Hospital plans $85M expansion
Parking, navigation will be improved at new facility
Article by:
Libby John - Metro Editor
• ljohn@northernstar.info
Kishwaukee Community Hospital is planning to build an $85 million facility
that will be more patient-friendly in terms of parking and navigating
the hospital.
After a 12-month planning process, plans for the new facility were
unveiled earlier this week. It will be built adjacent to the current
location at 626 Bethany Road.
Kevin Poorten, CEO and president of Kishwaukee Health Services, said
the money will come from bonds, cash reserves and community support.
“We looked at our number of options, and a new facility on the
current campus seemed most ideal to the community,” Poorten said.
The new facility will contain between 110 and 125 private rooms and
will have a cardiology and surgery room expansion.
Construction for the project is expected to begin in 2004 and should
be completed by the end of 2007.
After about 30 years at its current location, the hospital board agreed
an expansion of some sort was needed, because of the growth of the community
and assessment of the current facility.
“We’re very excited,” Poorten said. “It was a very
important decision.”
DeKalb Mayor Greg Sparrow said the new facility will be a benefit from
an economical standpoint.
“It’ll create a certain new number of construction jobs,”
he said.
Also, he added, with an enhanced facility, the quality of life of DeKalb
County residents will improve.
Roger Hopkins, executive director of DeKalb County Economic Development
Corporation, said the idea of a new facility was brought up in early
September to get community reaction.
“Health care employees are the most fastest-growing,” Hopkins
said. “It’ll still be in a small market, but a new facility
will hopefully attract more specialty doctors.”
He also said having more jobs available in DeKalb will give the local
economy a much-needed boost. Recent major construction projects in DeKalb
have included the Convocation Center, Barsema Hall and the continuing
Altgeld Hall renovations.
“The [new facility] will be equivalent of those three,” Hopkins
said. “We had little new industrial [projects] and it was a real
shot in the arm for local construction companies.”
© 2003 Northern Star. All Rights Reserved.
