Northwestern Memorial HealthCare gave Northwestern the largest grant it has ever given to any institution, according to Crain’s Chicago Business.

In an agreement signed Sept. 1, the health network agreed to give the University $167 million and additional ongoing funding toward developing new clinical programs, expanding research at the Feinberg School of Medicine and hiring top scientists. These projects are part of a larger strategic plan, Northwestern Medicine, which includes the construction of new research facilities and improved patient care, according to a University news release.

Northwestern Medicine is the result of several years of planning by Feinberg, Northwestern Medical Faculty Foundation and Northwestern Memorial HealthCare. The University announced the three institutions pledged a total of $1 billion toward carrying out the plan, which would create “a leading medical research enterprise” on the former site of the Prentice Women’s Hospital, according to the release.

In the release, University President Morton Schapiro called developing a top research base “imperative” to improving patients’ lives.

“We are committed to ensuring that Northwestern University and the Feinberg School continue to be leaders in biomedical research and education,” he said in the release.

Although the health network and the University are separate organizations, they have maintained a collaborative relationship. The health network is the parent corporation of Northwestern Memorial Hospital, which is the primary teaching hospital for Feinberg. Many of the hospital’s physicians are also professors at the school.

“By expanding the scale and type of research space available on our Chicago campus, the University, the medical school and our affiliated physicians and hospitals will be able to retain and attract world-class scientists, clinicians and trainees for the benefit of patients everywhere,” Dean Harrison, president and CEO of Northwestern Memorial HealthCare, said in the release.

— Junnie Kwon