Almost 94 percent of Lake County residents questioned in a recent survey said a cardiac surgical program should be available at a hospital in the county.
The poll of 400 people was conducted by Market Facts Inc. and sponsored by Highland Park Hospital, which is one of several hospitals vying to be the first Lake County facility with an open-heart surgery program.
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Condell Medical Center in Libertyville and Provena St. Therese Medical Center and Victory Memorial Hospital in Waukegan also have expressed interest in establishing cardiac surgery programs.
Several hospitals, including Highland Park, have submitted applications, known as certificates of need, to the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board, which reviews plans involving major hospital expenditures and grants approval for such medical programs.
A hearing on Highland Park Hospital’s application is scheduled for Nov. 18 in Springfield.
According to the survey, 96 percent of the respondents said that the state should approve an open-heart surgery and angioplasty program for a Lake County hospital, and 78 percent said they didn’t know that a cardiac surgery program was not available in Lake County.