Silver Cross ER in Joliet to become veteran facility

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Updated: March 24, 2012 11:45PM

JOLIET — The emergency room at Silver Cross Hospital will be transformed into a 60,000-square-foot outpatient clinic for area veterans.

The approval was announced Wednesday by U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert.

“Local veterans and community members have been the driving force behind this idea to convert the existing Silver Cross Hospital and bring VA services right in to the heart of Will County. Today, their hard work has paid off,” said Durbin.

Lawmakers began lobbying for the project three years ago after Silver Cross announced it would be moving its current operations to New Lenox.

‘A great day’

Joliet Mayor Thomas Giarrante interrupted a City Council committee meeting Wednesday to announce the news, calling it “a great plus for the city of Joliet.”

The Joliet council had fought Silver Cross’ decision to move out of the Joliet site, but Giarrante said the VA mega-clinic “eases the pain a little bit. We’re glad that Silver Cross and the Veterans Administration were able to work this out.”

Giarrante said the city will work with Silver Cross in hopes of putting other buildings on the hospital campus back to use. He noted that Silver Cross previously made an agreement with Aunt Martha’s Vineyard, a social service agency that will bring a health clinic to the hospital campus.

“It was a long road, and there were times I questioned whether this day would come, but it was well worth the effort,” said Biggert. “I thank Silver Cross and the VA, and I’m especially thrilled to share the news with our local American Legion commanders, who first approached me with this idea in 2008.

“This is a great day for all our local veterans, who will now be able to access high-quality care right here in Joliet.”

Closer service

Initially, the Veteran Administration’s expressed little interest in converting the facility, but local veterans groups and Illinois lawmakers successfully petitioned VA Secretary Eric Shinseki to open negotiations with Silver Cross. On Wednesday, the secretary formally approved the VA’s purchase of the 4.4-acre property from Silver Cross.

Currently, most collar-county veterans must make the commute to the Hines VA Hospital near Maywood for services not available at local clinics, and existing outpatient facilities have seen a dramatic rise in patient loads over the last few years as more veterans return from combat in the Middle East.

“Silver Cross Hospital is pleased that the emergency department on the Joliet Campus will be put to good use as a community-based outpatient center for veterans,” said Paul Pawlak, president and chief executive officer of Silver Cross Hospital.

“Health care for veterans will be greatly improved, and we applaud the Veteran Administration’s decision to relocate and expand the clinic.”

Timetable

Silver Cross is scheduled to vacate its campus in March 2012 and move its operations to a new facility in New Lenox. Once the emergency room building is vacant, the VA will begin construction and conversion so that it’s equipped to offer veterans the specialized care they need.

Services at the new location are expected to include women’s health, home-based primary care, laboratory, mental health and social work, pharmacy, physical therapy and rehabilitation, retinal imaging, nutrition, geriatrics, and telehealth. Additional space also will be available for other VA services.

“We are committed to providing veterans with healthcare services closer to where they live,” said Sharon Helman, director of the Hines VA Hospital, which will run the new clinic.

“The Healthy Community Commission has worked for over three years to bring more services to the veterans in our community, and today we learned that we have been successful,” said Margie Woods, chairman of the commission at Silver Cross Hospital.