OTTAWA – As part of an ongoing commitment to transform, preserve and sustain evolving health care along the entire I-80 corridor, OSF HealthCare plans to build a new inpatient hospital in Ottawa, Ill. 

OSF HealthCare intends to file a Certificate of Need (CON) application with the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board to build a new inpatient hospital facility to replace the current one in Ottawa. The new hospital will be built across the street, south of East Norris Drive (Route 6), on a vacant 31-acre plot of OSF-owned land.

The current OSF HealthCare Saint Elizabeth Medical Center was built in the early 1970s and is at the end of its useful life with infrastructure challenges necessitating this decision. 

“Over the past decade, OSF HealthCare has sustained and grown quality health care services in and around Ottawa,” says August Querciagrossa, CEO of the Western Region for OSF HealthCare. “When the new hospital is built, it will be reimagined as levels and types of services offered are realigned throughout the I-80 corridor. Our intent across all our I-80 communities is to ensure current and future generations have access to care locally.” 

OSF HealthCare expects to submit the application to the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board by the end of March with approval for the new facility anticipated by the end of 2024. A tentative opening date is expected in late 2027.