A group of 14 organizations related to the healthcare industry, philanthropy and one from the business community recently formed the steering committee of the Northeast Lake County Healthcare Futures Initiative (the Initiative).
Though the steering committee includes members from organizations in Zion, Barrington, Highland Park, and Grayslake, only four are from Zion, Waukegan, or North Chicago.
Led by the Lake County Health Department and Lake County Community Foundation, of the 14 steering committee members, five are hospitals but the only general hospital in northeast Lake County — Vista Medical Center East — is not among them.
The Northeast Lake County Healthcare Futures Initiative was created on May 21 in Lake County to guide the health department’s quintennial community health assessment and community health assessment plan.
A spokesperson for the steering committee said in a statement Tuesday that barriers to healthcare are more acute in the northeast part of the county with “higher rates of unemployment and Medicaid enrollment, as well as lower median household incomes.” These are barriers to healthcare access.
“In recent years, the region has also experienced notable instability in its healthcare landscape,” the spokesperson said. “County stakeholders are engaged in ongoing efforts to address these disparities and strengthen access to care for all Lake County residents.”
As for Vista’s absence from the steering committee, the spokesperson said the hospital’s leadership is aware of the Initiative.
“The steering committee represents the interest of the community in ensuring that healthcare continues to be available regardless of what decisions are made at Vista,” the spokesperson said.
A spokesperson for Vista confirmed the hospital leadership is aware of the Initiative and supports its efforts.
“We value the collaborative efforts of this initiative and remain committed to supporting opportunities that enhance healthcare access, improve community health, and strengthen the well-being of the residents we serve,” the Vista spokesperson said.
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Maggie Morales, the executive director of the Lake County Community Foundation, said in an email that though the Initiative is focused on northeast Lake County, access to care is an issue throughout the county.
“We are working to gain a clear understanding of the current healthcare landscape, including the experiences of residents, providers and healthcare systems,” Morales said in the email. All hospital leadership across Lake County has been informed of the Initiative.”
Representatives of all members of the steering committee were contacted for this story either by phone or email. Some did not respond, and others deferred to the steering committee spokesperson.
Vista was purchased by Los Angeles-area-based American Healthcare Systems (AHS) nearly three years ago from Quorum Health Corporation. Since AHS took over, it has invested money in the hospital but has failed to meet a number of financial obligations, including its property taxes.
Waukegan Mayor Sam Cunningham, who is not affiliated with the steering committee, said in an email Friday that the Initiative “represents a critical step in the right direction for healthcare access and the stability” of the hospital.
“By uniting regional healthcare partners, we are transitioning northeast Lake County away from crisis management and toward a collaborative, data-driven strategy,” Cunningham said in the email. “This coalition of healthcare partners gives us a definitive path forward to building the reliable, high-quality medical infrastructure that the residents of Waukegan and Lake County rightfully deserve.”
Not yet a month old, the Initiative “ brings together stakeholders to assess healthcare needs and challenges in northeast Lake County. The Initiative aims to build a shared understanding of the region’s current healthcare landscape and identify opportunities for the future,” according to the release.
“The goal of this project is to develop a shared, data-driven understanding of northeastern Lake County’s current healthcare state and challenges,” the steering committee said in the release.
Other members of the steering committee are Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital, Advocate Condell Medical Center, City of Hope Cancer Center, Endeavor Highland Park Hospital, Erie Family Health Centers, Healthcare Foundation of Northern Lake County, the Hunter Family Foundation, the Illinois Department of Public Health, Lake County Partners, Northwestern Medicine Catherine Gratz Griffin Lake Forest Hospital, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science and Schreiber Philanthropy.