Business & Tech

Support, Opposition Voiced at Centegra Hearing

Dozens testified at the Wednesday hearing.

Huntley fire officials voiced support for Centegra's proposed hospital Wednesday saying the facility would shorten emergency response times and help save lives.

“It is an ideal situation for EMS to have a hospital in its community,” Huntley Fire Protection District Chief James Saletta said. “One of our main focus is emergency response times and neutralizing long travel times.”

Huntley paramedics must travel 20 minutes to the nearest hospital, which causes a delay in medical treatment, he said.

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Saletta was among dozens  _from public officials to residents to CEOs_ to testify Wednesday before hearing officers with the Illinois Health Facilities Services and Review Board on the merits of Centegra’s plan to build a $233 million hospital in Huntley.

The review board must decide whether to grant Centegra a Certification of Need in order to build the hospital at Haligus and Reed roads.

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 Saletta: Call Volume Up 68 Percent in Recent Years

Saletta’s testimony came early Wednesday afternoon and provided a neutral voice in the back-and-forth testimony that alternately drew applause from opposing camps all morning.

He said Huntley fire department has seen its call volume increase by 68 percent since 2004. About 75 percent of the calls are medical emergencies, he said.

Fire officials expect that need to increase, especially with Sun City Huntley located within its boundaries, Saletta said. Call volume has increased within Sun City from 21 percent in 2004 to 36 percent last year, he said.

Overall, paramedics transported 2,932 patients last year -- 132 of which were patients suffering severe medical emergencies like head trauma or heart attacks. Out of the 132, 50 percent required life support, Saletta said.

But, in such emergency situations time is of the essence and paramedics had to transport those patients 20 minutes away to the nearest hospital, Saletta said.

The opposition

Mercy Health System CEO Richard Gruber was among those opposing Centegra’s plan Wednesday. Officials with Sherman Hospital in Elgin, St.

Alexius Medical Center in Hoffman Estates and Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington also spoke out.

"The big issue is location," Gruber said after his testimony. “Is this the right location for a hospital?”

Area Hospital Officials: Is There a need?

A hospital should not be built based on estimations of population growth but should be built where there is a current need, such as Crystal Lake, Gruber said. Mercy has its own proposal for a $200 million hospital. Its location would be at the cross roads of McHenry County, he said. It would be built at Route 31 and Three Oaks Road. 

Mercy’s public hearing will be March 18 in Crystal Lake.

Centegra Health Care System’s proposed $233 million Huntley hospital is “unneeded” and would be a duplication of services, said Edward Goldberg, the president and CEO of St. Alexius Medical Center, at the public hearing Wednesday.

 “The proposed hospital does not appear to be providing any programs of significance that are not already provided by St. Alexius and other area hospitals, and therefore Centegra-Huntley will be duplicative,” Goldberg said. 

Is There Enough Room For Everyone to Operate?

A duplication of services would take patients away from the regional centers that already exist and would end up wasting health care dollars, he said.

Additionally, St. Alexius, along with Provena and Sherman Hospital, provide Medicaid and charity care services to underprivileged or underinsured patients while providing services to privately insured patients. But the hospitals still have to generate money to operate, he said.

“With that new housing developments in the Huntley area, we look in that direction for the financial stability that we so desperately need,” Goldberg said.

 If the area needs more beds, the regional hospitals can expand at a much less expense, Goldberg said.

Tim Nitz, Sherman Hospital's vice president of ancillary services, pointed out that Centegra opposed Mercy’s plan to build a hospital four years ago, arguing a new hospital is not needed.

Testimony also focused on the review board’s authorization allowing St. Alexius to do a $117 million modernization program. Provena recently renovated its campus and Sherman built a replacement hospital on Randall Road in Elgin.

Centegra, itself, gained authorization from the review board for a $50 expansion of its Woodstock hospital but the health system abandoned those plans. One Woodstock resident opposes a Huntley hospital and asked what happened to the need in Woodstock.

Community support

Centegra had other supporters, including Huntley Mayor Charles Sass.

“It’s with great pride that I stand here and offer our ardent support to Centegra-Huntley,” said Sass.

The board passed a resolution in support of the plan and is helping with an online petition. McHenry County’s board also passed a resolution Tuesday in support.

Huntley needs a hospital based on its projected growth.

The village has undergone a 19.1 percent population increase between 2000 and 2008 alone and expects to double its population within the next 20 years, Sass said. The village is home to an over 55 active adult development and has a large number of young families, he said.

“This combination of residents make having access (to health care) more important,” the mayor said.

Pam Cumpata, president of the McHenry County Economic Development Corporation, said Centegra’s project, estimated to bring $152 million in economic development to Huntley and its neighbors, will help create 1,100 new jobs and spur additional development.

“Huntley is the right place for a new hospital,” Cumpata said.


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