New Silver Cross brings economic boost, but controversy over move to New Lenox

New Silver Cross brings economic boost, but controversy over move to New Lenox

The new $400 million Silver Cross Hospital approved recently by a state board will provide a significant economic stimulus for New Lenox and Will County in the form of jobs in jobs during construction and in health care jobs upon completion.

But the future economic impact of the current hospital site in Joliet has become more uncertain since one of the top Democratic officials in the U.S. Congress, along with a state legislative leader, has come out in favor of using the existing site for a veterans’ hospital.

Will County officials favor the hospital’s 3½-mile move to the intersection of U.S. Rt. 6 and I-355. The Will County board has also passed a resolution in support of a veterans’ hospital.

County Executive Larry Walsh noted that the proposal has aroused strong feelings from both those supporting and opposed to the proposal. He said he understood and respected those people who believe that the hospital, which was founded and prospered in Joliet, should remain in Joliet.

“However, in today’s health care environment I don’t believe it is possible to view health care from the sole perspective of which particular city a hospital is located,” he said. “The provision of quality health care has forced us to change our ways of thinking lately. We must think and act as a region that ensures a level playing field for all Will County residents.”

Joliet officials have discussed filing a lawsuit to block the move of the hospital, said Jim Haller, director of the community and economic development department for the city.

The city has had a section on its Web site labeled “Help Oppose the Closure of Silver Cross Hospital. In addition to comments about health care access, it says, regarding economic aspects, that “The proposal would jeopardize the economic development that our community leaders and residents have worked so hard on in past decades.”

As a cornerstone of downtown Joliet and the East Side in particular, Silver Cross is instrumental to the status of Joliet as the regional center of Chicago’s southwest suburbs, according to the city.

“The desertion of Sliver Cross from Joliet would impair Joliet’s image, as well as its economic revitalization and development efforts,” it said on the Web site.

In its application to the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board, the hospital allocated $8 million for work on the current site and originally proposed that the land include some mix of residential and commercial buildings as well as an outpatient facility.

But recently there has been a move to use the Joliet site for a veterans’ hospital.

Debbie Halvorson (D-Crete), a Congressional candidate and the State Senate majority leader, has joined some local veterans in calling for a Veterans Administration Hospital to take the place of the existing Silver Cross facility.

“As a mother whose stepson is currently in harm’s way as a Special Forces soldier in Afghanistan, and as a legislator with a strong record of making veterans’ issues a top priority, I strongly support the idea of using Silver Cross’s facility here in Joliet to create a new VA hospital for veterans in the region,” she said.

Currently, veterans in the Joliet region and surrounding counties must drive to the Veterans Administration hospital in Hines, or even further to the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center in Chicago. This is a one-way trip of 40 miles from Joliet and 65 miles from Kankakee.

With more than 66,000 veterans in Will, Kankakee, Grundy, LaSalle and Bureau counties, there is certainly enough demand to warrant a VA hospital, Halvorson contends.

Also joining Halvorson in Joliet was U.S. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), who spoke about the critical importance of providing veterans’ health care.

“The Democratic Congress is committed to seeing our soldiers and veterans get the care they need,” he said. “Last year we included $3.3 billion more than President Bush’s request to bolster veterans’ health care.”

A Silver Cross executive said the hospital would consider the proposal for a veterans’ hospital.

“Now that we have secured approval for our replacement hospital, we will evaluate all options for redeveloping our existing campus,” said Ruth Colby, chief strategy officer and vice president for business development. “This includes the potential to partner with the VA to convert the site into a veterans’ hospital.”

Colby said the Silver Cross Health Community Commission has been established to determine the best use of the Joliet site on Maple Road and will explore the possibility of bringing a veterans’ hospital there, working with the appropriate city, state and federal officials.

The hospital board of directors and the commission earlier this year had allocated $8 million for future development of the current site. The allocation would be used for building demolition and site leveling, if required. The two groups pointed out that money will bring new economic and job opportunities to Joliet’s East Side and beyond.

“As always, we remain committed to our roots, and we fully intend on being a partner with the community in redeveloping our current campus to begin a new chapter for the residents of Joliet’s East Side,” said Paul Pawlak, Silver Lake CEO.

Silver Cross Hospital commissioned real estate professionals and economists to evaluate the current site and create redevelopment concepts that would benefit the community.

Part of the redevelopment plans call for a facility on the current site that will provide urgent care to community residents to increase access to health care. In addition to providing immediate care, this facility will focus on promoting wellness, preventive care and healthy living for East Side people. There will also be bus service by PACE to the site of the new hospital.

Some of the other development options being explored include:
• Mixed-use retail and residential neighborhood center;
• Senior residential and recreational community;
• College campus and learning center;
• Health care and medical campus;
• County/municipal office park;
• City park with community center;
• Grocery store-anchored retail center.

Pawlak said the move from the Joliet site was necessary because the existing buildings are obsolete and some are nearly 90 years old. He said there is no end in sight to the rising maintenance costs of these aging buildings, so it is more financially responsible to construct a new building at the Rt. 6 site, rather than spending money trying to retrofit an aging and deteriorating facility.

“If we stayed at our current facility, we would be forced to make significant compromises that would hurt patient care, which is totally inconsistent with our mission,” he said.

Pawlak said the new hospital would include private, larger, family-friendly rooms to improve care with more personalized treatment.

The executive pointed out that by moving 3½ miles east, Silver Cross will no longer be in any other hospital’s primary service area, including that of the nearest hospital, Provena St. Joseph’s in Joliet. He also said it is important to note that no other hospital in the area opposed the application to the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board.

Pawlak said in addition to improving health care, this project will improve the economic health of the region. The $400 million plan for a 600,000-square-foot building, one of the largest projects in Will County history, will create more than 700 jobs for tradesmen as well as new permanent health care jobs.

The new facility is expected to open in the summer of 2011.

Dan McLeister, Contributing Writer

Posted on Sunday, August 03, 2008 (Archive on Sunday, August 10, 2008)
Posted by jstoltz Contributed by jstoltz

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