Silver Cross Preps for Move; Know Where to Go in an Emergency

Silver Cross Hospital will be moving between two locations Sunday, but it's prepared so emergency patients don't need hang in limbo.

Starting at 7 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 26, Silver Cross is moving from its Joliet location to its new campus near Interstate 355 and Route 6 in New Lenox.

Patients seeking emergency care after 7 a.m. Sunday should go to the New Lenox campus. If a patient arrives in the Joliet emergency department before 7 a.m., he or she will receive a medical screening and be treated, discharged or transferred to the New Lenox location.

Silver Cross' free-standing Emergency Care Center at 143rd Street and Bell Road in Homer Glen will also be open all day to care for all patients regardless of illness or injury.

"A host of support services for inpatients and emergency patients will be available on move day, including MRI, CT and other imaging capabilities," said Alexander Sosenko, Silver Cross Hospital Chief of Staff.  "If emergency treatment is needed, there will be operating rooms ready at the new hospital."

All outpatient services will begin on Feb. 27 on the New Lenox campus. To schedule an appointment, call Silver Cross Guest Services at 815-300-7076. 

Read More About Moving the Hospital

Submitted by the Silver Cross Hospital staff:

Before the walls of the new hospital were even enclosed, Silver Cross leadership was busy planning for a safe and efficient patient move to the new campus. 

Over the past several months staff has been moving in equipment and becoming orientated to the new facility so that everyone is ready to provide 100 Top Care when the new Silver Cross Hospital officially opens on Sunday, Feb. 26. 

Beginning at 7 a.m., all patients will be moved in one day by ambulance along Route 6 from the Joliet to the New Lenox campus at I-355 and Route 6.  

“Our top priority is to make sure that the quality of patient care and safety is maintained at the highest level throughout the move process,” said Mary Bakken, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Silver Cross.  

To help ensure a smooth transition, Silver Cross has been working closely over the past 18 months with FDI, the leading healthcare occupancy/transition planning firm in the United States. FDI has planned the successful moves of more than 100 hospitals and thousands of patients over the past 25 years.

Members of the Silver Cross relocation team have been studying other hospital moves including Sherman and Elmhurst Hospitals. The Silver Cross team even observed first-hand the relocation of patients from one facility to another at St. Elizabeth Health System in LaFayette, IN.  

“We’ve covered all aspects of the move,” said Peggy Gricus, Vice President of Patient Care at Silver Cross.  “We’ve held drills with mock patients replicating just about every possible scenario that could happen during transport such as cardiac arrest, birth of a baby and an accident along the route. We are very fortunate to be working with Kurtz Ambulance Service that moves more than 100 patients every day. Not only are they lending us their expertise but the service of 15 fully-staffed ambulances for move day.”  

So who goes first? Patients on the fourth floor, Intensive Care and Behavioral Health Units, will be the first to experience the new Silver Cross Hospital. Both a packing team and a moving team will be assigned to each patient. 

Every patient will have a nurse, paramedic and emergency medical technician (EMT) with them every step of the way. Patients who require a higher level of care may also have a respiratory therapist, critical care nurse or doctor in the ambulance as well. 

Mothers and babies will be transported together, and parents can ride with pediatric patients. Everyone involved in the move has received special training.

“Each and every patient will be moved safely,” Gricus said. “We will take particular care to protect patient’s privacy and ensure that the transition is handled with dignity and respect.”  

Once patients have settled into their room at the New Lenox hospital, friends and family members will be encouraged to visit. During move day, a Family Lounge will be available at the new facility and staff will be available to communicate with families waiting for their loved ones.  

Short Trip Down Route 6: Every step of the move route is carefully planned—from which elevators to use to which road to take. Ambulances will be lined up outside the Joliet Emergency Department until signaled to pull into the bay. 

Once a patient is ready to be transported, the move team will bring the patient down with a “Boarding Pass” that includes the patient’s medication information, special care instructions and new room number. The group will get on the ambulance for the short 3.5-mile trip down Route 6 to the New Lenox Emergency Department. Joliet, New Lenox and Will County Sherriff’s Police will be stationed along the route to help ensure a safe transport.  

“We have alternate routes and contingency plans in place in case something happens to get in the way such as an accident, fire or weather-related obstructions—like snow,” said Ed Matteson, Director of Operations for Kurtz Ambulance Service.  “We are ready to handle any situation."