Wauconda health care center wants to add 40 beds

A Wauconda health care center that has served area residents for more than 25 years, may be ready to grow.

Officials from the Wauconda Healthcare and Rehabilitation Centre are proposing to add at least 40 units to the 135-unit facility at 176 Thomas Court.

Village Administrator David Geary, who heard the presentation at a village board committee meeting Tuesday night, said the village board is convinced the expansion would help the community.

“It's a service that's used as populations get older. We are a population that's getting older,” Geary said. “These places are becoming more and more important to help seniors and people convalescing.”

The health care center provides post-hospital care, a special care unit for Alzheimer's and dementia patients, and short-term rehabilitation services.

Officials said the expansion, which requires additional property, will bring business to Wauconda. Officials expect about 300 people to visit the facility each day.

“This kind of expansion brings people to Wauconda, where they'll hopefully use services and purchase things,” Geary said.

The expansion would also increase the health care center's employment by 50 to 100 people. Roughly 200 people now work with the center.

Members from the health care center contacted Chris Miller, the village's director of planning and zoning, with the idea in April. Since then, they have met with an architect and developed a conceptual plan.

Miller said the next step is to prepare more advanced preliminary plans and address engineering and technical questions and issues involved with the development of the property.

“It's a little bit of a challenge to pull everything together,” Miller said.

Health care center officials said they hope to go before the building and zoning board for a public hearing in July with more concrete plans. The building and zoning board will make recommendations to the village board, which would vote on the project.

If the board approves the project, officials hope to start the 14-month construction in the fall.