‘The mission is visible’: UChicago Medicine completes construction phase of AbbVie Foundation Cancer Pavilion
UChicago Medicine leadership, including Mark Anderson, MD, PhD; Krista Curell, JD, RN; Kunle Odunsi, MD, PhD; and Tom Jackiewicz, attended the event on Sept. 24. (Jordan Porter-Woodruff)
The construction phase of the AbbVie Foundation Cancer Pavilion is complete, and University of Chicago Medicine leaders are ready for the next step: outfitting the space to deliver world-class cancer care to the South Side and beyond.
A celebration last Thursday featured the unveiling of a new sign and a ceremonial key presentation by Turner Construction to UChicago Medicine, whose teams will get the 575,000-square-foot facility ready for its scheduled opening in April 2027.
“Now, the focus shifts to the work inside — to preparing the space, its technology, its teams and care model, so that when patients walk through that door, the mission is visible in every part of their experience,” said Mark Anderson, MD, PhD, Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs and Dean of the Biological Sciences Division at the University of Chicago, who spoke as part of the unveiling event.
Located on UChicago Medicine’s main campus in Hyde Park, the pavilion will be the state’s first and only freestanding facility dedicated to cancer care and research. The project builds on the health system’s longstanding commitment to the South Side, where cancer death rates are nearly twice the national average.
“What really matters to us is what it will mean for the people who come for care,” said Kunle Odunsi, MD, PhD, director of the UChicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center.
The seven-story pavilion, he noted, was designed with input from community members, patients and staff.
“They told us care should be easier to navigate, families should be able to stay close and patients should feel supported as whole people, not simply treated for a disease,” Odunsi said.
Purposeful, patient-centered design
The pavilion brings cancer specialists, advanced diagnostics, treatment, clinical trials, navigation, supportive services and survivorship care together in one place.
This model will support “a place where we can combine our substantial research efforts and our incredible cancer therapies with the best patient experience,” said Mitchell C. Posner, MD, Chief Clinical Officer for the Cancer Center.
Purposeful design touches throughout the building include patient rooms equipped with smart tech and private infusion spaces. It will also feature a Holistic Oncology Center, a teaching kitchen, an outdoor garden and terraces.
Once fully operational, the pavilion is expected to serve approximately 200,000 outpatient visits and 5,000 inpatient admissions annually, with 80 private inpatient beds.
“This is an opportunity to bring the cutting-edge care — and expand the opportunities for people on the South Side — to get world-class care here in Chicago,” said Tom Jackiewicz, president of the University of Chicago Health System.
‘Our patients should feel the difference’
UChicago Medicine is home to a National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center — one of only a select number in the nation and only two in Illinois.
For more than 17 years, UChicago Medicine has been nationally recognized for cancer care, with particular expertise in treating patients with the most complex and challenging conditions.
UChicago Medicine will now enter the final phase of preparing the pavilion to welcome patients. “Hundreds of staff members will outfit clinical spaces, test systems and workflows, and train teams to operate in the new environment,” said Krista Curell, JD, RN, president of the University of Chicago Medical Center.
“When those doors open, our patients should feel the difference,” Curell said. “They should feel that we have thought about their journey, anticipated what they need and designed care around them and around their families. That is the promise of this pavilion.”
UChicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center
UChicago Medicine is designated as a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute, the most prestigious recognition possible for a cancer institution. We have more than 200 physicians and scientists dedicated to defeating cancer.
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