OSF HealthCare St. Elizabeth Medical Center-Peru (Ill.), which opened its doors in 2024 after the facility closed under different ownership, is now in the third phase of its reopening.
The reopening is part of a regional healthcare model that positions the Peru campus as a central hub for the highest level of care.
The third phase entails opening additional inpatient services and developing the regional care model, Dawn Trompeter, OSF HealthCare St. Elizabeth Medical Center president, told Becker's. Elective scheduled surgeries are projected to begin in May, with obstetrics and ICU services transferring from OSF HealthCare St. Elizabeth's Ottawa, Ill., campus to Peru in August, as it is in the center of the market.
In the first phase in April, the Peru campus opened with an emergency department and two inpatient beds. In June, it expanded to 12 inpatient medical-surgical beds and outpatient services.
"With this regional model of care, we wanted to be very intentional in how we looked at each of our services with the limited amount of human and capital resources, and with our patients in mind," Ms. Trompeter said.
As part of the "hub-spoke model," Peru serves as a hub for wound care, supported by hyperbaric chambers and wound-certified physicians. Each facility, or spoke, in the region provides nursing and physician-led care for less complex cases, escalating to Peru for advanced treatments. The behavioral health hub will remain in Ottawa.
OSF HealthCare is also implementing remote radiology to address a limited number of radiologists in the region. Screening is offered at all facilities, while diagnostic imaging can be conducted remotely via telehealth in real time.
"This expands access for our patients and creates efficiency for our radiologists as well," she said.
Transparent communication with community members about service realignments and involving staff in decision-making has been key throughout the reopening process, Ms. Trompeter said.
"We've gone from a pandemic to two hospitals closing within six months next to us, being able to support all those communities and patients and their healthcare needs, and then realigning services," Ms. Trompeter said. "The work is exciting, and there's a purpose to it. We're wanting to ensure we have healthcare in these rural markets for another 100 years."