Lurie Children’s Hospital Expands with New Facility in Downers Grove

Lurie Children’s Hospital has received a green light to build a new facility in Downers Grove. The Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board unanimously approved Lurie’s proposal, giving the final nod required for this project. The $480 million hospital will feature 48 beds, six operating rooms, an emergency department, and outpatient care areas. Positioned near I-355 and Butterfield Road, its doors are expected to open in 2030.

The new hospital will be the first of Lurie’s facilities with inpatient beds outside of Streeterville. While smaller than Lurie’s main Streeterville location, it will offer families in the western suburbs a closer option for care. Currently, nearly 47% of children from the western suburbs travel outside their communities for overnight care, as reported by Lurie.

Dr. Tom Shanley, Lurie’s President and CEO, shared these statistics with the board, noting that approximately 20% of Lurie’s current inpatients hail from these suburbs. He emphasized the potential benefits of the new facility, saying, “Every statistic represents a child in need of assistance and a family managing extra stress from travel and time disruptions.”

The planned Downers Grove hospital will cater to low-acuity patients, offering less complex care than what is available at the Chicago location. It’s particularly suited for children with manageable conditions requiring monitoring and basic treatment but will include a helipad for urgent transfers to Lurie’s main hospital if needed.

The board’s decision also allows Lurie to close its Westchester outpatient facility once the new hospital is operational, relocating its services to Downers Grove. Gary Kaatz, a board member, praised this development, calling it a “significant transformational initiative.” The proposal had backing from various individuals and groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and local families who find traveling to current facilities cumbersome.

One mother from Hinsdale expressed in a support letter how an appointment could take an entire day due to travel, affecting school and work routine. A father from Riverside described the stress of rushing downtown for emergencies, emphasizing the relief a closer facility would bring.

The new facility aims to ease the burden on Lurie’s Streeterville hospital by accommodating overnight patients locally. Dr. Marcelo Malakooti, Lurie’s chief medical officer, highlighted limits to expansion in Streeterville, noting the new location will enhance overall care access and capacity.

This expansion occurs amid closures of pediatric units in community hospitals around Chicago. Many facilities cite decreasing patient numbers and financial losses as reasons. Since 2013, 27 hospitals in the area have shut down their pediatric units. On the same day Lurie’s new hospital was approved, St. Joseph Medical Center in Joliet received approval to close its pediatric unit, which often saw less than one patient daily, affecting care quality.

Representatives of Prime Healthcare, which owns the hospital, argued it was financially necessary. They detailed an arrangement with Endeavor Health Edward Hospital for inpatient transfers, ensuring continued care.

Dr. Sunil Patel, Prime Healthcare’s regional chief medical officer, emphasized focusing on sustainable and quality care services, recognizing the challenges within the healthcare and hospital sectors.