State Board Votes Down Competing Emergency Centers

Plans for two competing proposals to build a freestanding emergency center in Frankfort were slowed, if not completely stopped, by two state review board votes on Tuesday.

The proposals, which were submitted by Riverside Medical Center, of Kankakee, and Silver Cross Hospital, of New Lenox, were each issued an intent to deny at a Feb. 5 meeting of the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board.

Riverside submitted a project application to the review board on Nov. 9, requesting to build a 10,000-square-foot, $10.3 million facility at the corner of Steger and La Grange Roads.

Silver Cross submitted its application less than two weeks later, seeking approval for an $8.8 million emergency center that would be the same size as Riverside’s. The proposed location for the Silver Cross project was at the intersection of Lincoln Highway and 93rd Avenue.

“The state board has made a decision and we respect their opinion,” said Frankfort Mayor Jim Holland. “We think that there are people in Frankfort who will be disappointed if the decision means that there will be no 24-hour urgent care center in Frankfort.”

During the votes for each proposal, board members repeatedly cited duplication and maldistribution of services as their reason for voting against the projects. Both project votes were 6-1, in favor of issuing an intent to deny project approval.

Neither proposal met state board standards to build in Frankfort. Both projects lacked a local need for services, would create duplication of service and were unreasonably expensive, according to the board.

But receipt of an intent to deny does not guarantee that a project will not eventually be approved, according to review board representatives. The proposing organization can submit an appeal with supplementary information after receiving an intent to deny. If the appeal is voted down, the organization will then be issued a denial, but can still request an administrative hearing.

Riverside expressed an interest in moving forward with the project after Tuesday’s meeting, despite receiving the intent to deny.

Maggie Frogge, who is the senior vice president of corporate strategy for Riverside, said she was not surprised by the review board’s decision.

“We knew that there was a possibility that the project could receive an intent to deny,” she said. “We firmly believe that this is an important project.”

Representatives from Franciscan St. James Health, Advocate South Suburban Hospital and Presence St. Joseph Medical Center attended Tuesday’s meeting to voice their opposition to both projects.

The spokespeople for Franciscan, Advocate and Presence St. Joseph listed several reasons for their disapproval regarding the competing proposals. These included the argument that both projects are being used as marketing tools and patient feeders for Riverside and Silver Cross.

The opposition also spoke about concerns regarding the increasing number of people using emergency rooms to receive treatment for non-urgent health needs and the excess capacity that already exists in local medical facilities.

When Silver Cross sat before the board, Chief Strategy Officer Ruth Colby told board members that the emergency center would not effect patient populations in other nearby medical facilities because the projected emergency center volume would come from the existing patient base at Silver Cross.

Calls placed to Silver Cross for comment were not returned.

“I’m confident that a new FEC is not the way to care for patients in this area,” said Richard Heim, president of Advocate South Suburban.

Riverside has recently received significant criticism from residents who live near the site of the proposed facility. More than 100 community members have mailed letters opposing the project and 87 concerned residents signed a petition against the development. Homeowners worry that the center will subject them to siren and traffic noise, road congestion and a decrease in home values.

When asked during Tuesday’s meeting whether he felt Frankfort could support two emergency centers, Riverside President and CEO Phillip Kambic told the board that it could not. However, he said that the village could serve as home to both facilities when the broader service area that Riverside intended to reach was taken into account.

“This is not a ‘Frankfort only’ service area,” said Kambic.

The Riverside proposal would serve patients in northern Kankakee County and southern Will County, Kambic said. The goal of the project would be to shorten drive times for rural patients, serve the area’s aging population and match the number of patients with expanded insurance coverage as a result of the Affordable Care Act.

“To me, this is a boutique ER,” said Board Member Kathryn J. Olson. “I conceptually have an issue with the entire concept.”

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