New life for Vista's hospital
Lake County may just get its first new hospital in 30 years.
The Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board Wednesday deferred until December any decision on Vista Health System's proposal to build a roughly 140-bed, $100 million hospital in Lindenhurst.
Planning board members requested additional information and asked Vista to revise its proposal after hospital officials announced they would eliminate 108 beds at Vista East Hospital in Waukegan if the proposal was approved. Vista offered the compromise to address the board's concern about an overabundance of hospital beds in the region.
Vista is licensed for 336 beds for its two Waukegan hospitals. Eliminating the beds at Vista East should not hurt that hospital because they are not being used, Vista CEO Barbara Martin said.
Martin argued that of the more than 200 excess beds in the region, 91 beds belong to Cancer Treatment Centers of America's Midwest Regional Medical Center in Zion.
Martin said those beds should be taken out of the mix because the center treats only oncology patients and caters predominantly to private-pay clients.
"In 2007, only 3.2 percent of Midwestern's patients were Medicaid patients, and it had the distinction of delivering zero dollars in charity care," she said.
That argument may well have worked in Vista's favor as the Lindenhurst hospital proposal seemed headed for rejection before Wednesday.
The planning board had issued Vista an intent to deny in April, as it did with rival Advocate Health Care's competing proposal for a 144-bed, $251 million hospital in Round Lake.
Oak Brook-based Advocate has withdrawn its Round Lake hospital proposal. Advocate dropped its plan after sealing a deal to acquire Condell Medical Center in Libertyville in May.
Without the Advocate competition, Vista has a much better shot at getting its hospital approved, Martin said.
"This is a great outcome," Martin said. "It was loud and clear from the planning board: They want to work with us. They understand the need."
Martin also assured the planning board Condell Medical Center's plans to become a Level I trauma center would not affect Vista's proposal.
Vista is proposing a Level II trauma center at the Lindenhurst site, which would be equipped with a helicopter pad to transport the most critical cases to Condell or other area Level I trauma hospitals, she said.
Vista officials came to Wednesday's meeting prepared to do the planning board's bidding to get the hospital approved. Vista agreed to reduce the overall number of beds in the Lindenhurst hospital proposal to 100. That would have included 64 medical/surgical, 20 obstetric and 16 intensive care beds.
Yet, the planning board asked Vista to go back to its original plan and increase the number of medical/surgical beds.
Though a final decision is still months away, Lindenhurst Mayor Susan Lahr couldn't contain her excitement.
"I think it's phenomenal news," she said when reached on her cellular phone.
"I'm not surprised yet. This is the time frame that everyone was expecting it to be. It's been a very long time coming. I think not just Lindenhurst, but the surrounding area really needs that type of a facility."
If approved, the hospital would be located off Route 132 and Deep Lake Road.
Hospital: Advocate expected to drop Round Lake plan