Rush University Medical Center

Description

Rush is a notforprofit academic medical center comprising Rush University Medical Center Rush University Rush Oak Park Hospital and Rush Health

Rush University Medical Center encompasses a 676bed hospital serving adults and children including the Johnston R Bowman Health Center which provides medical and rehabilitative care to older adults and people with short and longterm disabilities

Rush University is home to one of the first medical colleges in the Midwest and one of the nations topranked nursing colleges as well as graduate programs in allied health health systems management and biomedical research

The Medical Center also offers many highly selective residency and fellowship programs in medical and surgical specialties and subspecialties

Leading the Way

For more than 170 years Rush has been leading the way in developing innovative and often lifesaving treatments Today Rush is a thriving center for basic and clinical research with physicians and scientists involved in hundreds of research projects developing and testing the effectiveness and safety of new therapies and medical devices

This unique combination of research and patient care has earned Rush national rankings in 11 of 16 specialty areas in USNews amp World Reports 2010 quotAmericas Best Hospitalsquot issue Rush also is proud to be the preferred hospital and home to the team physicians for both the Chicago White Sox and the Chicago Bulls

Mission
The Mission of Rush University Medical Center is to provide the very best care for our patients Our education and research endeavors community service programs and relationships with other hospitals are dedicated to enhancing excellence in patient care for the diverse communities of the Chicago area now and in the future

Vision
Rush University Medical Center will be recognized as the medical center of choice in the Chicago area and among the very best clinical centers in the United States

Values
Rush University Medical Centers core values innovation collaboration accountability respect and excellence are the roadmap to our mission and vision These five values known as our I CARE values convey the philosophy behind every decision Rush employees make Rush employees also commit themselves to executing these values with compassion This translates into a dedication shared by all members of the Rush community to providing the highest quality patient care

History

With a history spanning nearly 170 years Rush has been part of the Chicago landscape longer than any other health care institution in the city In fact Rush Medical College received its charter on March 2 1837 two days before the city of Chicago was incorporated Its founder Dr Daniel Brainard named the school in honor of Dr Benjamin Rush the only physician with medical school training to sign the Declaration of Independence Rush Medical College was the first institution of higher learning chartered in Illinois and one of the first medical schools to open west of the Alleghenies

The early Rush faculty well known across the American frontier for its expertise engaged in patient care research and teaching and was associated with a number of scientific developments and new clinical procedures As the city grew so did Rushs involvement with other developing institutions St Lukes Hospital established in 1864 Presbyterian Hospital which was begun at the urging of the Rush faculty in 1883 and the University of Chicago with which Rush Medical College was affiliated and later united from 1898 to 1942

In the early 1940s Rush discontinued undergraduate education but its library was maintained and its faculty continued to teach at the University of Illinois School of Medicine In 1969 Rush Medical College reactivated its charter and merged with PresbyterianSt Lukes Hospital which itself had been formed through merger in 1956 to form RushPresbyterianSt Lukes Medical Center Rush University which now includes colleges of medicine nursing health sciences and research training was established in 1972

The Medical Center officially changed its name in September 2003 to Rush University Medical Center to reflect the important role education and research play in its patient care mission