Mid-Lakes Medical Building Improvements Complete
Patients coming to the newly-refurbished Mid-Lakes Medical Building in Round Lake Beach will find a facility with more elbow room and an improved efficiency in meeting their medical and dental needs. A $1.7 million Capital Improvement Grant through the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act paid for a 3,206-square-foot addition and 6,021 square-feet of remodeling. The building, located at 224 Clarendon in Round Lake Beach, is one of six community health centers operated by the Lake County Health Department/Community Health Center for the underserved population.
The project began in August of 2010. While some staff members were relocated temporarily as their section of the structure was under construction, the medical building remained open and continued providing services. Even with construction, the number of visits increased in 2010 by about 1,100. The construction work was completed last week and all services are now back in place.
Before the remodeling and completion of the addition, “it was often standing room only in the waiting room, with patients waiting for their medical, dental or WIC appointment,” said Jeanne Ang, Director of Primary Care Services at the Health Department. With the addition of one dental operatory and three medical exam rooms, there are now a total of 12 exam rooms, five dental chairs plus more flexible office space in the facility that had more than 9,000 dental visits and more than 25,000 medical visits last year.
Both Ang and Mid-Lakes Coordinator Robin Stewart pointed out that the reconfiguration of space in conjunction with the addition provides a more efficient means of managing patients as they are checked in at the front intake area and move through the building. Stewart also pointed out that the counseling space now available for WIC (the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children) as well as behavioral health and nutrition is more functional. Ang said that another dental chair provides an opportunity for Primary Care to provide experiences in the fall for university dental students through the University of Illinois-Chicago Dental School Extern Program.
The original Mid-Lakes facility opened at 6 E. Main Street in Round Lake Park in 1978. However, the site lacked space to include WIC and other services. The facility moved in 2004 to its present location, which previously housed the Round Lake Beach village hall. Through the move, the facility expanded from 3,205 square feet to 8,500 square feet. It currently provides general/family medicine, pediatrics, OB/Gyne , dental services, a breast and cervical cancer prevention program, and WIC. To reach the facility directly, call (847) 984-5100.