Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center

Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center was founded in 1897 by the Belden Avenue Baptist Church Steadfast Sunday School class (2309 N. Halsted Street)[10] as the Chicago Union Hospital[11] to meet the needs of the local community. (Some sources cite 1901 as the date the hospital opened.)[12][13][14]

Originally a two-and-one-half story frame building which was rented for $50 a month, It contained 30 beds, 10 used by nurses, house physicians and staff, and 20 by patients, 5 of whom could afford to pay for their hospitalization.[15][16]

On March 3, 1905, the main building was destroyed by fire when a blaze broke out in the laboratory. In 1909 a new “state-of-art” hospital building opened, which was equipped with an X-ray machine.[17] In 1910, Martha A. Pippereit was superintendent.[18]

When the operation outstripped the church group’s ability, leaders of the hospital turned to the Masonic Order. It was well since Masons were planning to develop a hospital to provide care for their own, and in 1921 purchased the Union Hospital and named it Illinois Masonic Hospital.[19][20] “In 1921 the Illinois Masonic Hospital Association purchased Chicago Union Hospital,“[21] which had been a 60-bed operation for 20 years.[22] The purchase price was $100,000.[23] The sale date April 30, 1921.[24]

By the end of the 1930s, the hospital had more than 150 beds.[25]

Illinois Masonic Medical Center became a hospital member of Advocate Health Care in November 2000, a multi-hospital non-profit healthcare system serving the greater Chicagoland area. “With this transition, the majority of the Board Members of Illinois Masonic Medical Center became members of the Board of Directors of a new entity - the Masonic Family Health Foundation.”[26][27]

Advocate Health Care announcer plans in 2003 for a $30 million upgrade for facility renovations and clinical and quality system upgrades as part of a turn-around plan for the hospital. "This is the largest capital expenditure investment in a facility for Illinois Masonic in 30 years," said Karen Kansfield, vice president for business development at Masonic. "This illustrates Advocate's commitment to be in the city of Chicago and to the future of Masonic after the recent history we have had with closing Ravenswood [Medical Center].”[28][29]

In 2002, the hospital suffered losses of $18 million due to reductions in federal and state government payments to providers of medical care.[30][31]

On April 27, 2015, a new $100 million Center for Advanced Care at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center was opened. The 164,000-square-foot, three-story facility was designed by SmithGroup. The new building, attached to the main hospital, allowed Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center to expand and centralize three medical specialties—cancer care, digestive health and outpatient surgery services—in a single, integrated platform.[32]

“The primary focus of the Masonic Family Health Foundation is to honor and carry forward the Masonic commitment to the health of the community. The Foundation utilizes its resources to further the health care, charitable, educational and scientific purposes of the Medical Center as envisioned by its original Masonic founders. It pursues these goals through creation of new programs, support of existing programs, campus improvements and the provision of charity care. The Foundation underwrites valuable programs and services unable to sustain themselves without financial assistance. In addition, the Foundation is committed to sharing its resources by supporting the Masonic Assistance Program and other charities which best exemplify this legacy of the hospital’s founding Masons.”[33][34]