La Grange Hospital Coronavirus Caseload Drops

LA GRANGE, IL — The La Grange hospital has turned a corner with its coronavirus caseload. Its top official said the number of patients at the hospital is now in the "single digits." That's down from more than 25 in early May.

Adam Maycock, interim CEO of Amita Adventist Medical Center La Grange, said the number was a moving target, but it's falling off.

"We're looking for the day that our entire community and really our country can say that COVID-19 has run its course," he said during the La Grange Village Board's virtual meeting Monday.

Now, the hospital is planning for how it transitions to the "new normal," Maycock said.

"Most of our visitor restrictions are still in place, but we're looking to lift some of those," said Maycock, who recently became interim CEO after Michael Murrill left to take a job in Georgia.

Maycock also said the hospital's surgical volume is starting to pick up. The emergency room, he said, is safe for people to visit, with coronavirus patients treated separately.

The Amita chain, Maycock said, recently invested $40 million in La Grange for outpatient services and a joint replacement center, which opened May 11.

"That investment is part of our commitment to being in this community for the long haul," he told the board.