Centegra opens its doors in Huntley

Centegra Health System's Huntley campus, three years in the making, officially opened its doors to the public Monday.

The health care campus, covering about 110 acres, will serve as Centegra's flagship location in Huntley but will also serve Algonquin, Lake in the Hills and southern Crystal Lake.

Health system officials said they hope to provide a full range of health services from the Huntley campus.

"There wasn't anything centrally on one campus where somebody could get all the health care needs they require," Centegra President and CEO Michael Eesley said.

The campus includes two buildings: the Centegra Health Center and the Centegra Health Bridge Fitness Center.

The health center, which includes doctor's offices and immediate care, has been open since August. The fitness center, which includes workout facilities, indoor tennis courts and physical therapy, opened Monday.

The two buildings occupy only about 40 acres of the campus at Algonquin and Haligus roads.

Eesley said the development of the rest of the campus will depend on population growth in southern McHenry County.

"It depends on the population density," Eesley said. "When that population grows, we're going to meet their needs."

The Centegra CEO said the existing buildings can be expanded to accommodate future growth. He also said a new hospital is not off the table but that the region's current population doesn't support one.

"We're going to have to get a higher level of population before we move forward with that," Eesley said.

Centegra currently has two major regional hospitals: Centegra Hospital-McHenry and Centegra Hospital-Woodstock.

Centegra hosted a bash Monday to mark the opening of its Huntley campus. The festivities were interrupted by two somber moments, as Centegra honored two people central to the creation of the campus who recently died: Cheryl Halat and Carl Tomaso.

Halat and her husband, Tom, co-owned Tom's Farm Market on Algonquin Road and sold the land for the health care campus to Centegra. Tomaso, who was Huntley's village manager for 11 years, helped shepherd the approval of the project.

Centegra has dedicated Cheryl Halat Memorial Drive and installed an engraved stone and tree in Tomaso's honor.

"Even though he didn't live in Huntley, I think he loved it more than anybody else," said Huntley Mayor Chuck Sass, accepting the honor on behalf of Tomaso's family.