Children's Memorial Hospital

With almost 1,100 pediatric specialists focusing on 70 specialties in multiple locations, Children's Memorial Hospital routinely provides more care to more young people than any other Chicago-area hospital or medical center. The hospital is accredited by the Joint Commission (formerly known as the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations). Licensed for 270 beds, Children's Memorial cares for the most critically ill kids. In fact, its Case Mix Index (used as a severity measure) shows that the hospital is one of the country's top five children's hospitals that consistently cares for very sick children.

History
Children's Memorial Hospital was founded in 1882 by Julia Foster Porter as the Maurice Porter Memorial Hospital in an 8-bed cottage at the corner of Halsted and Belden streets in Chicago. It was the first hospital in Chicago dedicated to the care of children and pediatrics.

Education
As the primary pediatric teaching hospital of Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, the hospital offers one of the country's most sought after pediatrics residency programs. The medical school's Department of Pediatrics is currently tied for 12th place in the 2007 U.S.News and World Report rankings.

Research
The hospital is also home to Children's Memorial Research Center, the research arm of Children's Memorial Hospital and a virtual center for pediatric research at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine. Founded in 1989, the research enterprise has grown to include more than 200 investigators and more than $25 million in external funding for research, two-thirds from NIH and other federal agencies.

Awards
Children's Memorial Hospital is currently ranked as Illinois' the top pediatric hospital and one of the nation's best by U.S.News and World Report. The hospital's nursing department received the prestigious Magnet Award for Nursing Excellence. Children's Memorial was also named one of the 25 best places to work by Chicago magazine and one of the best 100 companies by Working Mother magazine.

Future
Construction is scheduled to break ground in 2008 at Children's Memorial's future site in the Streeterville area of Chicago, adjacent to the rest of the McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University. The $850 million project is scheduled to open in 2012, and the 1.1 million square foot facility will house 275 private rooms with the ability to expand to 343 by 2017. On September 5, 2007, Chicago philanthropist Ann Lurie announced will donate a record $100 million toward the new hospital. Upon completion, the new Children's Memorial will be re-named the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. It will remain the only independent pediatric hospital in Illinois, but will build on its existing partnerships with Northwestern Memorial HealthCare and the Feinberg School of Medicine.