4 New Exterior Photos of the New Hospital

The new Sherman Hospital opens on December 15th and, as you might expect, it’s really taking shape. Here are four new photos of the exterior of the hospital. You can also view the photos in the gallery on our newly redesigned Future of Sherman site.

The New Geothermal Lake Page

Geothermal Energy is harnessed at the new Sherman Hospital

One of the main features of the brand new Future of Sherman website is the dedicated page solely devoted to the geothermal lake. The lake will use geothermal energy to heat and cool the new hospital, which will save around $1 million per year in energy costs. It’s the largest geothermal system in Illinois and one of only two systems heating and cooling a medical center in the entire United States.

To check out the brand new page, either click on the image above or click here. The new hospital opens in just 70 days, so be sure to check out the new features before it opens!

The Future is Now: Previewing the New Sherman Hospital

This article was taken from the Fall 2009 Destinations newsletter. To download a copy for yourself, all you need to do is click here!

For more than a century, Sherman Hospital has provided outstanding healthcare and service to the community. In just a few months, we will begin another chapter in our history and continue our mission of service at Randall and Big Timber roads in Elgin— home of the new Sherman Hospital.

“The new hospital will enable Sherman to better serve patients, build upon Sherman’s reputation as the area’s leader in healthcare services and allow us to provide quality healthcare well into the future,” says Rick Floyd, President and CEO of Sherman Health.

With 255 private patient rooms, everything about the new hospital is designed to make patients and their families as comfortable as possible. The facility features beautiful views of our 15-acre lake and forest preserve, while indoors the space is bright and open to better promote healing. Other features of the new hospital include the following:

• Reduced ER waits: The new emergency department will offer in-room check-in for reduced waiting times and greater patient comfort.
• Private baths, sleeper sofas: All patient rooms come with a private bathroom; many rooms include a sleeper sofa for family and friends.
• FREE Wi-Fi: Patients and families can stay connected with FREE wireless Internet access.
• New food options: Families and visitors can relax in the family lounge, enjoy complimentary snacks and drinks on every unit, and eat a healthy meal in our food-court style cafeteria.
• Comprehensive cancer care: The new stand-alone Cancer Care Center will offer a range of treatment options, including radiation oncology.
• Reduced energy costs: An environmentally friendly geothermal lake will help heat and cool the hospital, saving more than $1 million each year in energy costs while promoting green initiatives in the community.
• New immediate care center: The current Sherman Hospital at 934 Center Street in Elgin will be transformed into an immediate care center, which can treat minor injuries such as burns, broken bones, cuts, sprains and more.

Enlarged Space, Enhanced Healing: The new Sherman Hospital also features larger spaces to help doctors, nurses and staff work more efficiently. It will also help patients and visitors feel more comfortable, with a soothing environment that will boost healing. Among the expansions:

• Operating Room: At the new hospital, each OR room is more than 600 square feet, compared to only 400 square feet at the old hospital.
• Patient Rooms: At the new hospital, each private patient room is about 280 square feet, including a bathroom. At the Center Street campus, a typical double room was only about 215 square feet in size.
• Emergency Department: At the new hospital, the larger ER is more than 27,000 square feet. On Center Street, the ER was only 12,000 square feet.

The new Sherman Hospital opens December 15th. To read all kinds of new information on the progress, click here to visit the brand new, fully redesigned Future of Sherman website!

15-Acre Geothermal Lake Operational

For the last few years, the geothermal lake at the new Sherman Hospital site has been a large topic of discussion in the community and around the country. The lake will be used to heat and cool our new hospital, and save an estimated $1 million per year in energy costs.

Construction of the geothermal lake system was completed last summer, and the lake became operational for the first time at the end of April.

“Although the new hospital will not open until December, we activated the lake now so we have time to test and balance the system and make sure enough heat and cooling is distributed in the new building,” says Dawn Stoner, Project Coordinator at Sherman Hospital.

Our 15-acre geothermal lake is the only geothermal lake in Illinois and one of only two lakes currently heating and cooling medical centers in the U.S. In addition to saving an estimated $1 million per year in energy costs, the lake is safe, and the energy produced is a renewable resource that does not create greenhouse gases or pollution.

Sherman Awarded Grant for Geothermal Lake

Sherman Hospital Received Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation Grant.

Sherman Hospital was awarded a $400,000 grant from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation for its geothermal lake project at the new Sherman Hospital campus.

The Foundation supports projects to improve energy efficiency and develop renewable energy resources throughout Illinois. Overall, the foundation has awarded over $6 million in grants to advance the use of geothermal in Illinois. The Sherman Hospital grant is the foundation’s largest individual award to support a geothermal system.

Sherman was notified of the grant in 2006, and has received portions of the funding throughout the construction process. The grant will off-set a portion of the incremental construction cost of Sherman’s geothermal system, and to educate the community on geothermal energy.

“Illinois Clean Energy applauds and looks to Sherman’s leadership. By constructing the largest geothermal system in the state to provide its new building with conditioned air, Sherman Hospital is setting a “green” benchmark for how hospitals and large institutional energy users can cool and heat their facilities in an environmentally friendly way,” says Bob Romo,  Senior Program Officer, Illinois Clean Energy Foundation.