Doctor donates $500,000 to hospital project

As far as donations go, this one's the biggest.

Adventist GlenOaks Hospital has received a $500,000 pledge from one of its own physicians to help pay for a new emergency room which opened last year.

Joseph Shanahan, the medical director for emergency services at the Glendale Heights hospital, promised to pay the amount over the next three years.

Hospital officials say the pledge is the largest amount ever received from a single donor.

"I guess if you support something and believe in it enough (the donation) seems logical," said Shanahan, who has spent his entire 30-year medical career working at GlenOaks. "And I simply believe in what we're doing."

Shanahan was responsible for the design and overhaul of the new emergency department, which opened last year. He also sits on the hospital's foundation board, which was charged with the task of finding $1.5 million in donations for the new $7 million space.

The revamped space includes a heliport, 17 private suites, two trauma rooms and two family lounges, and remains a Level II trauma center.

Hospital officials have touted the new emergency department for a new feature that allows patients to be registered at their bedside. At worst, hospital officials said patients need to wait no longer than 15 minutes to be treated by a doctor.

In recognition of Shanahan's donation, the new department later this summer will be renamed the Shanahan Emergency and Trauma Center.

The emergency department is part of a $15 million renovation campaign for the hospital, which will include a future medical office building, bed tower and lobby.