Saint Joseph Hospital in Elgin drops its trauma center designation

Saint Joseph Hospital in Elgin dropped its Level II trauma center designation last week because it sees relatively few patients suffering significant trauma, hospital officials said.

The hospital voluntarily removed the designation on Sept. 23. It notified the Illinois Department of Public Health of its plan five days earlier.

“Trauma volumes at Saint Joseph Hospital have continued to decline significantly, and the hospital now treats only approximately two major trauma patients per month,” Mark Reece, regional vice president for marketing operations for facility owner Prime Healthcare, said in a written statement.

“Meanwhile, nearby trauma centers and emergency departments operate at substantially higher trauma patient volumes,” Reece added. “Therefore, Saint Joseph Hospital has made the carefully considered decision to suspend its Level II trauma designation and position itself to pursue the forthcoming Level III designation currently being finalized in Illinois.”

The hospital still has an emergency department that is open 24/7, Reece said.

Patients coming to the emergency room will continue to be evaluated, stabilized and treated. Those who need Level II trauma services will be transferred to other hospitals.

Saint Joseph is in Region 9 of the state’s emergency medical services program. Region 9 includes all of Kane and McHenry counties and parts of Kendall, northwest Cook and Lake counties.

Advocate Sherman Hospital in Elgin, which is about five miles north of Saint Joseph, is a Level II trauma center.

Other Level II trauma centers in the district include Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital near Barrington, Northwestern Medicine Huntley Hospital in Huntley, Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital in Geneva and Ascension St. Alexius in Hoffman Estates.

Level I trauma centers offer the most advanced care, with all essential diagnostic and surgical services available in-house 24 hours a day, including designated trauma surgeons on staff.

Level II trauma centers provide some essential services in-house 24 hours a day and have a trauma surgeon “readily available” at all times, per the state’s rules.

In 2024, state lawmakers created a Level III designation. However, the rules for Level III trauma centers have not been finalized.

ssarkauskas@dailyherald.com