Rush-Copley plans Yorkville expansion

Urgent care: Facility would be similar to an emergency room

By Angela Fornelli
Staff Writer

YORKVILLE — Yorkville area residents are closer to having more convenient access to urgent care and diagnostic services.

Rush-Copley Medical Center this week submitted to the state a proposal for a $23 million medical facility on Route 34 just south of the Kendall County government campus.

Plans call for a three-story building that would house an urgent-care center — akin to an emergency room — and diagnostic services, including cardiac imaging, CT scans, mammograms and MRI exams.

Rush-Copley also wants to offer occupational health services and physician offices that could house primary care, OB and other specialty doctors.

The 45-acre parcel is large enough to support a full-service hospital, but Rush-Copley's goal is to "provide the services that make sense for the community at this time," said Lisa Brady, vice president of strategy.

"We will play it by ear and see how the community grows," Brady said. "If they need services down the road, we hope we can be the ones to provide that."

The city of Yorkville approved the concept plan earlier this year, and the hospital expects a decision from the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board later this year.

Construction would begin shortly after approval and is expected to be complete in 2008.

"We want to open as soon as possible because we are so excited about doing this," said Nancy Wilson, assistant vice president of ancillary operations at Rush-Copley. "And Yorkville is so excited about us coming out there."

07/28/06