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

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 438-bed tertiary care hospital, 21 outpatient clinics, and 11 federally qualified Mile Square Health Center locations, as well as the University of Illinois Cancer Center.

With campuses in Chicago, Peoria, Quad Cities, Rockford, Springfield and Urbana, the health system also includes the academic and research activities of the seven UIC health science colleges: Applied Health Sciences, Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Retzky College of Pharmacy, the School of Public Health, and the Jane Addams College of Social Work.

UI Health is dedicated to the pursuit of health equity and is committed to training the health care leaders of the future. It 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

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:

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Total Graduates from the Mile Square Dental Assistant Program
The Mile Square Health Center Dental Assistant Certification Program has graduated 71 dental assistants since 2022. The program boasts an 80% placement rate for its graduates, who collectively have gone on to earn nearly $2 million that contributes to local community economies.

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Students Who Have Participated in UHP Programming
In calendar year 2025, the Urban Health Program had 496 students participate in its programming for middle school, high school and college students. For more than 45 years, the Urban Health Program has served as UIC’s leading initiative for recruiting, retaining and graduating students in the health sciences.

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Additional FTE Slots Awarded by Medicare to Support Residency Training
The UI Health Department of Graduate Medical Education was selected by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as one of only 95 organizations nationwide to receive additional Medicare-funded Residency slots. UI Health was awarded funding for five full-time equivalent (FTE) positions to support the Psychiatry-Family Medicine combined program.

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Number of Patient Visits at UI Health
Fiscal year 2025 saw a total of 1,540,984 patient visits across the entire academic health enterprise, comprised of the University of Illinois Hospital & Clinics, the Mile Square Health Center health clinics, and faculty-managed clinics in the Colleges of Applied Health Sciences and Dentistry.

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Miles Travelled by the College of Nursing Mobile Health Unit
Since its launch approximately one year ago, the Mobile Health & Wellness Services RV, part of the ENRICH program at the UIC College of Nursing, has traveled 5,875 miles and served over 350 individuals throughout Peoria community locations.

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The Total Number of Postdoctoral Students at UIC
Although the majority of postdocs at UIC are in biomedical fields, we have postdocs appointed in many STEM, humanities, liberal arts, and social science fields. UIC fosters a welcoming community of postdocs and a robust professional development training program that benefits all postdocs regardless of field of study or future career choice.

About UIC

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.