Timetable set for demolition of parts of Sherman Hospital

Pointing to increased maintenance costs, Sherman Hospital leaders plan to raze older parts of the old hospital complex on Elgin's east side, as well as the nearby parking deck that one executive dubbed "an eyesore."

The parking deck, the old bed tower, the emergency room and the old MRI building would all come down, said Mary Martini, the hospital's vice president of development.

Martini estimates the hospital spends more than $1 million annually on heating, cooling and maintenance alone.

"It's just so cost prohibitive to heat and cool that building," Martini said. "We really need to knock down those older buildings."

Last December, Sherman moved its main operations to a bustling new facility on Randall Road, but maintained a smaller profile on the east side of Elgin, where it had been since 1895.

The hospital has budgeted $4.3 million for the demolition, scheduled to be completed in April 2012,

Once the dust settles, the grand pavilion, two medical office buildings and the surgical pavilion will remain.

The grand pavilion holds an immediate care facility, which includes a lab, mammography, ultrasound and X-rays facilities and an occupational health center that administers pre-employment physicals and takes care of workers injured on the job.

The two medical office buildings house the Coumadin Clinic for people on blood thinners, a sleep center, dialysis and the Greater Elgin Family Care Clinic.

After demolition, officials would replace the empty portions of the campus with green space and trees.

Meanwhile, hospital officials are also seeking to better publicize the immediate care center meant to treat people with nonlife-threatening issues, such as fractures, cuts and earaches.

Those patients need not wait in the emergency room, she said, adding that the immediate care center only sees 20 patients a day.

The older parts of the hospital date back to 1917 and the hospital does not yet have a plan in place to preserve certain elements, like the archways.

But the old hospital may have one final hurrah before it meets the wrecking ball.

That's because Hollywood's calling, Martini said.

"We are in talks with a Hollywood movie company that wants to do a major motion picture at the hospital," Martini said. "But we haven't finalized a deal yet."

It wouldn't be the old hospital's first brush with fame.

Last month, a heavy metal band shot a music video from one of the operating rooms, Martini said.