Engaging with the community

19% expected increase in incidence of cancer on the South Side in the next five years, compared to 9.1% in the city’s five collar counties

Leapfrog recognizes University of Chicago Medical Center as a “Top Teaching Hospital”

The University of Chicago Medical Center (UCMC) was named a “Top Teaching Hospital” by The Leapfrog Group for the fifth time, recognizing the academic medical center’s long record of providing patients with safe, world-class healthcare while educating future clinicians.

Cancer is the secondleading cause of death among South Side residents, who die from cancer at a rate that’s nearly twice the national average.

If approved by the state review board, the cancer center will add to the growing healthcare ecosystem aimed at reducing health inequality in the Chicago area. It includes a collaborative of 13 South Side care providers, including UChicago Medicine, that launched the South Side Healthy Community Organization last summer. That effort, which is being scoped to serve about 400,000 residents with more seamless and more accessible healthcare, has been working to add 90 primary care providers and obstetric hires, access to nearly 50 priority specialists, 250 community healthcare workers/ coordinators, and a connected care technology platform.

Pending state approval, construction for the new cancer facility will begin in 2023, with a planned opening in 2027.

10 MONTHS soliciting feedback starting with UChicago Medicine’s Community Advisory Council, composed of volunteers who represent a cross section of the service area

200,000 surveys pushed out in person and via social media and e-newsletters

2town halls

At least 41% of contract dollars to be awarded to minority-owned and women-owned firms

500 construction jobs

The industry watchdog organization designated 58 academic medical centers across the country as “Top Teaching Hospitals” on its 2022 Top Hospitals list, published in December 2022. The patient safety organization also recognized top children’s hospitals, top general hospitals and top rural hospitals. Altogether, 115 hospitals around the country were recognized in various categories.

“It is a great honor to be recognized for our continued commitment to training the next generation of clinicians while maintaining our patient safety track record and providing exceptional healthcare to the South Side of Chicago,” said Vineet Arora, MD, AM’03, Dean for Medical Education. “This recognition would not be possible without the tireless efforts of our faculty, staff, residents, fellows and students.”

The University of Chicago Medical Center was previously on Leapfrog’s Top Hospitals list in 2021, 2018, 2017 and 2016.

To qualify for the Top Hospitals distinction, hospitals must submit dozens of quality and safety metrics to Leapfrog. Nearly 2,200 hospitals are surveyed and only those that earn an “A” in patient safety from Leapfrog on its twice-a-year hospital scorecard can be considered for “Top Hospital” status.

From that group, Top Hospitals are selected based on their quality and safety performance. All have systems in place to limit infections and prevent medication errors, and have documented practices for safer surgery and maternity outcomes.

In November, UCMC was awarded its 22nd consecutive “A” grade for hospital safety by Leapfrog, making it one of only 22 hospitals in the United States to maintain the top score over the past decade.

To see the full list of institutions honored as 2022 Top Hospitals, visit leapfroggroup.org/tophospitals

Increasing ground-level ozone and particulate air matter as a result of climate change can lead to reduced lung function, increased hospitalizations due to asthma and increased rates of premature death. Without a change in emissions, it is estimated that this air pollution will lead to between 1,000 and 4,300 deaths in the U.S. per year by 2050. As of 2008, it was estimated that the healthrelated costs of ozone air pollution approached $6.5 billion nationwide.

Food production, quality, distribution and pricing are affected by rainfall changes, severe weather events and changing weed and pest growth patterns. This is likely to lead to increased rates of food insecurity nationwide. Increased use of herbicides and pesticides to combat increased weed and pest competition exposes farm workers and consumers to higher levels of these potentially toxic chemicals.

How do environmental changes impact our health?

Climate change is thought to potentially lead to higher pollen concentrations and longer pollen seasons, which can lead to allergic reactions. Pollen exposure has been linked to asthma attacks and increased rates of hospital admissions for respiratory illnesses. The cost of treating health issues related to pollen exposure in the U.S. exceeds $3 billion every year.

Studies have linked increased rates of preterm birth and low birth weight to intensely stressful exposures, including heat waves and wildfires. Pregnant people and their fetuses are more susceptible to food-, water- and insect-borne illnesses, many of which are associated with such risks as miscarriage, stillbirth and severe birth defects, as well as increased risk of maternal complications, including death. In the U.S., the economic burden of the healthcare costs of preterm infants alone exceeds $26 billion annually.

Increased rates of mental illness have been connected with the stress of grappling with the downstream effects of climate change. Research has found high levels of anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder among Hurricaine Katrina survivors, and similar outcomes have been seen in populations affected by floods, heat waves and wildfires. Suicide rates rise with high temperatures, and dementia is a risk factor for hospitalization and death during heat waves. The national economic cost of mental illness rises into the hundreds of billions due to treatment costs and lost wages.

Meet the University of Chicago

Medicine researchers who are tackling this monumental issue, one challenge at a time.