Press Releases

April 22, 2009

Lake Forest Hospital receives state approval for outpatient surgery and cancer treatment centers at Grayslake facility

Grayslake, IL – Lake Forest Hospital today received state approval to develop outpatient surgical and cancer centers at its Grayslake Campus located at 1475 E. Belvidere Road.

The surgery center will allow residents of this fast-growing area of the county to schedule outpatient surgeries closer to home. Patients will also be able to undergo cancer treatments at a new outpatient cancer center instead of having to travel to the Lake Forest Hospital campus for treatment.

“Lake Forest Hospital is investing $49 million in the Grayslake campus to provide greater access to outpatient services for the residents of central Lake County,” said Thomas J. McAfee, President and CEO of Lake Forest Hospital.

“This is a significant improvement in care for cancer patients,” added Joseph Imperato, M.D., F.A.C.R., Medical Staff President and radiation oncologist. “Cancer patients endure frequent visits. The intensity of therapy may mean that patients must rely on family or friends to drive them to and from their appointments each week. Daily treatments often add significant travel time to a person’s day to allow them to juggle work and home. A modern outpatient center located close to where many of our patients live in the community is a significant improvement in convenience for cancer patients and offers them high quality medical treatments at the new center in Grayslake.”

Lake Forest Hospital’s Acute Care Center on the Grayslake campus is already open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and treated more than 36,000 patients in 2008. The center is staffed by Lake Forest Hospital’s board-certified emergency physicians and trauma-trained nurses.

The surgery center and cancer center projects will add four 500-square-foot operating suites and cancer treatment areas. The center will be used by Lake Forest Hospital’s accomplished surgeons, anesthesiologists and cancer specialists during regular business hours.

“Another benefit to the new centers in Grayslake is that we can alleviate overcrowding in the surgery and cancer departments on our main campus in Lake Forest, making it easier for people to schedule their surgeries,” said Michael Ankin, M.D., Vice President of Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer for Lake Forest Hospital. “Providing exemplary health care to our patients throughout the area in state-of-the-art facilities is our main priority.”

Last year, Lake Forest Hospital received state approval to convert the Grayslake Acute Care Center into a freestanding emergency center (FEC). Once the FEC is licensed, ambulances will be able to take many emergency patients to Grayslake for treatment and release. Patients with more serious injuries who require an overnight stay in the hospital will be transferred to area hospitals. The FEC will serve to expand the number of patients who can be treated at the facility. As a not-for-profit community hospital,

Lake Forest Hospital treats every patient who walks through its doors. Hospital officials expect the surgery and cancer centers to open in 2011. The hospital anticipates the FEC will begin accepting emergency patients later this year.