The two most exciting days of my professional career share the same date: Nov. 18.
One year ago today, Nov. 18, 2019, was my first official day as Rush Copley’s president & CEO. I will never forget the excitement and humility I felt that day — already 12 months ago.
An equally, and maybe even more, exciting day of my career was Nov. 18, 1995. Today marks the 25th Anniversary of “Move Day” — the day we moved 52 patients from our old hospital at 502 S. Lincoln Ave. 4.4 miles down the road to 2000 Ogden Ave. in less than three hours. There are so many fond memories from that great day for our community.
What a fabulous ride it has been over the past 25 years. I am so proud of Rush Copley’s growth, our quality and safety ratings, our patient experience excellence, our physician satisfaction achievements, our employee engagement awards, our financial strength and the excellence of the Rush System. We’ve come a long way since Move Day.
Then and now
Here are some fun facts comparing Nov. 18 then and now:
- On Nov. 18, 1995, we employed 735 people.
Today we employee over 2,600 people (of which, 107 of us worked at the old hospital). - On Nov. 18, 1995, Rush Copley Medical Group consisted of 15 providers.
Today Rush Copley Medical Group has grown to 160 providers. - On Nov. 18, 1995, we cared for 5,800 inpatients per year.
Today we care for over 14,000 inpatients per year. - On Nov. 18, 1995, we delivered 1,200 babies per year.
Today we deliver nearly 3,000 babies per year. - On Nov. 18, 1995, we treated 20,000 ER visits per year.
Today, over 70,000 ER visits. - On Nov. 18, 1995, our annual patient revenue was $169 million
Today, over $380 million - On Nov. 18, 1995, we moved into a hospital that cost $100 million to build.
Since then, we have invested over $350 million in capital expansion and improvements. These investments include locations such as the Rush Copley Healthplex, the Rush Copley Healthcare Center in Yorkville, MCAI in Naperville, several Rush Convenient Care locations, the Castle ambulatory surgery center, and numerous Rush Copley Medical Group practices.
We have really come a long way in 25 years. I wanted to throw a big party to commemorate this day but clearly the pandemic has squashed most of the fun out of 2020. Having said that, I just couldn’t let the date pass without pausing to remember a day that is very special to me and many others.
Happy Anniversary to Rush Copley Medical Center!
