Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • ESG: THE IMPLEMENTATION IMPERATIVE
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Digital Health
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Transformation
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Unwell in America
  • Opinion
    • Bold Moves
    • Breaking Bias
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Vital Signs Blog
    • From the Editor
  • Events & Awards
    • Awards
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Excellence in Governance
    • Health Care Hall of Fame
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
    • Top 25 Innovators
    • Diversity in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
      • - Leaders to Watch
    • Women in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Women Leaders
      • - Women to Watch
    • Digital Health Transformation Summit
    • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
    • Leadership Symposium
    • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
    • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
    • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
    • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Hospital at Home
    • - Workplace of the Future
    • - Digital Health
    • - Future of Staffing
    • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
  • Multimedia
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Video Series - The Check Up
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
  • Data Center
    • Data Center Home
    • Hospital Financials
    • Staffing & Compensation
    • Quality & Safety
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Data Archive
    • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
    • Surveys
    • Data Points
  • MORE+
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Newsletters
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Providers
July 07, 2016 01:00 AM

A look at Cook County Health's outpatient future

Kristen Schorsch, Crain's Chicago Business
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print

    As Chicago's Cook County Health and Hospitals System works to shed its image as a provider of last resort, it's formally applied with state regulators to build an outpatient center with a sleek design that could cater to a wider array of patients.

    The two-hospital Cook County Health, one of the largest public hospital networks in the nation, plans to replace Fantus Clinic. With narrow corridors and outdated infrastructure, the nearly 60-year-old outpatient facility is from a different era of medicine.

    The proposed nine-story Central Campus Health Center would consolidate services and administrative offices now spread among Fantus and two other buildings on the Near West Side campus. Among the highlights of the $137.7 million proposal: expanding dental services, which are often hard for poor and uninsured patients to find, and offering a more modern space for cancer treatment.

    "Everyone has a choice today," Doug Elwell, deputy CEO of finance and strategy at Cook County Health, said of patients. "We want to make sure we have the facilities that match our expertise."

    Cook County Health revealed more details about its outpatient overhaul in a recent application to the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board. The state regulatory board decides the fate of health care projects to prevent duplicate services. Cook County hospital officials hope the board votes on the project in September.

    Replacing Fantus is part of a broader strategic shift at Cook County Health, which is working to expand its outpatient footprint. In the wake of Obamacare, insurers are paying hospitals to focus on preventive care and treat patients in the least expensive place. That's often in a doctor's office or at an outpatient clinic.

    Part of the vision includes bringing medical services closer to where people live, and potentially beefing up nursing home care for Medicare patients. That would help prevent elderly patients from ending up back in the hospital too quickly after being discharged, which can be costly for hospitals if they are fined by the federal government.

    Cook County Health is known as the safety net for the region, with more than 900,000 total outpatient visits across the system in 2015. More than half were at Fantus and on two floors of John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital, the nearby flagship hospital in the network. The system also includes Provident Hospital on the South Side and several clinics.

    The proposed 278,000-square-foot Central Campus Health Center would remain on the Near West Side campus and would be connected to Stroger. Fantus would be demolished. Patients would see a variety of specialists, including primary care, ophthalmologists and endocrinologists who specialize in diabetes.

    Patient volume for services that would be offered at the new health center is expected to grow nearly 3% a year, especially as Cook County Health contracts with more Medicaid insurers.

    The $137.7 million project is more expensive than what hospital and Cook County leaders initially proposed. That's because it includes extensive renovations to Stroger to house both inpatient and outpatient women's health services on one floor, Elwell said. The health system plans to pay for the proposal partly by taking on $108.4 million in debt through a bond issue, and the rest in cash and other funds.

    If the makeover isn't approved, Cook County Health officials estimate they would have to spend nearly $128 million to repair and maintain Fantus and the two other buildings that would be consolidated into the proposed health center.

    "This is what Cook County Health's outpatient future looks like" originally appeared on the website of Crain's Chicago Business.

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    373837936 (1).jpg
    New guidelines aim to limit trans healthcare at Catholic hospitals
    InDepth: Private Equity
    Legal questions surround private equity-backed Noble Health
    Most Popular
    1
    More healthcare organizations at risk of credit default, Moody's says
    2
    Centene fills out senior executive team with new president, COO
    3
    SCAN, CareOregon plan to merge into the HealthRight Group
    4
    Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan unveils big push that lets physicians take on risk, reap rewards
    5
    Bright Health weighs reverse stock split as delisting looms
    Sponsored Content
    Modern Healthcare A.M. Newsletter: Sign up to receive a comprehensive weekday morning newsletter designed for busy healthcare executives who need the latest and most important healthcare news and analysis.
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Digital Health
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Unwell in America
    • Opinion
      • Bold Moves
      • Breaking Bias
      • Commentaries
      • Letters
      • Vital Signs Blog
      • From the Editor
    • Events & Awards
      • Awards
        • Nominate/Eligibility
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Excellence in Governance
        • Health Care Hall of Fame
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
        • Top 25 Innovators
        • Diversity in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
          • - Leaders to Watch
        • Women in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Women Leaders
          • - Women to Watch
      • Conferences
        • Digital Health Transformation Summit
        • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
        • Leadership Symposium
        • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
        • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
        • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
        • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Hospital at Home
        • - Workplace of the Future
        • - Digital Health
        • - Future of Staffing
        • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
      • Webinars
    • Multimedia
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Video Series - The Check Up
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Data Center
      • Data Center Home
      • Hospital Financials
      • Staffing & Compensation
      • Quality & Safety
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Data Archive
      • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
      • Surveys
      • Data Points
    • MORE+
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Newsletters
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing