Birth of a Birth Center: Timeline
Making plans and building the Birth Center of Chicago during a global pandemic
*Updated November, 2021 with completed timeline!
The Birth Center of Chicago is almost done with construction! If you ever watched a home improvement show, you know the excitement that comes after sheetrock gets installed! Our countertops are in place, appliances are arriving and being calibrated, and our team is anticipating meeting clients for clinical appointments.
Our neighbors in North Center knew something was going on last fall when the brown paper went up in the first-floor windows of 3832 N. Lincoln Ave. But what kind of project would keep moving forward when the city, and the world, was slowing down and rethinking if it was a good time to open a new business?
For the last months, the folks at the Birth Center of Chicago have been working to open a Freestanding Birth Center for families interested in low-intervention birth and compassionate wellness care.
Chicago’s first freestanding birth center, and Illinois’ 4th freestanding birth center, has been in the works for much longer than when the first construction noises were heard! The Birth Center of Chicago has been in the works since 2017, to research and plan a place for evidence-based midwifery care rooted in compassion and cooperation. To help wrap minds around the work and the process of getting to this point, we want to share a behind-the-scenes look at the commitment that started years ago, to bring Chicago families a new option for birth and well body visits through a Midwife-led model.
Birth Center of Chicago Timeline:
April 2017: Start research & collect data on potential Chicago locations
January 2019: Filed articles of incorporation & started search for the Director of Midwifery for the project
August 2019: Started the search for potential locations
January 2020: Established a transfer agreement with Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center - 2 miles from our center
February 2020: Formally established corporation
June 2020: Established transfer agreement with EMS
July 2020: Certificate of Need (CON) submitted for review
September 2020: Con Hearing and Approval
January 2021: Permits for Construction acquired
February 2021: Director of Midwifery hired
June 2021: Complete construction & open doors for prenatal and well-body appointments
August, September, November 2021: State inspections
November 18th, 2021: Become licensed for births at the center!
We only have a few more milestones to reach before we can welcome folks through our doors. And only a few more milestones after that until we can welcome the first babies to be born in our space. To read more about what we will be able to offer clients, we encourage you to Look Inside BCC.
*Updated: We are fully licensed and are accepting clients!
Are you curious and want more live updates? Follow us on Instagram at @birthcenterofchicago for photos of the process, and news, or sign up for our newsletter through our contact form, here.