Governor Quinn Announces $4.7 Million Investment in Central and Eastern Illinois Hospitals

URBANA – Governor Pat Quinn today announced $4.7 million in investments to hospitals in central and eastern Illinois, part of $24.3 million in the Illinois Jobs Now! capital construction program to address the critical needs of downstate health care institutions. The investments will create jobs and include $641,307 to Presence Covenant Medical Center and Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana for emergency room expansions. Today’s announcement follows Governor Quinn’s recent signing of a law that enacted the largest increase in health insurance coverage in state history, one of the Governor’s 2013 legislative priorities.

“It is crucial that hospitals have the most modern facilities and equipment to serve the health care needs of Illinois residents,” Governor Quinn said. “These investments will create good construction jobs while helping central and eastern Illinois hospitals provide better service and treatment to their patients.”

Presence Covenant Medical Center will receive $217,502 to remodel the hospital’s Emergency Department, including new automated entry doors, combined triage and emergency department exam rooms, expansion of the north exam room to accommodate three treatment bays, remodeling the existing nurse's station, constructing a new South nurse's station, and remodeling an existing area to accommodate a new procedure waiting area.

“This grant funding makes it possible for us to provide the very best care to our Emergency Department patients,” Presence Covenant Medical Center President and CEO Mike Brown said. “We are working hard to make today count for our staff, patients and visitors, and the funding will allow us to do that more efficiently and effectively.”

The $423,805 grant to Carle Foundation Hospital will help renovate the facility’s Clinical Decision Unit and expand their Emergency Room.

“We appreciate the grant funding made available to Carle through the Illinois Jobs Now! capital investment program,” Carle Foundation Hospital President and CEO James Leonard, MD said. “The grant funds in the Clinical Decision Unit helped modernize our space so we can provide efficient, time sensitive care plus facilitate decision-making and appropriate transitions to other hospital departments. We believe positive patient experiences lead to improved patient outcomes and a healthier community.”

So far under Governor Quinn’s Illinois Jobs Now! capital construction program, hospitals have received $150 million to address their critical health care needs.

Other central and eastern Illinois hospitals that will receive funding include:

Christian County
Pana Community Hospital, $172,385 for an electronic medical record system.
Taylorville Memorial Hospital, $187,977 to replace radiology equipment.

Coles County
Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center, Mattoon, $274,467 for a new MRI machine.

DeWitt County
Dr. John Warner Hospital, Clinton, $172,565 for a fire suppression system.

Edgar County
Paris Community Hospital, $172,812 to construct a Multi-Purpose Building.

Ford County
Gibson Community Hospital, Gibson City, $178,392 to acquire radiology equipment.

Iroquois County
Iroquois Memorial Hospital, Watseka, $191,735 for life/safety code upgrades.

Kankakee County
Presence St. Mary’s Hospital, Kankakee, $197,103 for a new telemetry unit and pharmacy renovation.
Riverside Medical Center, Kankakee, $303,902 to acquire a linear accelerator.

Logan County
Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital, Lincoln, $191,825 for new diagnostic equipment.

Macon County
Decatur Memorial Hospital, $282,856 for a new patient call system.
St. Mary’s Hospital, Decatur, $261,197 for anew Cardiac Catheterization Lab.

Montgomery County
Hillsboro Area Hospital, $172,677 for a new MRI machine.
St. Francis Hospital, Litchfield, $205,032 for an emergency generator upgrade.

Piatt County
Kirby Medical Center, Monticello, $170,427 for new medical equipment and IT upgrades.

Sangamon County
Memorial Medical Center, Springfield, $398,987 for new hospital beds.
St. John’s Hospital, Springfield, $551,222 to establish a Neuro-Interventional Lab.

Shelby County
Shelby Memorial Hospital, Shelbyville, $178,325 for IT upgrades.

Vermilion County
Hoopeston Community Memorial Hospital, $170,720 for surgery and ER equipment upgrades.
Presence United Samaritans Medical Center, Danville, $296,292 for exterior façade renovation.

Governor Quinn’s $31 billion Illinois Jobs Now! program is supporting more than 439,000 jobs over six years. Illinois Jobs Now! is the largest capital construction program in Illinois history, and is one of the largest capital construction programs in the nation.