More medical services to be made available in Yorkville

YORKVILLE — By this summer, residents for the first time will be able to receive health services including CT scans, MRIs and ultrasounds without traveling out of town.

A diagnostic imaging center will be part of a facility being built at Center and Countryside parkways through a joint venture between DeKalb-based KishHealth Systems, Yorkville Family Practice and Consultants in Diagnostic Imaging.

The 8,000-square-foot, $4 million building also will house specialty care offices staffed by physicians from Valley West Community Hospital in Sandwich. Specialties will include a sleep lab, urology services and heart and cancer care, as well as ear, nose and throat care.

Combined with the next-door Yorkville Family Practice, the centers will provide the "most comprehensive care in Yorkville right now," said John Klosowski, administrator of Yorkville Family Practice, which offers services in specialities including neurology, dermatology and orthopedics.

"Nobody in Yorkville will have to leave to get the care they need," Klosowski said.

KishHealth Systems is one of a half-dozen local health organizations seeking to expand in fast-growing Yorkville and Kendall County.

"The ability to tap into new patients and new families who might not have relationships with a physician yet is an opportunity we want to take on," said Joseph Dant, vice president of business development for KishHealth System, which includes Valley West and Kishwaukee Community Hospital in DeKalb.

Rush-Copley Medical Center submitted plans last month to build a medical campus in Yorkville that would house an urgent care center and diagnostic imaging services similar to those that will be available through this venture. Officials from Rush-Copley declined comment Thursday on potential competition because they had not yet seen or heard of KishHealth's plans.

Edward Hospital in Naperville and Provena Mercy Medical Center in Aurora also have shown interest in expanding to the Yorkville area. Provena Mercy and Dreyer Medical Clinic in August opened a medical facility which provides family and pediatric care and internal medicine.

"The need is definitely here," Klosowski said, noting patient volumes at Yorkville Family Practice have increased dramatically in recent years. "We've seen it, and we want to keep the patients in the community instead of sending them out."

Kendall County currently has no hospital, and many residents have expressed a desire to see more medical facilities in the area.

Having nearby health care is a tremendous quality-of-life draw for people or businesses looking to relocate, according to Yorkville Economic Development Corporation head Lynn Dubajic.

Construction on the new facility began earlier this month and is expected to be complete in July.