Healthcare To Expand To Aurora's East Side With New VNA Clinic

AURORA, IL — Aurora is ushing in a new era of healthcare, as officials held a historic lease-signing ceremony Wednesday to bring a new affordable clinic to the old Copley hospital.

VNA Health Care will open at the site that was once abandoned and vacant for about 25 years and is now the mixed-use development campus called Bloomhaven. The campus is also home to Weston Bridges, which opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in September 2022, making it the Chicago area's first independent apartment community for people with intellectual, cognitive and developmental disabilities, Patch reported.

The campus is also home to Bardwell Residences, an independent living community for seniors, and the central offices for East Aurora School District 131.

Fox Valley Developers, consisting of three sets of brothers raised in Aurora, is spearheading the multi-phase project for which approximately 340,000 square feet of space were remediated and restored. A $128.5 million investment was made for the project, which included about $9 million in city incentives, according to reports from the Chicago Tribune.

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VNA Health Care currently operates three clinics in Aurora, serving almost 30,000 residents each year, according to Chief Communications Officer Clayton Muhammad.

The $7 million buildout for the new medical center covering more than 26,000 square feet will feature at least 30 exam rooms, procedure rooms, mental health counseling rooms, therapy centers and a full-service pharmacy. Services offered will span family practice and internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, psychiatry and counseling, podiatry, and doula support, among others.

"As the lease is signed today, a new lease on life, health, and wellness is being signed for children, parents, and families in our community," Mayor Richard Irvin said. "Words cannot express how grateful I am to all of our partners for making this a top priority and keeping our eyes on the prize."

The new clinic is expected to open next summer, city officials said.

Editor's note: This article was updated to correct Michael Shales' name after officials provided updated information.