About VCHA
Providing oversight of the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System (UI Health), the UIC Office of the Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs aligns the health-related academic and clinical enterprises under a single umbrella to better serve the state’s health care needs and to align the academic and clinical missions of the health science colleges and patient care services. The Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs reports to the UIC Chancellor and works collaboratively with the UIC Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Provost.
Through the integration of the university’s health care facilities and the educational, research and clinical programs of the seven health sciences colleges, the Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs focuses on delivering the medical discoveries, clinical training, and personalized patient care that will improve the health of those in our communities and beyond.
About UI Health Heading link
The University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System (UI Health) provides comprehensive care, education, and research to train health care leaders and foster healthy communities in Illinois and beyond. A part of the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), UI Health is a clinical enterprise that includes a 465-bed tertiary care hospital, 21 outpatient clinics, and 11 federally qualified Mile Square Health Center locations. With campuses in Chicago, Peoria, Quad Cities, Rockford, Springfield, and Urbana, the health system includes the academic and research activities of the seven UIC health science colleges: Applied Health Sciences, Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy; the School of Public Health; and the Jane Addams College of Social Work. UI Health is dedicated to the pursuit of health equity.
UI Health remains committed to training the health care leaders of the future, and has already been responsible for significant training of the health care professionals across the state of Illinois. Including:
- 1 in 3 IL physicians received training at UI Health
- 1 in 5 IL physicians received their MD degree from the College of Medicine
- Over 1 in 3 IL pharmacists trained at the College of Pharmacy
- Over 8,000 practicing IL nurses trained at the College of Nursing
- More than 1 in 3 IL dentists trained at the College of Dentistry
- Nearly 1 in 4 IL social workers trained at the Jane Adams College of Social Work
UI Health Vital Signs Heading link
UI Health is a regional and national leader in advancing health equity through clinical services, health sciences education, research, and community partnerships, as demonstrated by Vital Signs such as these:
Vital Sign #1 Heading link
UI Health has the largest combined kidney-pancreas transplant program in the U.S., according to 2023 data from the Organ Procurement & Transplantation Network. The UI Health program serves the highest volume of patients in the U.S., catering to a diverse range of patients and including people who may be denied surgery at other centers. Transplant surgeon Dr. Enrico Benedetti recently appeared on WGN Spotlight Chicago to talk about the UI Health transplant program.
Vital Sign #2 Heading link
Number of Annual Patient Visits at Mile Square
In Fiscal Year 2022, UI Health’s 11 Mile Square Health Center (MSHC) locations delivered much-needed healthcare to communities in Chicago and Rockford through more than 153,000 patient visits, serving about 54,000 unique patients. MSHC is one of the nation’s largest networks of Federally Qualified Health Centers, and the only FQHC network connected to an academic health enterprise.
Vital Sign #3 Heading link
Number of Students in the IPE Foundations Sessions
1,193 students from the health sciences colleges are expected to participate in the immersive 2024 Foundations of Interprofessional Collaborative Practice (FICP) sessions. Facilitated by nearly 90 faculty, staff and advanced peer facilitators, the sessions will develop the knowledge and skills for interprofessional healthcare teams. These immersive FICP sessions have been offered at UIC for more than 10 years, and beginning this year are offered through the university’s new Center for the Advancement of InterProfessionalPractice, Education and Research.
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Number of Visits and Surgical Procedures at the UI Health Specialty Care Building
Since the UI Health Specialty Care Building (SCB) opened in September 2023, there have been 164,000 patients visits and surgical procedures performed in the facility. In March of 2023, the SCB hit a milestone of 100 outpatient robotic surgeries, and has the distinction of being the only outpatient facility in the Midwest using a single port robot in an ambulatory facility.
Vital Sign #5 Heading link
Number of Graduates from the RMED program at COMR
Since 1997, the Rural Medical Education Program at the University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford, has graduated 436 students, 78% of whom matched into primary care residencies, and 65% of whom are practicing in towns with fewer than 50,000 people.
Vital Sign #6 Heading link
Number of Visits to the UI Health Emergency Department
In fiscal year 2023, there were 47,773 visits to the Emergency Department at the University of Illinois Hospital, where patients received comprehensive medical services for emergency medical situations including severe injury, major illness or symptoms of a serious medical condition.
About UIC Heading link
University of Illinois Chicago is the largest and only public research university in Chicago. With over 30,000 students across 16 colleges, UIC offers a diverse, academic environment to tackle some of the most pressing issues facing our communities and the world. Most recently, UIC was recognized by the Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education as the 23rd best public university in the nation.
UIC is one of 131 institutions in the U.S. to receive the highest classification for research by the Carnegie Foundation. The university is one of only fourteen institutions in the country that is designated as both a Carnegie 1 Institution and a Hispanic Serving Institution. In fiscal year 2020, UIC established a new research record with sponsored research awards surpassing the $400 million mark for the first time in the university’s history.