West Suburban Hospital Medical Center Officially Separates From Loyola University Health System.

OAK PARK, Ill.--(BW HealthWire)--June 29, 1999--

West Suburban Hospital Medical Center in Oak Park has officially ended its three year formal affiliation with Loyola University Health System (LUHS). As a result, the Hospital has returned to its 85-year heritage as an autonomous organization governed by its own community-based Board of Directors.

"This marks the end of a long process that West Suburban Hospital initiated," said Kenneth J. Douglas, chairman of West Suburban Hospital Medical Center and former vice chairman of Loyola University Health System. "Our board and medical staff sought an end to our affiliation with Loyola University Health System for several reasons. We wanted to maintain a strong focus on our local community, be responsive to the specific health needs of our patients, reestablish community-based governance and management, and continue to serve as a non-sectarian health care provider."

West Suburban Hospital Medical Center has established a 13-member Board of Directors comprised of community residents and medical staff leaders. "This shift back to local governance is important because it allows us to make decisions based solely on the needs of our local community," explains Douglas.

West Suburban Hospital Medical Center maintains a significant presence in the community through an extensive network of care including 30 ambulatory and primary care offices, three immediate care centers, a home health and hospice agency, and a Center for Cancer Care. "We have a clear direction for our future and we're now in a better position than ever to respond to the needs of our community," said David M. Cecero, president and CEO of West Suburban Hospital Medical Center.

The network, known collectively as West Suburban Health Care, combined for more than 260,000 patient visits in 1998. This includes 207,178 outpatient and ambulatory visits as well as 2,300 births in the Irvin & Margaret Houck Family Birthing Centre. This extensive network of care includes sites located in eight western Cook County suburbs as well as the city of Chicago.

The disaffiliation was approved by the Loyola University Health System Board of Directors in February and the Loyola University Chicago Board of Trustees in March. On May 20, the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board approved West Suburban's request for a change of ownership exemption.

A teaching hospital, West Suburban maintains one of the country's first family medicine residency programs and one of the largest such programs in Illinois. The Hospital also offers residency programs in internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, and a transitional program. In addition, West Suburban maintains one of the only maternal-child health fellowship programs in the country. West Suburban is also home to the Concordia University West Suburban College of Nursing, the top ranked four-year baccalaureate nursing program in the United States.

The West Suburban Health Care network, which includes West Suburban Hospital Medical Center, includes 2,400 employees, approximately 400 physicians, and 80 residents and fellows.

A more complete media kit, including background information, Board Member biographies, a graph of the new network of care, and a map of West Suburban Health Care sites is available by calling the West Suburban Health Care community relations department at 708-763-6703.