Lake Forest Hospital

Description

Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital is the leading provider of healthcare in Lake County We are committed to providing the highest quality healthcare and offer convenient access to services at our Lake Forest and Grayslake campuses and seven additional locations Dedicated to delivering personalized service and stateoftheart clinical services you and your familys health and wellness are always our top priority

Mission Statement
Lake Forest Hospital is committed to providing the communities we serve the highest quality health care through exceptional access to stateoftheart clinical services with compassionate and personal care

History

Our History
The Lake Forest Hospital Legacy
From its beginning in 1899 as the Alice Home Hospital on the campus of Lake Forest College and continuing since 1942 in its present location on the grounds of the former Dick family farm Lake Forest Hospital remains on the leading edge of medical technology and is committed to providing quality healthcare with a personal touch

Over the past 100 years and with the generous support of the community Lake Forest Hospital has grown into a 215bed notforprofit community hospital offering an unmatched continuum of healthcare services In addition to the medical office buildings on its main Lake Forest campus Lake Forest Hospital offers healthcare services at its Grayslake campus and other convenient area facilities and anticipates continued growth in the future

Initially governed by the threemember Hospital Association of Lake Forest leadership has grown to a board of directors with representatives from both the community and the medical staff

The Lake Forest Hospital Foundation includes

Lake Forest Hospital

Lake Forest and Lindenhurst Health amp Fitness Institutes

Dearhaven Child Care amp Learning Center

Westmoreland Nursing Center

Womens Auxiliary Board of Lake Forest Hospital

18991940 A Foundation of Caring
Lake Forest Hospital was founded on the tradition of giving Home to many of Chicagos premier business leaders and influential families the community of Lake Forest boasted nearly 2000 residents by the late 1890s At that time the nearest healthcare facility was located in Waukegan and it was a long trip by train

Dr Alfred C Haven the towns sole physician gained support among community leaders for building a hospital in Lake Forest Pastor GK McClure president of Lake Forest University met with Dr Haven and Mrs Henry Durand wife of the president of the Universitys board of trustees Mrs Durand agreed the healthcare needs of the community were not being met and submitted a proposal to the board along with 5000 to be used to build a hospital named quotAlice Homequot in memory of her sister Alice Burdsall Burhans

Medical science in the early 20th century faced a variety of challenges as vaccinations and antibiotics did not yet exist Additionally the rising population led to an increase in contagious diseases and the need grew to isolate infectious patients A separate contagious ward was built nearby in South Park in 1908 for this purpose

With continued growth in the community Alice Home expanded to keep up with demand A small addition to the hospital was built in 1912 Later separate quarters housed the nursing staff This building now serves as a dormitory for Lake Forest College students

During this time other additions to Alice Home included an operating room a separate maternity ward and an Xray facility all gifts from prominent Lake Forest families Contributions of time and money however were not the only ways community residents showed support

By the late 1930s the healthcare needs of the residents of Lake Forest were outgrowing those available through Alice Home so a number of alternatives were considered The cost to modernize the hospital rivaled the cost of new construction even so the wooden structure would remain a fire hazard Plus Alice Homes location made further expansion difficult Several sites for building a new hospital were considered but the AB Dick familys offer to donate their property for this purpose simplified the search

To increase community awareness and secure financial support for the new hospital a testimonialstyle pamphlet was distributed throughout Lake Forest Plans for the development of the hospital building soon followed Stanley Anderson a prominent local architect who had designed Lake Forest High School as well as numerous private residences was chosen to lead the project

19411968 A Time for Growth
In 1942 the new Lake Forest Hospital opened to serve the community With 41 beds the hospital provided most every major health care service available at the time Wartime shortages due to World War II were gripping the country however the hospital continued to operate efficiently due to the continued support and generosity of community residents Once again the women of Lake Forest stepped in to assist nurses and staff members with daytoday operations

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s community healthcare needs continued to grow as the hospital was now serving an even larger population base reaching out to residents from nearby towns that were beginning to develop at this time To keep pace with a growing patient base two new wings were added at the west end of the hospital in 1967

As medical technology advanced Lake Forest Hospital remained on the cutting edge acquiring the latest equipment for the diagnosis and treatment of disease In the late 1960s the hospital purchased its first piece of radiation therapy equipment a cobalt treatment unit an acquisition that was ahead of its time for a community hospital

Moving physician offices to the hospital campus made it more convenient for doctors and their patients but it also angered business owners who felt the lack of patient traffic downtown would deter businesses Instead the vacant office space allowed a variety of unique shops to open in the Market Square area of town

19691999 A Tradition of Quality Healthcare
The 88bed skilledcare facility Westmoreland Nursing Center was added to the hospital campus in 1975 to serve the growing healthcare needs of the community During this timeframe LFH continued to focus on expanding its service offerings to care for people at various stages in life

With the opening of the McGaw Medical Building in 1981 Lake Forest Hospital became the first comprehensive healthcare campus in the area and one of only a few in the state A critical care unitsurgery wing was added in 1983 and an additional oncampus facility the Bays Medical Building opened in 1992 to further serve patient needs

Another significant achievement allowing the hospital to broaden its service offerings included the 1986 opening of the first offcampus medical building in Vernon Hills This facility and others in Gurnee 1991 and Libertyville 1997 were built so patients could access quality care close to home

In order to fulfill its mission to expand beyond the traditional focus of medical care the Lake Forest Hospital Foundation expanded its service offerings to include Dearhaven Childcare amp Learning Center in 1989 The Lake Forest Health amp Fitness Institute opened on the hospital campus in 1994 to focus attention on wellness and prevention efforts and expand rehabilitation efforts In efforts to expand wellness and prevention efforts into Lake County the Lindenhurst Health amp Fitness Institute opened in 2000

In 1997 the new Patient Services amp Health Education Center was named in memory of A Watson Armour III a longtime benefactor of the hospital The facility offers outpatient medical services as well as a stateoftheart health education conference center The Armour Charitable Trust represents the largest single gift ever received by Lake Forest Hospital and will benefit Lake County residents for years to come

With the help of funds from Among Friends benefits Lake Forest Hospital purchased a stateoftheart linear accelerator in 1998 to help treat patients with advanced cancer

After the millennium longstanding philanthropists at the hospital launched a campaign to build a new womens hospital This group of committed supporters raised 15 million to support the construction of a beautiful new maternity center with a special care nursery as well as a comprehensive breast care center The Hunter Family Center for Womens Center and the Posy Krehbiel Breast Care Center are named for the donors whose generosity resulted in the creation of a facility offering the finest care for women in the area