Improved St. Alexius Medical Center ER gets Hoffman Estates' approval

Hoffman Estates village board members Monday unanimously approved an expansion and renovation of the emergency department at Amita Health St. Alexius Medical Center that is not intended to increase either the department's staffing level or patient capacity.

The project would construct a single-story annex addition and a new ambulance canopy for the existing 33,115-square-foot emergency department for the medical center at 1555 N. Barrington Road.

Representatives of St. Alexius told village officials the expansion is intended to address current operational issues like a lack of dedicated rooms for behavioral-health patients, a disjointed flow from triage into the department, and poor connection to pediatrics/observation pods.

The project will happen in phases in order to maintain full use of the emergency department throughout construction. Hoffman Estates Senior Planner Jim Donahue said he was told St. Alexius is aiming to get the project done in about a year.

The registration and triage areas will be reconfigured, while the rest of the emergency department will receive new furniture and finishes to make it all seem fresh without actually reconfiguring most of the rooms.

There will be an exterior change to accommodate an ambulance back-in space and six new overflow parking spaces for ambulances.

Though seven regular parking spaces are being given up for this change, vehicle and pedestrian access to the emergency department's entrance won't change during or after the construction project, St. Alexius representatives told the village.

As per village code, construction work will be limited to the hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends.