NorthPointe Neighborhood Hospital project faces setback

At its October 29 meeting, the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board denied Beloit Health System’s application to establish NorthPointe Neighborhood Hospital, a proposed 10-bed acute care facility located at 5605 East Rockton Road in Roscoe, Illinois. The project was estimated to cost $20,760,312, with an expected completion date of October 2027.

Beloit Health System argued that the new facility would improve access to inpatient and emergency services for residents of the Stateline area, reducing travel times for those currently needing to go to Rockford or Beloit for emergency care.

The Beloit Daily News reported that only six of the eleven board members attended the meeting but only one of them voted in favor of the hospital. 

At a public hearing on August 13, 2024, more than 220 people registered their attendance, with 35 speaking in support of the project and 21 in opposition. The board received 220 letters supporting the proposal and 138 letters opposing it. 

The board's staff report said the mini hospital wasn't needed, citing an excess of 94 medical-surgical beds in the B-01 Hospital Planning Area. But that includes Boone and Winnebago Counties and parts of DeKalb and Ogle Counties. According to the staff, the area’s medical-surgical patient days have decreased by 6.38% over the last five years, with a 1.13% population decrease expected by 2026.

Beloit Health System disputed the inclusion of beds from facilities like UW Health Belvidere, which is not currently accepting patients, in the bed count, arguing that these beds should not be factored into the planning area’s capacity. Additionally, Illinois regulations require a minimum of 100 beds for hospitals in metropolitan statistical areas, a threshold the proposed 10-bed facility did not meet. 

Dr. Roger Kapoor, Senior Vice President of Beloit Health System, expressed disappointment with the Board’s decision but affirmed the organization’s commitment to the project, noting that they intend to address the Board’s feedback and resubmit the proposal at the next scheduled meeting in January 2025. 

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