[2] Affiliated institutions also located on campus include the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital with Level I pediatric trauma care and the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, a leader in physical medicine and rehabilitation.

[3] In 2022, U.S. News & World Report ranked Northwestern Memorial as the top hospital in both Chicago and Illinois for the eleventh consecutive year and #9 in the nation.

[8] In 1897, a group of local women formed the Passavant's Woman's Aid Society to raise money for the continued operation of the hospital.

[12][11] In 1917, doctors and nurses from Wesley and Passavant enlisted to help treat victims of World War I with many serving in France with other Northwestern University staff at a base hospital.

[11] In 1924, it was announced that Wesley would move to the north side campus adjacent to Northwestern University for a stronger affiliation, but funding for construction was delayed until the 1930s.

Additionally, Passavant administration decided to suspend patient care in order to begin fundraising for a new, larger hospital.

Four years later, in 1929 Passavant Memorial opened their new 325-bed hospital building on 303 East Superior Street across from their affiliate, Northwestern University Medical School.

[11]In 1937, local philanthropist and steel mogul George Herbert Jones donated $1 million for construction of a new high-rise building to house Wesley Memorial Hospital.

[13] In 1942, doctors and nurses from both Passavant Memorial and Wesley were once again enlisted to help tender aid to soldiers during World War II.

[8] Due to their proximity and affiliation with Northwestern, the hospitals began working together on a number of clinical services and teaching programs, laying the groundwork for a future merger.

A precursor to a full merger, Passavant and Wesley began looking into collaborative efforts in multi-hospital services and shared inpatient clinical programs.

[34] The American College of Healthcare Architects recognized Northwestern Memorial for forward-thinking design as it was one of the first hospitals to dedicate private rooms to patients in the main Feinberg and Galter Pavilion buildings.

The new building contains the Northwestern Musculoskeletal Institute, outpatient operating rooms, a center for diagnostics, eight floors of doctors offices, and a 575-car garage.

[39] In January 2015, Northwestern Medicine announced that they would convert the 11-floor of the building from doctors offices to additional operating rooms due to higher-than-expected demand of outpatient surgeries.

The project was partially funded and eventually named after Louis Simpson and his wife, Kimberly Querrey who made a $92 million donation to the center.

Hospital officials claimed that personally identifiable information including social security numbers were involved in the leak.

[53] Northwestern Memorial is a partner with CommunityHealth in Chicago and provides healthcare through medical volunteers who participate in a residency program at the center's two sites in the West Town and Englewood neighborhoods.

[54] In partnership with the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University, more than 4,500 clinical trials and studies are conducted each year with over 50,000 patients and volunteers participating.

Current clinical trials are being conducted in the following areas: AIDS, cancer, cardiovascular disease, dermatology, diabetes, gastroenterology, genetics (stem cell research), mental health, neurology, obstetrics and gynecology, rheumatology & immunology, sleep disorders, organ transplantation, and weight loss.

The building opened in 2014 and contains the Northwestern Musculoskeletal Institute, outpatient operating rooms, a center for diagnostics, eight floors of doctors offices, a 575-car garage, and ground level restaurants.

[65][66][67] Northwestern Memorial is also ranked among the best in the nation in 12 specialties: neurology and neurosurgery (#7); orthopedics (#7); diabetes and endocrinology (#9); urology (#9); digestive disorders (gastroenterology) (#10); gynecology (#11); geriatrics (#11); heart (cardiology) and cardiac surgery (#12); pulmonology (#13); cancer (oncology) (#14); nephrology (kidney disorders) (#14); ear, nose and throat (otolaryngology) (#17); and as high-performing in rheumatology and ophthalmology.