State hears Lindenhurst hospital plans again
Vista Health System appeared before the state planning board Tuesday with a new proposal to build a three-story hospital in Lindenhurst, but a decision has been deferred for at least a month.
"We respect this process and look forward to presenting our plans again at a future meeting," Vista Health System President Barbara J. Martin said in a written statement. "We believe this Lindenhurst hospital is needed to improve access to health care for the residents of Northwest Lake County."
This is the first time Vista has been back before the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board since the panel issued an intent to deny their original hospital project in April.
For more than a year, Vista has been trying to gain approval to build a hospital near Deep Lake Road and Route 132 in Lindenhurst.
Under the hospital's new proposal, Vista Medical Center Lindenhurst will be 215,000 square feet, and will offer: full radiology services; comprehensive diagnostic imaging; a cardiac catheterization lab; surgery services with four operating suites; and a modern emergency room.
"We appreciate that the Board is thoroughly reviewing additional information we submitted on May 7, upon their request. Board members want what's right for Lake County, as we do," Martin said in her statement. "As the health care landscape of Lake County changes, we look forward to bringing the residents in our communities the first new hospital in the county in almost 30 years."
The state looks at several factors before issuing a certificate of need, which is necessary for hospitals in Illinois to move forward with building or adding more beds to existing sites.
Vista's original intent to deny was based on travel times to other hospitals and a current excess of 209 hospital beds in the area.
The state uses a 30-minute bench mark as a reasonable time to drive for an elective hospital procedure. According to data released by the state, seven hospitals are within 30 minutes of Vista's proposed hospital.
The decision affects more than just health care in northwestern Lake County. In Lindenhurst, a hospital would have also increased the tax base because Vista is a for-profit company.
Vista lost it's main rival for the project in May when Advocate Health Care dropped its proposal to open a 144-bed, $251 million hospital in Round Lake because of its merger with Libertyville-based Condell Medical Center.