Loyola University Chicago Expands Nursing Programs to Serve West Side Region

Loyola University Chicago is expanding its nursing program, adding roughly 100 new seats in response to persistent healthcare staffing shortages across Chicago's West Side and surrounding neighborhoods.

The expansion comes after years of lobbying from regional hospital systems, including Loyola's own Loyola University Medical Center, which have struggled to fill nursing positions in neighborhoods with fewer training programs than the North Side. University officials said the new seats will be phased in over the next three admissions cycles.

"Parts of this city have had a healthcare workforce problem building for years, and it's not going to fix itself if the training programs stay the same size," said the dean of Loyola's Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing. "Students who train near where they eventually want to work are far more likely to stay in that community."

The university is also opening a new clinical simulation center on campus, featuring updated mannequin-based training equipment that allows nursing students to practice emergency scenarios without needing a live clinical placement for every exercise. The $6.8 million simulation center is funded through a mix of university capital funds and a donation from a regional health system.

Loyola officials said they expect the expanded program to graduate its first larger cohorts within four years, with a goal of keeping the majority of graduates working within underserved Chicago neighborhoods rather than relocating to the suburbs after graduation.