The college is named for Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and a Pennsylvania physician, who counted George Washington among his patients.

He was also a social activist, a prominent advocate for the abolition of slavery, for scientific education for the masses—including women—and for public medical clinics to treat the poor.

[citation needed] In the manner of most medical schools in the 19th century, Rush was a proprietary institution owned and operated by a group of physicians who had joined Brainard in establishing practices in young Chicago.

Following the 1871 Great Chicago Fire, Rush abandoned its destroyed campus and rebuilt in the West Side neighborhood it occupies today.

By the end of that century, Rush was among the nation's largest and most distinguished medical schools,[citation needed] becoming a major supplier of physicians to rural areas in the Middle and far West.

[citation needed] The college sought an academic affiliation with a major university, a common practice among independent medical schools of that era.

[citation needed] In 1942, its association with the University of Chicago came to an end, when Rush temporarily suspended its pre-clinical educational program in the face of World War II.

The focus of the program is the education of clinician leaders who are able to combine knowledge of systems and nursing care, the ability to build and manage teams, and apply evidence-based practice to improve patient outcomes.

The College of Health Sciences at Rush University traces its origins to the School of Medical Technology sponsored by Presbyterian-St. Luke's Hospital from 1959 to 1972.

The second largest school of its kind in Chicago, it provided a one-year professional internship program to more than 200 baccalaureate students in medical technology during its operation.