MAYWOOD, Ill. -- Loyola University Health System is bringing its nationally recognized physicians and services to the heart of the west and southwest suburbs.
The Loyola Center for Health at Burr Ridge, opening March 7, is the largest academic medical center outpatient facility in the Chicago suburbs. It will include primary care, rehabilitation services and specialty care, such as orthopaedics and neurology.
Burr Ridge also will have an Immediate Care center, where a patient can see a physician with no appointment and minimal waiting for such conditions as an ankle sprain or the flu. Immediate Care will be open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends.
Parking is free. There's Wi-Fi throughout the 100,000-square-foot building, an optical shop and hearing center and a café serving baked goods, sandwiches and fresh-brewed gourmet coffee.
Loyola is expecting 150,000 patient visits per year. Patients will have easier access to a comprehensive range of health-care services, without having to drive to Loyola's main campus in Maywood. The one-stop model of care will enable patients to get all their services in one visit. For example, a back pain patient could get an MRI and see a specialist and a physical therapist, all on the same day.
Unlike most outpatient centers, the Burr Ridge center will have very little space for waiting rooms. An innovative care model will significantly reduce waiting times and improve patient flow. Registration and insurance verification will occur before the visit, so patients avoid long waits at check-in. A medical assistant will accompany the patient throughout the visit. This assistant will, for example, help transcribe information into the medical record, provide educational materials and schedule future appointments.
An entire side of the building is glass. Natural lighting fills the atrium and provides a panoramic view of the outdoor pond and landscaping. Sliding doors to exam rooms make it easier to negotiate wheelchairs and walkers. And radiology equipment will be located in clinical suites. Thus, an orthopaedic patient could go from an exam room to a radiology room and back without getting on an elevator or even crossing a hall.
Loyola Center for Health at Burr Ridge is located at 6800 N. Frontage Rd., just off County Line Road and the Stevenson and Tri-State expressways. It is convenient to other Loyola outpatient centers in Hickory Hills, Homer Glen, Oakbrook Terrace and Wheaton. (Loyola's primary-care center in Darien, and its physicians, will relocate to the third floor of the Burr Ridge center on July 1.)
More than 70 physicians will practice at Burr Ridge. Some will be full time, while others will split their time between Burr Ridge and other Loyola sites. Burr Ridge doctors will include many of Loyola's best and brightest physicians, who are national leaders in research, education and patient care, said Dr. Terry Light, chairman of Loyola's Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, who will practice at Burr Ridge.
"Many of our physicians live in Burr Ridge and surrounding communities," Light said. "They are delighted to have a center close to their homes, where they can practice and take care of their neighbors."
These are among the services that will be offered at the Loyola Center for Health at Burr Ridge:
Musculoskeletal Care. Orthopaedics, sports medicine, podiatry, physical medicine and rehabilitation.
Neurosciences. Spine Center, Ophthalmology, otolaryngology, neurology, psychiatry and neurosurgery.
Specialty care. Sinus and Allergy Center, Osteoporosis Center, Diabetes Center, Travel Clinic, executive health, pulmonary medicine, endocrinology, rheumatology, infectious diseases and complementary and integrative medicine. Cardiovascular services will begin in July.
Surgery. General, vascular, oral, gynecologic and bariatric.
Rehabilitation. Physical, occupational and speech therapies; aquatic therapy and day rehabilitation for patients recovering from stroke and brain injuries. Cardiac rehabilitation will be available this summer.
Clinic for Sleep Disorders. Four private rooms for diagnostic sleep studies.
Pain Management. Offering a comprehensive approach to treating acute and chronic pain.
Infusion therapy. Administration of intravenous medications, available for both Loyola patients and referred patients.
Comprehensive imaging. X-ray, MRI, CT, fluoroscopy, bone scans, ultrasound and digital mammography available both for Loyola patients and referred patients.
Laboratory. Point-of-care blood and urine tests available for Loyola and referred patients. The lab also can obtain specimens for more thorough testing at Loyola University Hospital.