FAQ

Why does the City of Joliet oppose the closure of Silver Cross Hospital in Joliet?

The proposed relocation would have tremendous negative consequences for the City of Joliet and its residents. While our analysis of this potential move is still in process, it is clear that it would, at a minimum:

(a)  Adversely impact the access to health care in Joliet;
(b)  Adversely impact the safety of all residents; and
(c)  Have a potentially devastating economic impact on Joliet.

Adverse impact on the access to
health care in Joliet

In its current location, the demand for health care services is significant. With a population currently over 145,000, Joliet remains one of the largest and fastest growing cities in Illinois. Since 2000, Joliet’s total population has increased 15.9%. By contrast, the state of Illinois’ population has increased 3.3% over that same time period. New housing starts in Joliet have averaged over 1,400 a year.

Not surprisingly, this growth has led to an increased need for health care services. Inpatient hospital utilization in Joliet in the last five years has increased by 20%. Silver Cross, as one of only two Joliet-based hospitals serving this rapidly growing community, has been instrumental in providing necessary health care services to this growing population. The loss of Silver Cross would obviously have an adverse impact on the ability of Joliet residents to receive the health care they need.

The impact of the closure of Silver Cross will also cause a ripple effect that will affect all aspects of health care, well beyond the closure of the hospital itself. Every hospital, including Silver Cross, has a veritable constellation of centers and clinics that depend on and are located close to a primary hospital that they serve. The loss of the hospital would not simply mean the loss of an emergency room and hospital beds, but also the doctors’ offices, MRI clinics and other services that are currently dependent on Silver Cross.

The proposed closure of Silver Cross would also exacerbate the already apparent health disparities for the low income and minority residents of Joliet. Along with treating illness and disease, a core element of the mission of a community hospital is developing programs that address the root causes of health problems. The hospital’s support of neighborhood economic development and community health advocacy is essential to ensure a brighter future for the residents of Joliet. The emerging health crisis that the entire country faces with the epidemics of diabetes, obesity, and hypertension is a constant reminder of the widening inequalities in health care and socio-economic status in this city as well as our country.

In 2006, over 55% of patients seeking inpatient care and nearly 40% of those seeking outpatient care at Silver Cross receive Medicare or Medicaid, and many other patients have no health coverage at all. Nonetheless, Silver Cross has been enjoying great financial success, reporting profits of nearly $45 million between 2002 and 2005 alone. For Medicare and Medicaid patients, many of whom are elderly, transportation is often a struggle. Their ability to receive the medical care they need will be put in jeopardy should Silver Cross leave Joliet.

Top

Adverse impact on the safety of Joliet residents

Silver Cross’ proposed relocation would have numerous negative consequences on Joliet’s public safety operations. The main benefit of the current site of Silver Cross to those providing emergency services to Joliet, including the Police and Fire Departments, is the centralized location of Silver Cross on the east side of Joliet. Despite Joliet’s irregular borders, prior to the City’s most recent annexations, Silver Cross Hospital and Provena St. Joseph Medical Center occupied the relative centers of the east and west sides of Joliet, respectively.

Historically, those injured in the city on the west side of the Des Plaines River were transported to Provena St. Joseph Medical Center, and those injured on the east side of the river were transported to Silver Cross. If Silver Cross would relocate to its proposed site in New Lenox, it is anticipated that the border of the two service areas, currently the river, would be moved east to Walnut Street.

Traveling this added distance, to the eastern-most border of our jurisdiction, may prove to be more difficult than anticipated, especially in consideration of the aging two-lane highway (Route 6) and the predictable increase in traffic along this main roadway. In addition, the juncture of I‑355 and US Route 6, where Silver Cross intends to relocate, is anticipated to have significant commercial development similar to Schaumburg’s Woodfield Mall area. In fact, two malls are planned for this area. This increase in consumer-driven commercial development will inevitably bring with it traffic congestion.

As a result of the added distance alone, city public safety and ambulance personnel would experience dramatic increases in travel times when transporting patients to a new facility in New Lenox. Those increased travel times, in turn, will impose considerable budgetary strains on the City of Joliet while potentially preventing city personnel from performing other activities necessary for community safety.

Other area hospitals would also feel the effects of Silver Cross’ relocation. For example, some residents from the East side will likely require access to emergency care at Provena Saint Joseph Hospital, resulting in an estimated 4200 additional ambulance deliveries per year to that facility. This raises the concern whether neighboring health care facilities have the resources and personnel to absorb significant increases in patient numbers. As Silver Cross has only recently expanded its emergency department to meet increasing demands, the remaining hospital could face a nightmare scenario in trying to meet the demand for these services, with its caseload potentially doubling.

In addition, Joliet’s public safety operations will certainly see cost increases and service changes. Currently, residents west of the Des Plaines River typically receive ambulance transport to Provena St. Joseph, and residents east of the river are transported to Silver Cross. A shift in the dividing line east to Walnut Street would cause increased cost for Joliet emergency services through higher patient transport time and longer time periods where emergency personnel and vehicles will be out of service and out of their jurisdiction. Also, the cost of transportation and other infrastructure improvements that would be needed to connect Joliet with the proposed site would be substantial.

Top

Devastating impact on the Joliet economy

This proposal would jeopardize the economic development that our community leaders and residents have worked so hard on in past decades. Silver Cross’ continuing support for the myriad of Joliet’s community initiatives, such as neighborhood revitalization, economic development, and preventative healthcare advocacy, is essential to ensure community enhancement and a bright future for Joliet residents. As a cornerstone of downtown Joliet and the East Side in particular, Silver Cross is instrumental to the status of Joliet as the regional center of Chicago’s southwest suburbs. The desertion of Silver Cross from Joliet would impair Joliet’s image, as well as its economic revitalization and development efforts.

Silver Cross is also one of the largest employers in Joliet. Silver Cross’ move would further erode employment of Joliet residents and contribute to greater economic hardship. In addition, the Silver Cross move will affect the vendors, contractors and subcontractors currently located in Joliet and dependent on the hospital for their viability.

Moreover, one of the most prominent issues facing Joliet’s East Side in general and Silver Cross in particular has been economic struggles of the surrounding community. While Silver Cross has been a leader in helping to revitalize the neighborhoods surrounding its current location, it will now abandon that community. Aside from the current economic struggles these neighborhoods face, they will face an even bigger challenge if the blight of vacant buildings are left behind after Silver Cross’ proposed move.

Why can’t Silver Cross just add on to the existing campus?
We believe Silver Cross’ current 50-acre site affords plenty of room for a replacement hospital. Many hospitals thrive on much smaller plots. Even if there was truly a need to move, there are a number of sites within Joliet that could accommodate a new Silver Cross facility.

Additionally, within the last 10 years, there have been substantial renovations to Silver Cross totaling close to $150 million in capital expenditures. This also includes $19 million to expand and modernize the emergency department that opened this past January. With all of these recent renovations it just does not make sense to tear down this completely new hospital and start again.

Wouldn’t building a new hospital cost much more than an addition or renovation? An entirely new hospital costing $400 million is going to be substantially more than the $150 to $200 million estimates for adding onto the current site. Another possible option might be having Silver Cross Hospital sell the land at the new site, Route 6 and I-355, to offset the cost of a new hospital/addition on the current site.

What will happen to Silver Cross’ existing campus?
Silver Cross Hospital has made several suggestions for alternative uses for the site, but there have been no commitments about the future of the current campus.

What does this closure mean for people in Joliet?
What this move really means for the people of Joliet is that there will be significant losses in access to quality healthcare, in the safety of the residents of Joliet, and in the economy of the city of Joliet as a whole.

Silver Cross hospital currently serves a high percentage of Medicaid patients, up to 20%, as well as those individuals with no insurance. With the move to the more affluent areas to the east, there will no doubt be a significant impact on those patient’s access to quality health care. There will be a decrease in the quality of emergency medical services provided due to a longer drive times. Silver Cross has always be a major economic institution in the City of Joliet, providing jobs, community investment and health care. The economy of Joliet will surely suffer with the loss of this hospital.

What is the Joliet City Council’s position on the move?
The Joliet City Council members want Silver Cross to stay in Joliet. This is a top priority for the City. The City Council welcomes an open dialogue with the Silver Cross Board of Trustees to find a way for Silver Cross to stay in Joliet.

Can the Joliet City Council stop the building of the replacement
hospital in New Lenox?
The Illinois Heath Facilities Planning Board must grant Silver Cross permission to build a replacement hospital. There are many, many factors that weigh into their decision, most of which are very technical issues dealing with the availability of health care. One important factor is public support or opposition to the project. This is why the City of Joliet urges residents who oppose the closure, to write letters to the Health Facilities Planning Board, opposing the proposal.

Top

What YOU Can Do
FAQ
Fast Facts
Publications