Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital Slates Expansion in Next Five Years

took its first step in outlining plans for a campus expansion over the next five years at Wednesday night’s Plan Commission meeting.

Tom McAfee, president of , said two independent reviews concluded that the facilities are not capable of supporting contemporary health care.

“We do know that there will be a significant increase in demand for health-care services, and we want to make sure we are prepared for that,” McAfee said.

McAfee did not come with a master plan to show the Plan Commission, so he couldn’t answer specific questions about how large the expansion will be or how many beds will be added. That part is expected to be completed in the coming months and finalized next spring, followed by a two-year design phase and three years of construction with a completion date of spring 2017.

Plan Commission Chairman Jack Reisenberg applauded the hospital for establishing transparency early in the process

“I don’t have to tell you how important it is to keep the community and neighbors involved in the process. Makes a lot of problems go away,” he said.

Neighbors Voice Concerns

During public input, resident Jack Hanlon said he was representing several homeowners whose properties are next to or near the hospital grounds. He read from a letter and indicated three areas of concern — building height, parking and storm drainage.

On building height, Hanlon asked if the new structure will be greater than two stories, or even taller. A tall structure would inhibit the residents’ current view of open farmland.

“A taller building would look down on our homes and be visible five months out of the year when the leaves are off the trees,” Hanlon said. “The same applies to the effect that lights have on resident’s homes and market values.”

Hanlon said a parking garage for the new campus should be built at the north end and not the south near the residential area, citing noise issues from traffic and snowplows. They also hoped the parking garage would not be multitiered.

Drainage problems have plagued homeowners near the hospital, Hanlon said, particularly on his street, Lane Lorraine, and neighboring Burton Drive, because the storm sewers are tied into the same lines as the hospital.

“They are insufficient to carry the heavy rainfall, and many residents had water backup problems into their basements,” Hanlon said. “How will new a campus avoid these problems?”

Margaret Davidson, who also lives on Lane Lorraine, said she never experienced sewer problems in the 28 years she has lived there until the hospital’s last expansion. “We have all suffered because of it,” she said.

McAfee indicated that he heard many of these concerns at an informal community meeting on Sept. 8 at the .

Hospital Changes Over Time

By the time the project is completed in 2017, ’s main building will be 75 years old. Eighteen month ago, Lake Forest Hospital became part of Northwestern Memorial Health Care, the corporate parent of Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Northwestern Memorial Foundation and .

Now covering 160 acres of land, encompasses 730,000 square feet of building space comprised of the main hospital, a small apartment building used by some employees, an extended care facility, health and fitness center, child-care facility, and support buildings.

The hospital has 205 beds, 10,000 admissions, 700 physicians, 375,000 to 400,000 outpatient visits a year (just in Lake County), and 1,700 employees, making it the second largest not-for-profit employer in the county.

The City’s Role

Lake Forest traditionally has used the special permit process for local institutions seeking changes to their land use, according to Cathy Czerniak, director of community development, citing other cases involving , local schools and churches.

“With larger institutions, the special permit process is used to adopt master plans, Czerniak said. “This gives the neighbors and the larger community the assurance that there has been thoughtful planning throughout the process.”