Northwestern Memorial Hospital Completes Move Into Its New Prentice Women's Hospital

Nearly eight years of planning and preparation culminated today following the carefully executed move from the existing facility into the new state-of-the-art Prentice Women's Hospital. The new one million square foot hospital brings together comprehensive care for women through all stages of life. From women's cardiovascular health to the Lynn Sage Comprehensive Breast Center, gynecologic oncology and obstetrics, the hospital offers care tailored to the unique needs of women. In addition, there are two floors dedicated to the care and treatment of medical oncology and hematology patients in the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

"We moved 217 patients, a tremendous undertaking and significant achievement for all of our patients and employees," says Dean M. Harrison, President and CEO of Northwestern Memorial HealthCare.

"The move took approximately 5 hours and we are pleased to report all patients have been transported patients to their new units," said Dennis Murphy, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.

In addition to providing the highest level of care to patients, the new hospital was built with families, visitors and the neighboring community in mind. The building will be a destination for community residents who wish to visit retailers including Argo Tea and Les Fleurs de Ashland Addison Fleuriste. The Zen & Now gift shop, which will feature gifts for any occasion is expected to open later this year. Visitors can also enjoy a meal in the Fresh Market at Fairbanks cafe, a restaurant featuring healthy and delicious Mediterranean and Spa inspired cuisine created by celebrity chefs Cary Neff and Joyce Goldstein.

Built on a foundation of education, the new hospital continues Northwestern Memorial's longstanding commitment to providing patients and families with the knowledge necessary to be active participants in their care. On the first floor, visitors can take advantage of the expanded Alberto-Culver Health Learning Center, a full service health information library that is open to the public. In addition, interactive televisions are in every patient room, providing patient education materials at the touch of a button, along with hospital information and entertainment options.

"This is an exciting day for us. The feedback we've received from patients and families has been overwhelmingly positive and we are happy that they share our excitement about this beautiful new facility and the precedent it sets for women's healthcare," adds Jean Przybylek, Vice President, Operations, Women's Health.

With expanded capacity for 13,600 deliveries per year, the new Prentice will continue to be the largest birthing center in both Illinois and the Midwest and is poised to be among the top five birthing centers in the nation.

The new Prentice Women's Hospital is located at 250 E. Superior Street in Chicago. For more information, visit http://www.prentice.nmh.org or http://www.grandhopening.org.

About Northwestern Memorial Hospital

Northwestern Memorial Hospital is one of the country's premier academic medical centers and is the primary teaching hospital of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Northwestern Memorial and its Prentice Women's Hospital and Stone Institute of Psychiatry have 897 beds along with 1,424 affiliated physicians and 6,464 employees. Northwestern Memorial is recognized for providing state-of-the-art patient care and exemplary clinical and surgical advancements in the areas of cardiothoracic and vascular care, gastroenterology, neurology and neurosurgery, oncology, organ and bone marrow transplantation, and women's health.

Northwestern Memorial received the prestigious 2005 National Quality Health Care Award and is listed in eight specialties in U.S. News & World Report's 2007 rankings for "America's Best Hospitals." For seven years running, Northwestern Memorial has been rated among the nation's "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers" by Working Mother magazine and has been chosen by Chicagoans for more than a decade as their "most preferred hospital" according to the National Research Corporation's annual survey. Northwestern Memorial carries the Magnet status designation in nursing, the highest recognition possible for patient care and nursing excellence.