The University of Illinois Board of Trustees today endorsed a resolution to actively pursue a three-way collaboration with Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center and Cook County Hospital.

The resolution directs U of I management to "organize good faith discussions involving faculty and staff" to shape future academic, clinical and financial relationships.

The leaders of the three institutions have been engaged in informal discussions about their collective futures for about six months. Today's resolution represents a milestone in those discussions and sets the stage for more specific talks regarding the medical education, patient care, research and community service missions of all three.

"This resolution represents an encouraging level of progress in our ongoing discussions and reflects our board's commitment to identifying and forming successful collaborations," said U of I President James J. Stukel. "We are saying that we want these talks to be fruitful and we need our university community to be involved."

Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's, Cook County and the U of I at Chicago Medical Center are all located within the Medical Center District on Chicago's near west side. The resolution notes that the physical proximity of the three institutions "makes cost-effective collaboration both logical and feasible."

There have been periodic discussions among the three institutions and others over at least a decade regarding the potential for closer relationships. However, it is the current national climate of the health care industry, particularly with respect to academic medical centers, that prompted the renewal of serious discussions.

"…This climate presents a tremendous opportunity for the effective combining of resources to create a truly world-class academic health center on Chicago's West Side," notes the resolution.

-UIC-