Lurie Children’s plans to build hospital in suburbs

Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago plans to build a hospital in Downers Grove, it announced Wednesday morning.

Doing so would better serve children in the Western suburbs, which are underserved by pediatric hospital care, said Dr. Thomas Shanley, Lurie’s president and chief executive officer.

The hospital would have about 50 inpatient beds and an emergency department, plus outpatient treatment areas, according to Shanley.

The hospital has not picked a site yet, nor applied to the state’s Health Facilities and Services Review Board for a Certificate of Need. Shanley said Lurie plans to submit the application in the spring.

If all is approved, the hospital could be opened by late 2028 or early 2029, he said.

Shanley said the idea of an additional hospital was born from discussions about needing more space at a Lurie outpatient clinic in Westchester, as well as the hospital’s overall strategic planning. Lurie’s planners determined almost half the children in the Western suburbs have to leave their communities to get inpatient pediatric care, according to a news release from Lurie.

Shanley said there is no pediatric-specific emergency department in the Western suburbs, and that patients do better when they receive specialty care.

The hospital would be for “low-acuity” patients — including those who need supportive care, such as oxygen treatment for influenza and RSV infections, or IV fluids for dehydration due to gastrointestinal viruses. It would not admit children undergoing complex medical treatments, such as for cancer or organ transplants.

Lurie has a partnership with Northwestern Medicine’s Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield for treating children.

Shanley said that local hospitals have “slipped away” from pediatric services. According to a December 2024 Northwestern Medicine study, about 30% of inpatient pediatric units in U.S. hospitals closed between 2008 and 2022.

Lurie started in 1882. It was called Children’s Memorial Hospital until 2012.

“We are excited to embrace Lurie Children’s mission to provide world-class care to children and their families,” said Downers Grove Mayor Bob Barnett, in the Lurie news release. “This new facility represents a significant and needed investment in local health infrastructure and pediatric health,”