News Release: Mercyhealth Crystal Lake (Il.) Hospital and Physician Clinic Moves Forward

November 25, 2019

CRYSTAL LAKE, Illinois–Today, Second District Appellate Court of Illinois upheld the decision of the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board to grant Mercyhealth a Certificate of Need (CON) to build a hospital with an emergency room and a multi-specialty physician clinic on the corner of Route 31 and Three Oaks Road in Crystal Lake.

In reviewing the Court’s decision, it declared Mercyhealth’s application had met “the four statutory requirements for the issuance of the permit” citing in part: 1) Mercyhealth’s successful record of providing quality health care in nearby communities, 2) the economic feasibility of the project, 3) public interest and support for the project including “evidence of the need for an emergency department in Crystal Lake and the advantage of receiving care close to home,” and 4) that the project is “consistent with the orderly and economic development of health care facilities and in accord with the applicable standards and criteria.”

“This has been a long and difficult process but we kept at it and won this historic victory today,” said Javon R. Bea, President and CEO of Mercyhealth.

The hospital will enhance health care for the approximately 60,000 residents of Crystal Lake, as well as a population exceeding 100,000 with nearby communities such as Cary and Lake in the Hills. “Our patients in the Crystal Lake area rely on us for high-quality, integrated health care services,” said Bea. “This hospital will continue our long-standing commitment to Crystal Lake by bringing easy access to emergency and hospital care for senior citizens, the disabled and the underserved with limited transportation.”

“I am appreciative and grateful for the Court’s decision to uphold the June 2017 decision of the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board to grant Mercyhealth a CON for this important project.  I am also thankful for the Board’s initial decision and its efforts before the Appellate Court.  We were confident that the decision was clearly supported by the law, and the Court unanimously confirmed that today,” Bea states.

Mercyhealth’s nearly $100 million Crystal Lake plan includes building a 13-bed hospital with private inpatient and intensive care beds, operating rooms, and ancillary services. Because Crystal Lake does not have an emergency department, the new hospital will include a 24/7 emergency room, offering access for immediate emergency care to those who have limited access to transportation, especially the Medicaid, charity care and elderly patients. The plan involves bringing together existing Mercyhealth Crystal Lake area primary and specialty care physician practices into one building.

Construction is expected to commence in the spring of 2020 with completion of the hospital and medical office building campus in 2021.

About Mercyhealth: Mercyhealth is a multi-regional health system with more than 850 employed physician partners, seven hospitals and 85 primary and specialty care locations serving 55 northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin communities. Mercyhealth’s over 8,000 employee/partners see more than 2.4 million patient visits each year. Mercyhealth offers four core service areas: hospital-based service; clinic-based services; home health, hospice and retail services; and a wholly owned insurance company. It provides over 125 specialties, including emergency/trauma care, prehospital services, perinatal medicine in its 52-bed Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), and heart, cancer and orthopedic care. As the top vertically integrated health care provider, it continuously works with a passion for making lives better for the people, families and communities it serves. For more information, please visit mercyhealthsystem.org.

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