Silver Cross Mental Health Hospital Plans Approved By State

NEW LENOX, IL — A state board approved a request from Silver Cross Hospital to build a psychiatric hospital in New Lenox. The Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board gave the nod to issue a certificate of need application for Silver Cross and US HealthVest to build the 100-bed hospital near on the Silver Cross campus near I-355.

Paul Pawlak, president and CEO of Silver Cross, says the soon-to-be-built Silver Oaks Hospital will fill a void for mental health services that's existed for years throughout Will and Grundy counties.

“While Silver Cross Hospital has had a 20 bed adult inpatient mental health unit for many years, we recognize that it is too small and because of that we cannot provide specialized services by patient condition,” Pawlak said. “By partnering with USHealthVest to build and operate this new hospital, we will be able to offer a full spectrum of inpatient and outpatient mental health and substance abuse services for youth, adults, and seniors so they can stay close to home for expert care."

A news release from Silver Cross indicates that one in four Americans suffer from a mental health condition and that a 2016 Will County Community Needs assessment indicated mental health has been identified as the top unmet need year after year. It is also a goal for the facility to address the area's substance abuse crisis by expanding both inpatient and outpatient services.

Construction on Silver Oaks Hospital will begin in the fall and should be complete in December of 2018, according to Silver Cross. It will be a 2-story, 68,000 square foot facility located on five acres on the west side of the hospital's campus at I-355 and Route 6.

Photo via Silver Cross Hospital