Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare Announces New Plans for its Berteau Campus

Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare officials on Monday announced new plans for the . The plans were announced at a meeting of the Elmhurst Neighborhood Advisory Committee, which was formed more than 15 years ago to resolve any conflicts that might arise between the hospital and its neighbors.

The current plans are a departure from the , when the Neighborhood Advisory Committee met with hospital officials. At that time, the plan was to renovate the western portion of the building to continue to provide services that already were being offered there: an immediate care center, occupational health services, a cancer center, outpatient services and behavioral health services. New construction was being discussed to house a continuum of care for seniors.

Today, the plan still is to provide a full continuum of senior health care and housing services, and hospital officials say portions of the building will be demolished, but other elements of the plan have significantly changed.

"EMHC’s programs and services that are currently located on the campus will either move or close in order to facilitate the redevelopment of the site over the next 24 months," according to a press release issued by EMHC on Tuesday.

EMHC plans to seek state approval to close its inpatient behavioral health unit. The outpatient program will be moved to a new location, providing consultative services to inpatient medical-surgical patients and support to the emergency department, in addition to the services it currently offers, the press release states.

EMHC also plans to seek state approval to temporarily close its Transitional Care Center while it pursues a joint venture partnership to offer senior health and housing services on Berteau, including expanded transitional care, assisted living and independent living.

EMHC plans to relocate the Cancer Center and of Chicago to a newly constructed, one-story cancer center on the east side of

Plans are also being developed to identify a new location for an immediate care center on the north side of Elmhurst, as well as a location to continue to provide occupational health services.

“We recognize that our Berteau Campus is a tremendous asset to the community,” said W. Peter Daniels, EMHC president and chief executive officer. “To maximize its benefit, we have developed a plan that allows us to continue to meet the healthcare needs of the communities we serve while strengthening our ability to provide the highest quality facilities and medical technologies.

“We are now entering into a planning phase that involves starting design work on the Cancer Center, continuing discussions with potential senior living partners and beginning the state approval process,” Daniels said.