the daily

Hospital's golf event raises more than $100,000

The La Grange Memorial Hospital Foundation raised more than $100,000 at its annual Golf Classic. The funds will be doubled with a matching grant from Community Memorial Foundation and will benefit the hospital’s Patient Care Center.

The outing began Aug. 17 at La Grange Country Club, but was rescheduled for Sept. 14 due to a rain delay. and included both a live and silent auction. Dr. Bonny Chen, an emergency room physician who treats patients at Adventist La Grange Memorial Hospital, and community member Tom Gleitsman served as co-chairs.

“We are so grateful to the community for their support of this event,” said Beth Leuck, executive director of the foundation. “In addition to raising financial resources to support our health services, we were able to increase awareness of the emergency department at Adventist La Grange Memorial Hospital.”

The philanthropic foundation supports capital endeavors and day-to-day needs at Adventist La Grange Memorial Hospital through fundraisers.

For more information on the La Grange Memorial Hospital Foundation, call Diane Lillwitz at (708) 245-2904.

Hospital's shocking gift may save commuters' lives

Commuters who use the La Grange Rd train station will soon have the means to provide immediate advanced treatment to victims of sudden cardiac arrest.

Village President Elizabeth Asperger Monday night announced that an automated external defibrillator—AED for short--will be installed at the station, one of the village's most heavily used locations.

The portable device, which delivers an electric shock to restore normal heart rhythm in cases of cardiac arrest, was donated by Adventist Health Systems in conjunction with St Jude Medical. Adventist owns and operates La Grange Memorial Hospital.

"The reality is that 150,000 people in this country [this year] will drop dead of a heart problem without any symptoms," Ted Paarlberg, regional executive for the Adventist Cardiovascular Network told village trustees at their Monday night meeting. Fewer than eight percent of victims survive because immediate treatment is not provided.

"To have this type of technology available is an absolute first step in recognizing that we really need to educate the public to the resources available to ameliorate these sorts of situations," Paarlberg said.

He noted that Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn in February called for AEDs to be readily available in all public places.

Mark Hermes, of Cardiac Science Inc, demonstrated for trustees how its AED can be used by almost anyone who follows simple step-by-step audio instructions that the device provides.

"It is our privilege and pleasure to make this donation to the community," Rick Wright, CEO of Adventist La Grange, said. "Much of our volume we get in our hospital comes through the ER [emergency room]. As a result of that, we are very dependent on a good working relationship [with the village and the public.]

Watch the video below to view highlights of the presentation and a demonstration of the AED.

Drop-off event to dispose of old medicines, syringes

La Grange residents seeking to dispose of expired or unwanted prescription medications, syringes and medical devices containing toxic materials such as mercury are encouraged to drop off those items to the Franklin Park police department this Saturday, Aug. 15, from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m.

Personnel from the Cook County Department of Environmental Control, along with other county and state agencies, will ensure that these hazardous materials are disposed of in a safe and appropriate manner.

The Franklin Park police department is located at 25th and Belmont Aves. The phone number is (847) 455-6663.

For additional information, including a list of what items will and will not be accepted, click here.

Cooling center opens in response to hot weather

A cooling center for village residents seeking relief from the hot weather has been set up at Adventist La Grange Memorial Hospital.

Extreme temperatures can be life-threatening to elderly adults and people with certain health issues.

The center is open on a walk-in basis to anyone. Those in need of the service should go directly to the hospital's main emergency room and ask security personnel to be escorted to the center.

The hospital is located at 5101 S Willow Springs Rd. Click here for directions.

Persons requiring emergency assistance should dial 9-1-1

Saturday is 'Cool Villages Day' at Reber Center

Helping  residents and officials from La Grange and neighboring communities learn clear, cost-effective ways to reduce their carbon footprints and help forestall climate change is the goal of  Cool Cities Day, an event being hosted Saturday, April 19, by the the League of Women Voters of the La Grange Area.

Featuring a resource fair and presentations for all attendees, and a workshop for local government officials, the event runs from 9 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. at the Reber Center on the north campus of Lyons Township High School, 100 S. Brainard Ave.

Representatives from organizations including Environment Illinois, the Sierra Club, the Center for Neighborhood Technology, and Local Governments for Sustainability will guide participants in understanding the extent of carbon emissions in Illinois as a whole, and learning strategies they can adopt for lowering those emissions.

League officials say officials and residents will be encouraged to commit to a plan for lowering emissions throughout the west suburban communities served by the League.

For additional information on Cool Villages Day, view the agenda and details on the League's website.

Smoking rules changed to comply with new State law

Exemptions in the Village of La Grange smoking ordinance—which allow smokers to light up in properly equipped bar areas of restaurants, as well as inside tobacco stores and the American Legion Hall—will be repealed Jan. 1 to bring Village regulations into compliance with a new State law, effective on that date, that bans smoking in virtually all public gathering places.

The Village Board Monday night approved several amendments to its smoking ordinance in order to mirror the State law but left intact certain provisions that are more stringent than what will be in force statewide.

Under the Village ordinance, smoking will continue to be prohibited within 20 feet of public doorways, open-air dining venues and ventilation intakes, as well as within 20 feet of unenclosed outdoor public venues such as parks, play areas and school grounds.

The State bans smoking only within 15 feet of those places.

"This we believe is somewhat forward-thinking, " Village President Elizabeth Asperger said. "It makes us stand out a bit among some of our neighboring municipalities, but it is an increased effort to protect the safety and health of our residents."

Mosquito spraying continues south of 47th St

Spraying of insecticide aimed at controlling the adult mosquito population will continue tonight in  neighborhoods south of 47th St and east of Kensington Ave, the Des Plaines Valley Mosquito Abatement District (DVPMAD) told La Grange officials today.

The operation is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. and be completed by midnight.

Abatement crews Monday night began spraying Village neighborhoods west of the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad.

The recent round of spraying was necessary,  DPVMAD officials said, after several thunderstorms last week dumped heavy rains on the area, creating numerous pools of still water that are prime breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

Mosquitoes locally have been known to spread West Nile Virus through bites on humans. In 2002, an epidemic of WNV in Illinois resulted in 884 human cases of the disease with 66 deaths.

 

Plan commission rejects hospital office proposal

A proposal to build a new medical office building on the campus of Adventist La Grange Memorial Hospital tonight was rejected by the La Grange Plan Commission.

Commissioners denied the hospital's application, which had been submitted as an amendment to the planned unit development permit first approved in 1969 and most recently updated in 2001, on grounds that it failed to adequately provide a long-range scenario for development on the campus.

The vote was applauded by several members of the audience, many of them residents of neighborhoods adjoining the hospital campus on S Willow Springs Rd.

Several residents used the public comment portion of the commission meeting to challenge Adventist officials on issues related to rainwater runofff and flooding, traffic and night-time light pollution.

LG hospital proposes new med offices for its campus

A new medical office building proposed by Adventist La Grange Memorial Hospital for its main campus will be the focus of the La Grange Plan Commission at a session scheduled for Nov. 14.

Plan commissioners will consider the hospital's request for approval of a site plan to erect a three-story, 42,000-square-foot building in the southwest corner of its property on S Gilbert Rd. The building would be connected to the hospital by an enclosed walkway. The proposed site currently is used for parking.

Click for larger image

The site plan was submitted to the Village's community development department this past summer, but action on the request was delayed pending receipt from the hospital of a master plan for land use on its campus. The master plan was delivered to the department last Friday.

Under the master plan, the hospital would demolish an existing professional office building once the new building is constructed, a scenario hospital offcials hope will occur by the end of 2007. Tenants of the existing building would be accommodated in the new facility.

The master plan also addresses other changes being considered by the hospital, including another addition to its main complex. Its most recent addition was a five-story, $80-million patient care center that opened in June.

The Plan Commission in 2003 approved the site plan for the patient care center without a master plan in place, but informed hospital officials at that time that a master plan would be a prerequisite to consideration of  any future proposed construction.

Hospital opposed on plan for off-site surgical center

An outpatient surgical center Adventist La Grange Memorial Hospital wants to build in Lyons was opposed by officials from MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn at a public hearing held Sept. 27 by the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board, according to a report in this weekend's edition of the Suburban Life newspaper.

MacNeal officials said the proposed $5.2 million dollar, multi-specialty Ambulatory Surgical Treatment Center, which would be located on First Ave south of Ogden, would draw patients away from its Berwyn facility, which has a long history of serving Lyons and surrounding communities.

Tim Cook, CEO of Adventist La Grange, told the Board that the center would allow patients to obtain same-day surgery close to home in a cost-effective manner. It also would free up operating room space at the La Grange hospital for inpatient procedures and persons admitted through the hospital's emergency room.

Representatives of several community groups, the mayor of Berwyn and three state legislators representing Lyons and nearby communities testified at the hearing that the proposed surgical center would have a negative impact on their constituents. They fear the center would skim off privately insured patients from MacNeal, leaving the hospital with a greater load of patients insured by Medicare or without any insurance at all.

The Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board likely will consider the proposal at its scheduled meeting Oct. 24 and 25, Suburban Life reported.