By Harry Hitzeman
The Chicago Daily Herald
ELGIN, Ill. — The advent of a new Sherman Hospital on Elgin’s west side means some changes when it comes to where patients are taken in emergencies on Elgin’s east side.
Emergencies originating from east of Waverly Drive in Elgin will be transported to St. Alexius Medical Center in Hoffman Estates, Elgin Fire Chief John Henrici said.
Calls from west of Waverly Drive will be transported to Provena St. Joseph Hospital in Elgin.
The city of Elgin in November signed off on an agreement allowing the fire department to transport patients outside of city limits.
“If it goes to St. Alexius, it’s a longer distance to get there and (the ambulance) will be out of service for a longer amount of time,” Henrici said. “St. Alexius and St. Joe’s have been gearing up for more patients.”
Lynn Polhemus, St. Joseph’s director of the emergency department and emergency medical services, said the hospital will have additional doctors and nurses on call beginning at 7 a.m. Wednesday when the Sherman transition begins.
The ER at St. Joseph can handle about 20 patients at a time and about 36,000 a year. If demand surges, officials there might reconfigure it to handle more.
“We’ll be prepared for whatever comes our way,” Polhemus said. “We need to look at it over the next couple of weeks if that volume might affect us.”
Officials at St. Alexius have added one more nurse to the staff, said Cyndi Alexander, assistant vice president of marketing and patient relations.
Alexander said via e-mail that the hospital expects 4,000 more ER patients a year because of Sherman’s move.
Overall, that’s less than a 10-percent increase; the hospital treats 50,000 people in their ER each year.
Copyright 2009 Paddock Publications, Inc.