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Description

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Celebrating its 90th anniversary Oak Forest Hospital with more than 600 beds provides the rehabilitation chronic disease and longterm link in the Bureaus continuum of care Located on a spacious 340acre campus in the southwest corner of Cook County the hospital meets the needs of patients who require medical care and skillstraining in a longterm setting

Oak Forest Hospitals inpatient services include longterm intermediatesupportive care skilled nursing care subacute care comprehensive rehabilitation and acute care units Specialty programs include ventilator palliative and AIDS units as well as brain injury rehabilitation pain management and vocational services Oak Forest was one of the first hospitals in the state to establish a program for ventilatordependent individuals persons who cannot breathe on their own The facility now cares for an average of 3035 patients with ventilator needs who require intensive monitoring and oversight

The rehabilitation unit which provides comprehensive inpatient therapy and medical services to people with physical and cognitive disabilities is accredited by the Commission on the Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities During an inpatient stay a comprehensive team of rehabilitation specialists assists patients in maximizing their abilities Restoring physical and cognitive skills after a stroke for instance can involve physical occupational speech recreational and vocational therapies as well as nursing and psychology The team is led by a physiatrist a physician specializing in physical medicine and rehabilitation

The unit is a vital step between acute care and return to the community for persons with disabilities Followup outpatient therapies and services are provided to assist people in living full and active lives after they are discharged

Consistent with the Bureau of Health Services emphasis on meeting community needs Oak Forest is a specialty hospital that also is keenly responsive to the evolving health concerns of its area residents In the past few years Oak Forest has initiated programs in Oncology maternal fetal medicine and pain management for example To stem a high incidence of breast cancer in the community Oak Forest implemented mammography services which received a threeyear accreditation from the American College of Radiology Due to the increased number of persons being screened at three affiliated outpatient clinics managed by the Ambulatory and Community Health Network cancer is being detected earlier and more frequently As a result Oak Forest added an oncologists to treat patients closer to home

Because of the growing outpatient utilization at the nearby Ambulatory and Community Health Network sites the Network operates an After Hours Care Center on the Oak Forest campus which is accessible on evenings and weekends More subspecialty clinics have also been established onsite to diagnose and treat diverse medical problems

Oak Forest rehabilitates a growing number of teenagers who are paralyzed by gunfire many of whom require ventilator care Consequently Oak Forest provides agespecific social and psychological support for the special needs of these adolescents Hospital staff members have also taken a lead in creating programs to reduce gun violence A group of longterm patients who are gunshot survivors participate in the quotMy Life My Choicesquot program They speak out in various settings encouraging young people to shun the world of gangs and violence Oak Forest also sponsors a number of other antiviolence initiatives including a violence prevention health fair for high school students

As a specialty hospital Oak Forest complements the tertiary care services of Cook County Hospital and the community services of Provident Hospital For example in addition to the consolidation of Bureau of Health Services rehabilitation services under Oak Forest leadership the Oak Forest Audiology Department assists with hearing aid testing at Provident Hospital Also the Oak Forest nursing staff developed a wound care program to ensure that persons with limited mobility do not develop chronic skin problems The program is currently being expanded throughout the Bureau

Oak Forest Hospital plays a crucial role in providing access to longterm care and rehabilitation services for patients of other Bureau affiliates For example as part of the Bureaus initiative to make services more convenient and accessible family members and visitors are now provided courtesy transportation between Cook County Provident and Oak Forest Hospitals In this way Oak Forest ensures that patients with specialized needs and their families receive exceptional services without having to leave the Bureau system of care It is another way that the Bureau brings the full continuum of care to communities throughout Cook County

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History

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The History of Cook County Hospital
Great Beginnings
1835
Cook County Hospital traces its origins to the Board of Commissioners who establish the Poor House providing free medical care to indigents

1847
The Poor House is unable to meet population needs At Kinzie and State the County rents Tippecanoe Hall becoming the Cook County Hospital

184849
Tippecanoe Hall closes in 1850 Its poor patients go to Illinois General Hospital of the Lake a public hospital founded by doctors and laymen

1851
The Sisters of Mercy take control of the Illinois General Hospital

1852
The hospital incorporates as Mercy Hospital and Orphan Asylum The County sends its indigents to this hospital and pays for their care

1864
The Chicago Medical Society reports that the Poor Farm provides inadequate care The report recommends the County procure the former city hospital from the US Government and utilize it as a medical facility for indigents

1865
The US Army discharges its last patients from the hospital and returns it to the County Dr George Amerman was elected to the Board of Commissioners and was instrumental in the push for the establishment of a County hospital Dr Amerman is considered the Father of Cook County Hospital

1835
1866 Cook County Hospital opens in January when 12 patients arrive from the Poor Farm and from Mercy Hospital

186671
The hospital serves between 1400 and 1500 patients per year

1872
The Hospital Committee recommends that the County Board construct a new hospital on a more desirable location

1874
The County Board purchases the property at Harrison Wood Polk and Lincoln Streets for 145000 the location of the current hospital

1875
In March the Board votes to build a new hospital for 700000

1876
The new hospital opens consisting of two medical pavilions laundry morgue kitchen boiler house and a bed capacity of 300

1884
CCH expands to two additional pavilions a clinical amphitheater and an administration building The hospitals bed capacity grows to 500600 The year the hospital treats 5934 patients

1910
The hospital treats 34000 patients Overcrowding is a problem and the facility is old and needs repairs The County Board votes to build a new 656 bed hospital at a cost of 3 million

1914
The new facility opens and is the current Main Building of CCH Dr Karl A Meyer heads the hospital from 19141967 Meyer sets the standard for excellent medical training programs and medical advancements both during his tenure and continuing today

1917
The Main Building adds two new pavilions giving the hospital a total bed capacity of 2000

1925
The hospital treats nearly 42000 patients A new building program begins at a cost of 25 million

1928
CCH adds a childrens hospital mens hospital new morgue and a receivingadmitting building The hospitals bed capacity increases to 3400

1929
The Cook County School of Nursing opens in the former Illinois Training School for Nurses now the site of Pasteur Park

1935
The School of Nursing moves to 1900 W Polk The school provides nursing services until 1971 when the department transfers to the hospital A diploma program in nursing education is available until it closes in 1980

1937
The worlds first blood bank opens at Cook County Hospital Blood bank founder Dr Bernard Fantus opens a blood bank preservation laboratory

1939
The County acquires the West Side Hospital at Harrison and Wolcott Streets

1940
The County reopens the West Side Hospital at Fantus OutPatient Clinic named in memory of Dr Bernard Fantus

1943
Hektoen Institute opens in the former John McCormick Institute for Infectious Diseases on South Wood Street After razing the building in 1961 the current Hektoen Institute opens in 1964 at the same location

1953
The Midwests first cobaltbeam therapy unit opens for cancer patients at Cook County Hospital It was only one of three in the US

Karl A Meyer Hall opens providing residence facilities for house staff physicians

1955
A new central diagnostic xray department opens with the worlds first radiographic rooms especially designed for highly technical examinations of the chambers of the heart blood vessels the brain for tumors and sectional depth body studies

The hospital receives its first threeyear accreditation from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations

1961
Fantus OutPatient Clinic moves to Harrison and Winchester Streets and reopens as Fantus Health Center in 1972 The current facility houses 99 clinics

1967
Robin Dean Heliport opens named after a former fiveyearold female patient

1973
A separate Emergency Room opens

Dr Boone Chunprapah becomes the first doctor to successfully reconnect four completely severed fingers from a mans hand

CCH becomes the first hospital to use an all frozen blood banking system

1983
Ron Sable MD and Renslow Sherer MD found Chicagos first HIVAIDS clinic

1984
Fantus Health Center opens the new Ambulatory Screening Clinic

1991
The Adult Emergency Room is renovated It is one of the nations largest and busiest Adult ER treats over 110000 patients annually Pediatrics ER treats 45000 children and adolescents each year

1993
The HIVAIDS clinic was renamed the SableSherer Clinic The clinic treated onethird of Cook Countys HIVAIDS patients

1994
Cook County Hospital establishes a medical school affiliation with RushPresbyterianSt Lukes Hospital

The Trauma Center receives a renovation CCH is home to the citys busiest trauma center

Cook County receives a Certificate of Need CON from Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board approving construction of a new hospital

1998
The Cook County Board of Commissioners takes the final steps in the approval process voting to accept a contract to construct a new hospital County government elected officials health and civic leaders hold groundbreaking ceremonies for the new Cook County Hospital The new hospital will be a 464bed stateoftheart comprehensive facility scheduled for completion in 2002 Additionally construction begins on a new energy efficient central power plant for the hospital campus

Cook County Hospital addresses its chronic parking problems with the completion of a 1340car parking structure known as Phase I Future plans include Phase II that will add two floors creating 2100 total parking spaces