New 14,000 Square Foot Building For Jefferson Street in Joliet

JOLIET, IL — VNA Health Care, the largest community health center in the Chicago suburbs, broke ground Tuesday morning for its new 14,000 square foot health center on Joliet's west side.

The new facility, being built on land already owned by VNA at 1501 West Jefferson Street, will include 26 medical exam rooms, a wellness kitchen, waiting areas, laboratory, nursing stations and mental and behavioral health counseling rooms.

At the new facility, VNA physicians and nurse practitioners will offer family practice, obstetrics, pediatrics, and mental and behavioral health. VNA expects to serve 5,000 more patients and complete 25,000 more exams over the next 30 months.

According to a news release, Tuesday's event was attended by VNA President and CEO Linnea Windel, Joliet Mayor Bob O'Dekirk, State Representative Larry Walsh, Will County board members, representatives from Senator Dick Durbin and Congresswoman Lauren Underwood’s office.

“Today is an exciting day for VNA Health Care as we break ground on this new health center, which will allow us to better serve the Joliet community by providing even more residents with access to high-quality, affordable healthcare,” Windel remarked. “Community health centers play a vital role in our healthcare system, and we look forward to expanding our services and increasing our capacity for those in need through this new health center.”

To address the 31.5 percent of the Hispanic/Latino population in Will County that speaks English less than “very well,” VNA’s new Joliet location will offer all services in both English and Spanish with additional languages available through translation services, the VNA announced.

The new health center will also provide services including chronic disease management, access to cancer screenings like mammograms, benefits assistance, and nutrition education. VNA’s current Joliet location is in a leased space and all services will eventually move to the new location upon project completion.

The Jefferson Street facility is planned to open for services in 2023.