One of the nation’s most unique specialty hospitals will soon welcome its first patients, and the teams that conceived it gathered this week to cut the ribbon in celebration.
The RUSH Specialty Hospital is a combined critical illness recovery and inpatient rehabilitation hospital, offering a seamless continuum of care for patients and families recovering after being hospitalized in intensive care.
“This new facility gives us more tools and spaces to best serve our critically ill patients — including those recovering from cancer, stroke or brain or spinal cord injuries,” said Dr. Omar Lateef, president and CEO of RUSH. “We started this conversation pre-pandemic, knowing we needed to defragment the care we provide. This is an opportunity to bring the same level of care on a continuum in the same neighborhood.”
State of the art
“We are going to be helping thousands of patients regain their quality of life,” said Select Medical CEO David Chernow, adding that this approach is unique, “not only for this state — but for the entire country.”
“We are thrilled to be able to move this important work into a new, state-of-the-art building — the RUSH Specialty Hospital,” said Dr. Sheila Dugan, chair of the RUSH Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. “We will continue in our RUSH mission to improve the health of the individuals and diverse communities we serve.”
“It’s amazing to see all the development RUSH has done in the last several years,” said Kenya Merritt, Chicago’s deputy mayor of business and neighborhood development, representing Mayor Brandon Johnson.
“I am grateful even personally for the care that RUSH has been able to provide. You are pillars in our community. It is incredibly important to ensure patients in Chicago continue to have access to essential healthcare services and this hospital does just that. The partnership is a great thing not only for the West Side but for all of Chicago.”
Patient-centered
The RUSH Specialty Hospital was designed around the RUSH and Select Medical commitment to patient-centered care.
“As a team — we focused on keeping our patients and families at the center of how we deliver exceptional care for our patients,” said Shonda Morrow, RUSH vice president of patient care services.
“Our patients are with us for 25 days on critical illness side and 14 days on the rehab side,” said Dr. Samuel Hammerman, Select executive vice president and chief medical officer. “For many that means a month and a half of their life. But we’ll walk by their side. For patients and their families, the outcomes translate to their ability to go home.”
The 100-bed facility features 44 critical illness recovery and 56 inpatient rehabilitation beds. The new hospital also builds upon the partnership between RUSH and Select Medical that launched in 2021 with what now includes RUSH Physical Therapy — 77 RUSH-branded Select Medical outpatient centers across the Chicago area.