Waukegan,
Ill., 3/1/07--Lindenhurst
Illinois Hospital Company, LLC, an affiliate
of Vista Health System, today submitted its
certificate of need (CON) application to the
Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board
(IHFPB) to build a 140-bed hospital at a site
adjacent to Vista Surgery Center in Lindenhurst,
near the intersection of Grand Avenue and
Deep Lake Road.
The
hospital which will be known as Vista Medical
Center Lindenhurst will be the first new hospital
planned for Lake County in nearly 30 years.
“There
is an urgent need for a hospital in Northern
Lake County. Residents in this area do not
enjoy ready access to modern quality health
care facilities and services within or even
near their own communities,” said Barbara
J. Martin, CEO of Vista Health System. “That’s
why we’ve worked with medical staff,
employees, health care design experts and
community leaders to create a new full-service,
acute care hospital with quality patient care,
safety and satisfaction in mind.”
Vista
Medical Center Lindenhurst will meet the current
and anticipated future health care needs of
residents in Northern Lake County, offering
a convenient and modern facility, with a full
complement of hospital services, including:
- A
modern emergency department with 21 beds
- Comprehensive
diagnostic imaging such as CT, MRI and nuclear
medicine
- Cardiac
catheterization
- Surgical
services
Vista
Medical Center Lindenhurst will have 140 beds
including 108 medical/surgical beds, 12 intensive
care beds, and 20 obstetrics and gynecology
beds. The three-story, triangular-shaped facility
will be just over 200,000-sq. ft. and is expected
to cost $99.8 million. The new medical center
will offer the growing community a seamless
continuity of care and greater health care
access for residents of Northern Lake County.
Lindenhurst
Mayor James Betustak said, “There is
a tremendous need for better access to hospital
care – particularly in the northern and
western parts of Lake County.” Lake County
currently has more than 700,000 residents.
The population is expected to increase between
three and six percent to approximately 800,000
by 2020. A disproportionate amount of this
growth is occurring in the northern half of
Lake County.
“Right
now some residents of our community are sometimes
forced to travel 45 minutes or more to get
to the closest hospital. This is unacceptable,”
said Dr. Nabih Ramadan, Vista Board President.
“Our new medical center in Northern Lake
County will reduce the travel burden for patients,
as well as for the physicians, nurses and
medical staff providing care in Lake County.”
Vista
Health System also recently submitted a CON
application to the IHFPB to develop an open
heart surgery program at Vista Medical Center
East. The open heart surgery program is the
next step in bringing additional quality cardiac
care to the community.
As
part of its plans to respond to health care
needs in Lake County, Vista Medical Center
East also plans to modernize the ICU and same-day
surgery area and renovate its New Family Center,
which serves pregnant women and their families.
In addition, plans are underway to transform
Vista Medical Center West’s former emergency
room into a 24-hour urgent care center and
expand behavioral health care and inpatient
rehabilitation services. Vista Health System’s
total investment in its Waukegan facilities
will be more than $70 million.
This
investment in health care facilities for Lake
County demonstrate Vista Health System’s
continued commitment to all people in Lake
County, including providing care for the underserved.
Through its Waukegan hospitals, Vista Health
System serves by far the largest population
of Medicaid patients as compared to other
area hospitals.
Vista
Medical Center Lindenhurst has received strong
support from elected officials and community
leaders throughout the county, including:
|
State
Representative JoAnn Osmond
|
State
Representative Eddie Washington
|
|
State
Representative Kathleen Ryg
|
State
Senator Michael Bond
|
| Former
State Representative Robert Churchill |
Former
State Senator Adeline Geo-Karis |
| State
Senator Terry Link |
Lake
County Commissioner Mary Ross Cunningham |
| Lake
County Board Chairman Suzi Schmidt |
Lindenhurst
Mayor James Betustak |
| Lake
County Commissioner Randall Whitmore |
Waukegan
Alderman John Balen |
| Waukegan
Mayor Richard Hyde |
Waukegan
Alderman Tony Figueroa |
| Waukegan
Alderman Sam Cunningham |
Waukegan
Alderman Greg Moisio |
| Waukegan
Alderman Richard Larsen |
Waukegan
Alderman Edith Newsome |
| Waukegan
Alderman Patrick Needham |
Waukegan
Alderman Larry TenPas |
| Waukegan
Alderman Rafael Rivera |
Waukegan
Fire Chief Patrick Gallagher |
| Lake
Villa Fire Chief Frank Slazes |
Gurnee
Mayor Kristina Kovarik |
| North
Chicago Mayor Leon Rockingham, Jr. |
Village
of Antioch Mayor Dorothy Larson |
| Village
of Wadsworth President Ken Furlan |
|
Governing
boards and councils also have voted to support
these plans. Resolutions were passed by the
Village of Lindenhurst, City of Waukegan,
Village of Antioch and City of North Chicago.
Vista
Medical Center Lindenhurst expects to pay
more than $5 million to the community through
property/provider taxes in 2007. That translates
to additional support for city services such
as schools, parks and police protection. Because
this project and Vista Health System’s
health care ventures in Lake County are private,
they impose no additional strain on local
government agencies or taxpayers.
In
addition to financial benefits to the community
through taxes, the facility in Lindenhurst
will result in more than 100 construction
jobs and almost 650 new permanent jobs to
Lake County.
Subject
to the approval of the IHFPB, Vista Medical
Center Lindenhurst anticipates that construction
of the new hospital will be complete in the
summer of 2010. Also, pending approval from
the IHFPB, the open heart program is projected
to be operational by the summer of 2007.
|
