Members of the Village of Orland Park and Silver Cross Hospital take part in a ceremonial groundbreaking for a new medical facility on November 14. (Photo by Jeff Vorva)
Silver Cross Hospital breaks ground on medical facility in Orland Park
By Jeff Vorva
The Village of Orland Park set the wheels in motion for a major medical facility to be built in town during its Nov. 7 board meeting.
One week later, there was a ceremonial groundbreaking for the Silver Cross Hospital and Premier Medical facility, located on the corner of 171st Street and LaGrange Road.
During a presentation at the board meeting, Ruth Colby, the Ppesident of Silver Cross, talked about the benefits of having the two-story 42,000-square-foot, $25.5 million building in town.
“We believe this project is consistent with the Silver Cross mission of improving the health of those we serve and advancing wellness in our community,” she said. “We also believe it will be a great value to the people of Orland Park.”
Why Orland Park?
“We took a look at our patient origin data, which means where patients live who use Silver Cross services,” she said. “We found thousands of Orland Park residents have inpatient stays at Silver Cross and thousands more are using our services for outpatient care. As you already know, the Orland Park Fire Protection District is a part of the Silver Cross medical system.
“We are very proud to serve the residents of your community and desire to bring more services closer to home.”
The hospital is looking at an early 2024 date to open.
“Silver Cross is an outstanding facility – the old building and the new one,” Orland Park Trustee Cynthia Nelson-Katsenes said. “I had both of my children at Silver Cross and I use your facilities a lot so thank you for coming to Orland.”
Mayor Keith Pekau is also happy to see the facility in his village.
“We’ve made a big focus of trying to expand our economic development and broaden our economy from just being strictly retail,” the mayor said. “We like the providers that we have now, but it’s nice to have providers with ties to the community. That’s fantastic.”
During the ground-breaking, Orland Park resident and Silver Cross Senior Vice President of External Affairs Scott Paddock said he is enthused about this project.
“Many of us have been waiting for this day for quite a while and we’re excited that the day has finally arrived,” he said. “We’re excited for many reasons but primarily among them is the benefit and impact that this facility is going to have on this community for many, many years to come.”
Still under construction
The Village Hall boardroom is still under construction, so the board meetings will continue to be held at the Orland Park Police Station training room for the next two meetings.
The board is eying being in its revamped boardroom during the Dec. 19 meeting.
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