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Healthcare
State-of-the-Art
Healthcare
Healthcare
is Rockford’s second largest industry with almost 8,000 healthcare
employees
Quality
healthcare is a priority to the Rockford community. Healthcare is Rockford’s
second largest industry, with almost 8,000 healthcare employees in the
three major healthcare systems in the area. These three health systems
provide almost 1,000 hospital beds and close to 700 physicians.
Rockford Health System
Rockford Health System encompasses Rockford Memorial Hospital, Rockford
Clinic, Rockford Health Plans, and 11 associated clinics. Special treatment
centers include an asthma center, breast treatment center, children’s
medical center, heart center, mammography center, regional perinatal
center, and a rehabilitation center offering physical, speech, and occupational
therapies. Rockford Memorial Hospital is a Level I trauma center and
operates the REACT helicopter. It also has a Level III neonatal intensive
care unit.
Clinical excellence and cutting-edge technology set the pace for Rockford
Health System to meet the healthcare needs of the region. As the largest
healthcare system in the area, Rockford Health System traditionally
manages the various arms that combine to deliver quality healthcare
to the area. Rockford Memorial Hospital, Rockford Clinic, Visiting Nurses
Association, Rockford Health Plans, and Rockford Memorial Development
Foundation together offer 490 hospital beds, more than 160 primary and
specialty care doctors, numerous regional locations, a full range of
home healthcare service, and a variety of managed care and insurance
plans for individuals and businesses. Rockford Memorial Development
Foundation raises funds to support Rockford Health System’s mission.
The combined efforts of this comprehensive system also support the Children’s
Medical Center, the Heart Center, the Cancer Center, and a regional
primary care network.
In January, a joint venture between HealthSouth Corporation and Rockford
Health System culminated in ground-breaking ceremonies to kick off construction
of the new $15 million Van Matre HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital.
The new inpatient facility will provide more long-term rehabilitation
needs to patients locally. Currently, these inpatient services are offered
no closer than Chicago, Madison, or Milwaukee. The rehabilitation hospital
will be created through renovation and new construction at Rockford
Health System’s facility on South Mulford Road, a building that
has been serving as a behavioral health hospital. Patients are expected
to be moved into the new facility in June 2001.
Rehabilitation programs at the new facility will include CARF-accredited
brain injury, inpatient rehabilitation, and community re-entry programs.
Additionally, neuro psychology and physical, speech, occupational, and
recreational therapies will be offered for those recovering from brain
and spinal cord injuries, stroke, ampu- tation, neurological disorders,
arthritis, and multiple traumas. Rockford’s Center for Community
Re-entry (CCR) will be integrated into the new Van Matre HealthSouth
facility. The new facility will allow for expanded and enhanced care
for patients throughout the region.
Recently, Rockford Health System has invested millions of dollars in
improving patient services at Rockford Memorial Hospital. Almost $7
million went toward expanding and renovating the hospital’s emergency
and surgery departments and its laboratory facilities.
“This major investment in the hospital, as well as the development
of the Van Matre HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital, is important as
we look to the future,” says Gary Kaatz, president and CEO of Rockford
Health System. “By expanding and renovating these facilities, we
are responding to the needs of our patients and their families. We’re
providing improved and expanded treatment areas for our patients and
more efficient work areas for our employees.”
In February, Rockford Health System celebrated the grand opening of
the newly renovated Children’s Medical Center. The $2.5 million
project included remodeling the pediatric unit and pediatric intensive
care unit (PICU) at Rockford Memorial Hospital. The new units not only
meet the needs of hospitalized children, but they provide more comfortable
surroundings for their families. Twelve private and four semi-private
patient rooms with baths all have window seats that double as sleeping
areas for parents. Seven private rooms make up the PICU. Funding for
this project came from the Rockford Health System Auxiliary, the Rockford
Memorial Development Foundation, and Ronald McDonald House Charities
of Madison.
Nearly $61 million in upgrades and improvements to the Rockton Avenue
campus have been invested since 1996. “We’re excited about
these projects because they represent continued and substantial investment
in our Rockton Avenue campus,” says Milton Schmitt Jr., M.D., chief
medical officer of Rockford Health System. “But more importantly,
these projects are improvements that will be clearly beneficial to our
patients, their families, and our employees.”
SwedishAmerican Health System
SwedishAmerican Health System includes nine clinics, the Greater Rockford
Oncology/Hematology Center, and SwedishAmerican Hospital, a Level II
trauma center. The hospital is a teaching hospital affiliated with the
University of Illinois College of Medicine at Rockford. SwedishAmerican
Health System offers a comprehensive slate of medical and rehabilitation
services.
The locally-governed, nationally-recognized SwedishAmerican Health System
provides quality medical and preventive services to the Rockford region.
This system comprises a network of health care facilities, including
a major acute care hospital, 14 primary care and multi-specialty clinics,
the region’s largest home health care agency, and a full spectrum
of outpatient, wellness, and education programs. The Midwest Center
for Health and Healing, dedicated to alternative and complementary medicine,
also is a part of this health care network. SwedishAmerican Health System
is part of the Northern Illinois HealthCare Network, which links doctors
with other providers, hospital departments, and insurance companies.
This streamlines lab test transmissions, diagnoses, and recovery processes.
Clinics are close to you no matter where you work or live.
A $32 million expansion and renovation project is underway at SwedishAmerican
that will provide residents with expanded programs and more service
offerings, along with added convenience and improved parking. Jeff Kent,
Director of Construction Management, says “We were able to construct
a 90,000-square-foot addition and numerous renovations to the hospital.”
This project allowed a major expansion of emergency facilities at one
of the busiest emergency departments in Illinois. It also will upgrade
infrastructure and utilities in older parts of the hospital. New outpatient
care areas will include express admissions, a patient education center,
and diagnostic testing and treatment. Growing heart and cancer care
programs will have additional renovated space. A new lobby and entrance
will complete the project, hopefully by January 2002. According to Kent,
“A whole series of projects are underway around the SwedishAmerican
campus. Construction of a 60,000-square-foot medical office building
should begin next spring.”OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center
OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center, a Level I trauma center, operates
Lifeline ambulance and emergency helicopter services and is a regional
training center for trauma nurses. Its specialty treatment centers include
its Regional Heart Institute, Center for Cancer Care, and Center for
Life that hosts a Level II intermediate nursery. OSF Saint Anthony Medical
Center also is home to the Illinois Neurosciences Institute, where intricate
brain surgeries, hemorrhage repairs, reconstructive surgery, seizure
surgery, and multiple trauma care occur.
These comprehensive healthcare services are constantly updated and readily
available to residents of Rockford and surrounding communities. Whatever
your medical needs, quality services are just a call away.
OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center provides pioneering and innovative
medical treatments to its patients. Saint Anthony’s experience
and expertise has developed into established cardiac, trauma, cancer,
and neurological Centers of Excellence. Saint Anthony’s philosophy
is to care for the whole person with dignity and compassion.
In January, OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center opened its new 74,000-square-foot
Ambulatory Care Center, marking completion of Phase I of a $22 million
expansion and renovation project that will further Rockford’s reputation
as a regional center for healthcare services. All outpatient services
are now consolidated into one convenient location, allowing patients
to come in for day surgery or diagnostic tests and never leave the Center.
Laboratory services, central registration area, Pain Clinic, Heart Failure
Clinic, and pulmonary exam rooms are located on the first two floors
of the Center, along with EKG, Echo, ultrasound, and other diagnostic
imaging services. Families and visitors will appreciate the larger and
more comfortable reception and waiting areas. The second floor also
houses an expanded Ambulatory Surgery Center and a new Women’s
Center. By the end of March, a Health Resource Center for patients,
visitors, and the community, and a new gift shop and atrium with a two-story
waterfall should be completed.
Phase II of the project will renovate 22,000 square feet of space adjoining
the Ambulatory Care Center. This renovation will consolidate all the
Center’s intensive care units into one state-of-the-art intensive
care unit with 13 rooms and a private family waiting area. Expanded
surgical suites complete the interior project. An outdoor garden is
planned near the entrance for a quiet retreat for families and visitors.
The second phase should be completed in July 2001.
According to Greg Alford, spokesperson for OSF Saint Anthony Medical
Center, several other expansion and renovation projects are on the drawing
board. “One project calls for expanding and renovating our emergency
department and operating room suites,” Alford said. “Both
of these are full much of the time and if our current growth continues,
we will outgrow the space soon. We hope to begin this renovation by
the end of the year and complete it in late 2002 or early 2003. The
cost will probably be around $10 million.” After that, adding rooms
to the hospital will be a priority, so continued growth and improved
services head the list at OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center.
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