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Fight brews in Elgin over plan to build new Sherman Hospital By Richard Wronski, Tribune Staff Reporter Posted October 26, 2005 Sherman Hospital in Elgin unveiled detailed plans Tuesday for a $280 million replacement hospital on the city's booming west side, but state approval isn't likely without a turf battle. Sherman's rival, Provena St. Joseph Hospital, immediately signaled its opposition, raising a litany of questions about the need for the new facility and what effect the move would have on the Fox Valley area and patients. Sherman seeks to locate its 263-bed hospital in the middle of an area Provena St. Joseph says it already serves, as that hospital embarks on its own $100 million modernization project. "There's enough growth out there for everybody," said Rick Floyd, Sherman Hospital president and chief executive officer. Elgin is expected to double in population over the next 25 years. Sherman wants to complete the 645,000-square-foot hospital by 2009 on the northeast corner of Big Timber and Randall Roads. The 154-acre site will feature a 15-acre lake with geothermal technology, intended to save the hospital $1 million a year in energy costs. Sherman announced the project in April but just filed its plans with the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board. That agency oversees major health care expansions and expenditures. The planning board must weigh the need for a new hospital and its cost-effectiveness before giving Sherman approval to build. On Tuesday Floyd and other hospital officials reiterated the need for Sherman to build a "state of the art" replacement hospital. The hospital's east side campus, which dates back 117 years, is too small and landlocked, and its buildings are outmoded and inefficient, Floyd said. Sherman's most recent building is 41 years old and the oldest was built in 1917. "We have to do something about that and modernize our facilities," Floyd said. He characterized Sherman's current 13 acres as a "pinhead" compared with the size of most suburban hospitals. Sherman plans to build a 24-hour "urgent care" medical facility on its current site at 934 Center St. The center would have doctors' offices, dialysis, outpatient laboratories and rehabilitation facilities. On Friday, Provena St. Joseph is holding a groundbreaking ceremony for the $97 million expansion of its campus at 77 N. Airlite St. The project will create 139 private rooms, a new heart center and larger, more modern surgical and medical imaging departments. Completion is expected in 2010. The hospital planning board approved the project in August. Sherman did not challenge Provena St. Joseph's project during the board review. In a letter Monday to the Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce, William Brown, Provena St. Joseph president and chief executive officer, said Sherman's move "would result in a new hospital in the middle of an area already served" by his hospital. Provena St. Joseph would support the modernization of any existing hospital within planning board rules, "but we are very concerned that an unwise investment in health care would weaken both hospitals in town and diminish the overall quality and availability of health care for Elgin residents," Brown said. Brown's letter raised eight questions about the impact of Sherman's move and the wisdom of building a new hospital "just down the road" from his hospital. Brown was not available for comment Tuesday. Provena St. Joseph can file objections with the planning board or can address them during a public hearing, expected in the next three months. The planning board could take up Sherman's application in February. In 2004 Sherman opposed Provena St. Joseph's plan to perform open heart surgery, long the exclusive province of Sherman. Sherman lost that battle. A highlight of Sherman's project would be the geothermal lake designed to provide an energy-efficient heating and cooling system, officials said. The concept would be the first of its kind for a hospital in Illinois and the second in the country, they said. An 85-mile network of pipes and 850 heat pumps would use water from the lake bottom, at a constant 55-degree temperature, to heat air in winter and provide cooling in summer, said Reeven Elfman, Sherman vice president. Contact InformationContact Momentum Advantage Partners (MAP) for more information on how we can help you build a more competitive edge by lowering your operating costs through lower utility rates, energy management programs and renewable energy technologies, like geothermal. |
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