Local and Diverse Purchasing
For the past 15 years, UChicago Medicine has worked with local firms for our purchasing and construction needs. Ten local* firms worked on UChicago Medicine construction projects from 2019-2021.
From 2001 to 2021, certified minority- and woman-owned firms (MWBE) have received $485.6 million in economic benefit from UChicago Medicine's capital and renovation projects.
*From ZIP codes 60609, 60615, 60616, 60619, 60621, 60637, 60649, 60653
$13.7 M in contracts awarded and paid to certified minority- and woman-owned firms
$1.5 M in wages went to minority and female construction workers
$1.05 M in wages earned by 169 Chicago residents working on UChicago Medicine construction projects
$485.6 M in economic benefit for certified minority- and woman-owned firms via UChicago Medicine's capital and renovation projects (2001-2021)
Hiring from South Side Communities (2021)
24% of our total workforce live in the University of Chicago Medicine service area
25% of our total 2021 hires live in the University of Chicago service area
$31.36 per hour average hourly wage for employees in the University of Chicago Medicine service area
Partnering to hire unemployed and underemployed job seekers.
To improve goals for local hiring, UChicago Medicine works with the community-based organizations Skills for Chicagoland's Future (SFCF) and the Cara Program.
117 hires through SFCF (569 since 2014)
79% SFCF hires from 15-ZIP code service area
95% 1-year retention rate for SFCF hires
In 2021, Skills for Chicagoland's Future recognized UChicago Medicine and the University of Chicago with its 2021 Champion for the Unemployed award.
Strengthening workforce skill and resilience
With $200,000 in funding from AT&T, the UChicago Medicine began the Workforce Resilience Enhancement Project (WREP) to help organizational leaders understand and deal with the mental, psychological, emotional and behavioral effects of trauma. This includes how trauma can affect the skills, attitudes and habits needed for successful employment.
In June 2021, WREP held the Workplace Resilience in the Aftermath of COVID-19: Facilitating Economic Recovery by Supporting Mental Health conference working with The Kennedy Forum and NAMI Chicago. Fifty people took part in the following panels:
- Changing the Mental Health System: Eliminating Discrimination and Enacting Policy
- Creating Caring Workplaces: Workplace Wellness and Organizational Practices That Support Well-being and Build Resilience
- The Mental Health Effects of Hate Crimes, Employer Responsibilities, and the Workplace Culture That Can Facilitate Resilience
For workplace resilience resources, visit workforce-resilience.org.
Connecting residents of underserved communities to healthcare jobs
Healthcare Forward
In November, UChicago Medicine announced its partnership with Advocate Aurora Health and Sinai Chicago in the Healthcare Forward initiative.
Healthcare Forward offers free training and the promise of a job interview to people living in communities with high unemployment, low-income levels, and high poverty, including those in South and West Side neighborhoods. These are for entry-level healthcare jobs that need only a high school diploma or GED equivalent.
"The opportunity to turn a job into a lifelong career that provides personal fulfillment and financial security starts with getting a foot in the door. This initiative provides that step in."
– Betsy Rahill, Director, Talent Strategy, UChicago Medicine
Preparing a more diverse workforce for future careers in healthcare
Wrapping up its first year, UChicago Medicine’s Heart and Vascular Center (HVC) Mentorship Program introduces South Side high school juniors and seniors to many kinds of healthcare careers with workshops from our healthcare experts and leaders. The program partnered with local community organizations, such MetroSquash, My Brother’s Keeper Alliance and the Obama Foundation.
"When I tell people that I want to go into the medical field they get so happy because there are not a lot of Black and Brown people who look like me in medicine. I want to change that."
– Jada Boyd, Gwendolyn Brooks College Preparatory Academy student and program participant
