Lake Co. Hospital Loses Trauma Center Designation

LAKE COUNTY, IL — Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek and Lake County Health Department Executive Director Mark Pfister will hold a joint press conference Monday to address "investigation findings" regarding Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan.

The press conference comes after the Illinois Department of Public Health announced Friday that the hospital's Level II Trauma Center designation had been revoked "due to its absence of essential services needed to maintain this designation, including lack of a blood bank, anesthesia, neurology, urology, or a full time Trauma Coordinator."

At least one local politician decried the decision, stating people with serious injuries will now need to be transported to local hospitals more than 20 minutes away.

Sen. Adriane Johnson, D-Buffalo Grove, said government leaders need to find the root cause of the issue at Vista Medical Center and come up with solutions to fix the issues.

"Simply put: Without proper intervention, lives will be lost," Johnson said.

On Monday, Banek and Pfister will address "community impact and health systems implications regarding the investigation findings and recent actions taken by the Illinois Department of Public Heath (IDPH) in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) pertaining to Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan," according to a joint statement.

The press conference will be held at 3 p.m. Monday at the Lake County Health Department & Community Health Center, 3010 Grand Avenue in Waukegan.