI Heath to handle increased demand.
In addition, the SCB helps provide a platform from which to address the inequities of access on the west and south sides of Chicago. That inequity is at the core of disparities in health outcomes, which the university is aware of and striving to address. As part of the UI Health system and in conjunction with Mile Square, a network of federally qualified healthcare centers across Chicago and Rockford, the SCB works diligently to help those who have traditionally been underserved. The funding for the new facility also reflects a powerful spirit of teamwork between the university and the public and private industry. By relying on P3 funding (public-private-partnership), this facility and its programs have a deep and wide foundation from which to serve its communities.
SCB is an important tool in helping the U of I System fulfill its mission, to serve the state of Illinois and improve the lives of its people. The project also serves as an important economic driver for the state, with the construction project employing about 500 people and the health facility expected to generate 100 full-time jobs.