Northwestern Memorial Hospital is opening a new heart hospital within its walls, with $45 million donated by casino magnate Neil Bluhm and his family’s charitable foundation.
The money will allow Northwestern to increase its number of beds for cardiovascular patients in need of overnight care from about 85 to 140, said Dr. Patrick McCarthy, executive director of the Northwestern Medicine Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute. The new Northwestern Medicine Bluhm Heart Hospital will occupy four floors of Northwestern’s Galter Pavilion, which previously housed administrative and physician offices and outpatient services, said Dr. Clyde Yancy, chief of cardiology at Northwestern Medicine.
The extra beds are sorely needed, say Northwestern leaders. The hospital’s cardiovascular beds have often been full, especially over the last two years during the pandemic. That’s meant the hospital has often been unable to accept cardiovascular patients who need to be transferred from other hospitals for advanced care, McCarthy said.
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“We’ve had a dire need for more capacity to accommodate the needs of our community,” Yancy said.
Northwestern will also expand its outpatient clinic for cardiovascular patients, nearly doubling the number of exam rooms, McCarthy said. The money will also help Northwestern recruit more doctors and innovate cardiovascular care, he said.
Parts of the new heart hospital are already up and running. Northwestern leaders hope to see it fully functioning once it’s able to staff all the new beds. Hospitals across the state have struggled with staffing as they’ve dealt with influxes of COVID-19 patients in recent months and staff shortages caused by COVID-19 quarantines and burnout from the pandemic.
The money will also go toward collaborations with organizations in vulnerable Chicago communities aimed at improving heart health and addressing some of the reasons behind the city’s health disparities.
“Expanding access to care and moving the needle on health equity in Chicago is critically needed,” Bluhm said in a news release. “I am proud to continue my support of Northwestern Medicine and to help address inequity with the establishment of the Bluhm Heart Hospital, which will bring new discoveries and innovative treatments to more patients across Chicagoland and around the world.”
This isn’t the first time Bluhm, founder and president of JMB Realty Corp. and chairman of Rush Street Gaming and Rush Street Interactive, has given Northwestern a gift focused on heart health. His Rush Street Gaming owns four casinos, including Rivers Casino Des Plaines, and is among the bidders for a planned Chicago casino.
In 2005, Bluhm donated $10 million for the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute. The new heart hospital will be part of the institute, which encompasses cardiovascular care across the Northwestern system.
In 2012, he donated another $5 million to the institute. In 2018, Bluhm gave $25 million to establish the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute Center for Artificial Intelligence at Northwestern, which focuses on how artificial intelligence and machine learning can be used in the study and treatment of cardiovascular disease.
U.S. News & World Report ranks Northwestern 12th in the country, and first in Illinois, for cardiology and heart surgery hospitals.