OSF
HealthCare, the University of Illinois System, Illinois Central
College, and the Greater Peoria Economic Development Council are joining
forces to develop a Peoria Innovation Hub. Having already identified space in the Thomas Building at 201 SW Adams Street that was recently vacated by Illinois Central College, the
hub will be dedicated to finding solutions to improve the wellness of
underserved populations, and advance systems related to food, farming,
and transportation – specifically autonomous mobility.
The Peoria Innovation Hub will be part of the Illinois Innovation Network (IIN),
a statewide initiative led by the U of I System to foster the
breakthrough research discovery and entrepreneurship that drives
progress, job creation and economic growth. Other hubs are being
developed across the state, including research centers that have already
been announced in Urbana-Champaign, Chicago, Springfield, and DeKalb.
Those centers will focus on discovery in critical and growing fields
such as data science, cybersecurity, therapeutic drugs, food and water
resources, and environmental change.
The
cornerstone of the network is the Discovery Partners Institute (DPI), a
world-class research and education center that will bring hundreds of
top researchers and thousands of students to Chicago to work with
industry and government to tackle real-world challenges. Earlier this
year, OSF HealthCare
became the first corporate partner in DPI with the creation of the OSF
Innovation Lab at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). DPI
classes are already working with OSF’s Complex Solutions Innovation team
to address key questions around serving the poor, rural, and elderly
patient populations in Illinois.
Working
collaboratively, a comprehensive proposal and application has been
prepared to secure funding from the $500 million capital appropriation
that the Illinois General Assembly approved last spring to develop DPI
and the statewide innovation network. The Peoria Innovation Hub will
essentially reimagine the city’s opportunities for entrepreneurs,
students, innovators, creators, and residents. The hub will encompass
nearly 53,000 square feet and function as a springboard for new
companies and a place where members of the community can collaborate
with innovators and bring creative solutions to challenges facing
healthcare, manufacturing, and agriculture. If successful, these funds
will be used to acquire and redevelop the Thomas Building.
Located
within Peoria’s federally designated Opportunity Zone, the Peoria
Innovation Hub will offer tax benefits allowing potential business
startups to leverage incentives to attract early stage and venture
capital.
“OSF
HealthCare recognizes the importance of innovation in improving the
health of the communities we serve. It is our hope that working with the
Discovery Partners Institute and the Illinois Innovation Network will
only help improve the health of and health care options for all
Illinoisans,” said OSF HealthCare CEO Robert Sehring.
“In
today’s world, innovation is the key to progress, prosperity and an
even better tomorrow,” said Tim Killeen, president of the U of I System.
“The Illinois Innovation Network reflects our commitment to bring the
world’s very best minds together and put them to work for people here in
Peoria, across our state and beyond.”
“Peoria
provides a unique opportunity to combine academic and community
resources to spur economic development,” said Sara Rusch, regional dean
of the University of Illinois College of Medicine Peoria. “All three
universities in the University of Illinois System are engaged in Peoria –
UIC through the College of Medicine, Urbana-Champaign through the
College of Engineering’s work with Jump, and the University of Illinois
at Springfield with its master’s and degree completion programs. In
addition, we have important assets in Illinois Central College and
Bradley University. Leveraging these resources with those of our
healthcare systems, manufacturing sectors and other components of our
economy provides Peoria with wonderful opportunities. The IIN will help
unite these resources behind discreet projects.”
“As
the workforce innovation partner, ICC would engage in agricultural
research with area farmers and students in addition to integrating
workforce development programs in manufacturing and healthcare. Our
efforts will leverage these advances by aligning these innovations with
workforce credentials providing family sustaining opportunities to our
community,” said ICC President Dr. Sheila Quirk-Bailey.
“Innovation
has always been the cornerstone of our region – in agriculture,
manufacturing, and now health care,” said Christopher Setti, CEO of the
Greater Peoria Economic Development Council. “Innovation is also our
future. The hub will be a great part of that future. It would inspire
entrepreneurs with problems to solve, equip them with the tools they
need to solve them, and support them in turning solutions into
businesses.”
“OSF
HealthCare is committed to doing its part to help design a better
future,” said Michelle Conger, chief strategy officer for OSF
HealthCare. “Core to our mission, we understand the value of fresh
perspectives and seek to work with innovators outside our walls to
maximize solutions that bring value to our patients and communities.”
Co-working
is expected to be a central feature of the proposed hub, in order to
maximize productive collaboration across all disciplines within the
building. Some elements being considered include:
“It
is essential that plans for economic growth include opportunities to
strengthen vulnerable communities that have been divested in. The Peoria
Innovation Hub will help diverse entrepreneurs improve health care
delivery and reduce food insecurity in underserved neighborhoods,” said
state Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth, D-Peoria.
“A
Peoria Innovation Hub of the Illinois Innovation Network will have
enormous economic potential for the Peoria region. It’s fulfilling to
see this mission – with its own facility in Peoria – come closer to
reality after so much hard work. It is exciting to know our innovators
and entrepreneurs could have access to some of the greatest minds in our
country,” said state Sen. Chuck Weaver, R-Peoria. “OSF, as one of our
region’s fundamental economic drivers, deserves high praise for stepping
up to champion this initiative.”
“Peoria
has a long history of groundbreaking research and development. The
Innovation Hub will build on our regional strengths of healthcare,
manufacturing, and agriculture in order to deliver new jobs and startup
companies that will strengthen the Illinois economy,” added state Sen.
Dave Koehler, D-Peoria.
If the necessary funding is approved, the Peoria Innovation Hub could be physically set up and open by mid-to-late-2020.
# # #
OSF HealthCare, headquartered
in Peoria, is owned and operated by The Sisters of the Third Order of
St. Francis, and consists of more than 21,000 employees in 116
locations, including 13 hospitals throughout Illinois and Michigan. Its
physician network employs more than 1,000 primary care, specialist
physicians and advanced practice providers. More at www.osfhealthcare.org.
OSF Innovation,
launched in 2016, is the overall umbrella initiative for the planning,
structure, goals, and services OSF HealthCare uses to innovate for the
improvement and transformation of health care.
The University of Illinois System is
a world leader in research and discovery, and the largest educational
institution in the state with nearly 86,000 students, about 25,000
faculty and staff, and universities in Urbana-Champaign, Chicago and
Springfield. The U of I System awards more than 22,000 undergraduate,
graduate and professional degrees annually. More at https://www.uillinois.edu/
Illinois Central College
is dedicated to changing lives and is a community college leader in
transfer success and workforce development with campuses in East Peoria,
Peoria, and Pekin. The College serves over 19,000 credit and
non-credit students annually, offering 160 programs of study and
awarding more than 1,800 degrees and certificates annually. For more
information on ICC‘s high-quality, affordable programs, visit icc.edu.
The Greater Peoria Economic Development Council
serves Logan, Mason, Peoria, Tazewell, and Woodford counties, a
federally designated five-county Economic Development District. In
collaboration with our local economic and workforce development
partners, we drive economic growth in Greater Peoria through targeted
business and talent development and attraction.