The Future Building Destination Care Close to Home

The longevity and richness of our partnership with The Coleman Foundation is unsurpassed at Rush. The Foundation’s attention to challenges and opportunities in cancer care and focus on Chicago’s health care sector has helped Rush build excellence across our institution and changed countless lives.

Growth and change are a constant at Rush. Mia Levy, MD, PhD, The Sheba Foundation Director of the Rush University Cancer Center, joined Rush in 2019. She aims to make Rush a leading force in cancer research, precision medicine and community engagement and education. In the next 10 years, Rush aims to triple our patient capacity with leading-edge programs across the full continuum of cancer care.

One of Dr. Levy’s first actions as Cancer Center director was hiring Rush’s first Director of Supportive Oncology, a clear outcome of The Coleman Foundation’s impact in our region. Recruited in late 2019, Teresa Deshields, PhD, is a national leader in research and education and has quickly built a multidisciplinary care team to improve social, emotional and physical support for patients with cancer and their families. Establishing equitable and accessible care is key to Dr. Deshield’s vision.

Key to expanding our regional leadership will be the Joan and Paul Rubschlager Building, currently under construction and planned for opening in 2022. The 48,000-square-foot outpatient facility will serve as a state-of-the-art home for cancer and neuroscience care, including supportive oncology. Rush expects to serve 1,000 patients a day within this building, and the Cancer Center will use this space to deliver the best patient experience and expand access to new treatment options via clinical trials.

This level of excellence, with patients at the center of all we do, is just the beginning at Rush. Leaders from Rush University System for Health, Rush University Medical Center and the Rush University Cancer Center are grateful for the direction and momentum The Coleman Foundation has provided for cancer care in Chicago. Decades of collaboration with Jean Thorne, John Hughes and Mike Hennessy have ensured Rush’s world-class programs can reach all who need them. We look forward to the next phase of our partnership as The Coleman Foundation welcomes Shelley A. Davis to its helm, and remain inspired by this simple belief: the best possible cancer care should be available to all Chicagoans.