New school to create more healthcare jobs in Chicago
Posted on February 3, 2016
The opening of the new Malcolm X College & School of Health Sciences will create more Chicago healthcare jobs.
Designed with input from health care employers, the new campus reflects the latest tools in health care education, including a virtual hospital complete with operating and emergency rooms with observation areas; nursing, radiography, respiratory care, and science labs; and an ambulance cab for EMT simulations. A dental hygiene clinic will serve community clients for free starting summer 2016. An exercise and sports science area includes a 900-seat gymnasium, lap pool, and two therapy pools.
Designed with the input of employers – most notably, lead partner Rush University Medical Center, and located next door to the Illinois Medical District—the $251 million, 1 million square feet facility will prepare Chicagoans to seize the 84,000 health care jobs coming to the region over the next decade.
“With the opening of the new Malcolm X College, we have created a center of excellence in healthcare education that will offer our students the highest quality programs, taught by the best faculty, informed by leading employers, and housed in a state-of-the-art facility,” said City Colleges of Chicago Chancellor Cheryl Hyman. “When the Mayor and I launched College to Careers three years ago, we envisioned a community college system that made responsible use of taxpayer resources while delivering relevant education that put our students on the path to family-sustaining careers, and today helps us realize that vision.”
Simulated environments allow students to engage in “real life” patient scenarios where they test, diagnose and develop a treatment plan to remediate a patient’s condition. This functionality allows Malcolm X College the unique ability to pressure test student skills under workplace-like conditions, assess strengths and weaknesses, and develop a plan of action to improve student hard and soft skills prior to clinical assignments, graduation and admittance into their career of choice.
Construction of the new college, overseen by City Colleges, was completed in 26 months, both on time and on budget. [A1] City Colleges used reserves and funds raised from a successful bond offering that garnered AA and AA- ratings from S&P and Fitch, respectively, to fund the project. The new college can accommodate up to 20,000 students, 6,000 more than before, and includes an eight-story health science tower, a four-story academic building, and 1,500-space parking garage.
“We deeply value Malcolm X College as an academic and community partner, and together we have been working to create a pipeline of talented health care professionals for the future. This has included career-ladder opportunities for Malcolm X students, clinical rotations at Rush University Medical Center for Malcolm X students and faculty development opportunities at Rush University for Malcolm X faculty,” said Dr. Larry Goodman, President, Rush University and CEO, Rush University Medical Center.