At UChicago Medicine we value local and diverse partnerships and encourage stakeholders to work together on purchasing and construction projects.
For the past 14 years, there has been a concerted effort to work with local firms. Ten local* firms worked on UChicago Medicine construction projects in 2019 to 2020.
*From ZIP codes 60609, 60615, 60616, 60619, 60621, 60637, 60649, 60653
$20.8 M contracts awarded and paid to certified minority-and-woman-owned firms
$4.3 M wages to minority and female construction workers
$1.9 M wages earned by 208 Chicago residents working on UCM construction projects
$276 K earned by 25 workers living in 8 local ZIP codes
UChicago Medicine continues to invest in local hiring strategies and partnerships with community-based organizations, such as Skills for Chicagoland’s Future (SFCF) and the Cara Program. In 2019, UChicago Medicine was awarded the Good Neighbor Award for involvement with Cara.
100 hires through SFCF
68% SFCF hires from UChicago Medicine’s 12-ZIP code service area
26 job placements through Cara
73% Cara hires from 12-ZIP code service area
Hiring local talent helps build communities
Dwayne Johnson is an example of how UChicago Medicine hires local talent to help build its workforce and strengthen surrounding communities.
A resident of the South Shore community, Johnson earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in social work while working as a shuttle bus driver, patient transportation specialist, housekeeper, and community relations coordinator at UChicago Medicine. When the University’s new trauma center opened in 2018, he was one of two founding team members of the Violence Recovery Program. This is the only hospital-based violence intervention program in Chicago that serves both adults and children.
