The Center for Healthcare Innovation's (CHI) Clinical Research Exchange (CRE) is a clinical research alliance that streamlines clinical trial processes and connections between trial sponsors and sites, thus enabling hospital and sites to enroll more patients more quickly.  Having provided start-up funds for this program in 2012, in 2014 the Dunham Fund renewed its support for the Center's programs in Northern Illinois, including the Aurora area.  

The CRE has already begun to impact healthcare quality, access, and affordability for all members of Aurora and the Fox River Valley communities by breaking down the barriers to clinical trials and making the trials more effective, efficient, and inclusive. CRE streamlines the connection, negotiation, and administration of relationships between clinical trial sponsors (contract research organizations and pharmaceutical companies) and clinical trial sites (hospitals, medical centers, clinics, physician groups, and physicians) by leveraging both economies of scale and scope. The result will be increased access to primary healthcare and clinical trials, especially for patients that are typically underrepresented in local clinical trials, such as Latinos, other minorities, and uninsured/underinsured patients. The Clinical Research Exchange is a collaborative effort of the Center for Healthcare Innovation and the Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council to build and manage a regional model for improving the clinical trial structure and process.

The Research Exchange began adding clinical trial site member hospitals to its hospital/site network in 2014. In 2014 alone, the Center created this network of over 60 community hospitals, medical groups, and practices that are all eager to expand and improve clinical research in the Chicago region, including some of the region's largest health providers such as Rush-Copley Medical Center, Advocate Healthcare, and Alexian Healthcare. As of this writing, the network is comprised of 60 hospitals, over 300 physicians, and 90 research coordinators.

And in its most significant development to date, CRE began bringing new clinical trials to the region. In November, CRE accepted its first trial - a Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Trial from one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies that is expected to provide new therapies to 4-6 Cancer patients from the region. Additionally, the Exchange has 18 additional active trials in the qualification phase, including Brain Cancer, Lung Cancer, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Septic Shock, Lupus on minority patients, Ovarian Cancer, Breast Cancer, Alzheimer's, Prostate Cancer, Pediatric Epilepsy, and Rheumatoid Arthritis.