Southern McHenry needs hospital more
Young families, senior citizens and local emergency medical personnel alike say that now is the time for a new hospital, and southern McHenry County is where it belongs. They’re right.
The debate over where to put a new hospital is about more than just two towns: Huntley and Crystal Lake. It’s about the regions where those towns are located. As a whole, southern McHenry County has less access to hospital care, even with its growing population.
Three existing hospitals are in the county’s north and central areas, already serving Woodstock, McHenry and Crystal Lake. On the other hand, the need for a hospital in southern McHenry County will only grow in the years to come.
Huntley’s population is projected to grow 12 percent from 2010-2015, while Lake in the Hills and Algonquin are projected to grow 10.2 percent and 10.6 percent, respectively, for that same time period.
A new hospital at Reed Road and Haligus Road in Huntley also would be close to home for residents of northern Kane County. Numbers from the state show a need for hospital beds not only in McHenry County, but in Kane County, too.
We opened our Centegra Immediate Care facility in Huntley in 2008 and since then thousands of residents from Huntley, Lake in the Hills, Algonquin, Crystal Lake, Lakewood, Hampshire and surrounding communities have benefited from top-notch health care and wellness services right in their own backyard.
We have those residents in mind as we propose this hospital and even greater access to our integrated health care system.
We look forward to being on the leading edge of medical advancements in this region for years to come. For more information, visit CentegraHospitalHuntley.org.
Michael S. Eesley
CEO Centegra Health System
Woodstock