New law means more stay-at-home ER care for Plainfield, Will County residents

PLAINFIELD – Under a bill that became state law this summer, Freestanding Emergency Centers like the Edward Plainfield 24/7 ER at 24600 W. 127th St. are now able to accept certain Advanced Life Support (ALS) patients via ambulance.

Previously, all ALS patients had to be taken to an ER at the site of a full-service acute care hospital.

House Bill 4388, with primary sponsors Rep. Grant Wehrli (R – Naperville) and Sen. Michael Connelly (R – Naperville), was signed into law on August 5 by Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner. Other sponsors of the bill included Rep. Mark Batinick (R – Plainfield) and Sen. Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant (D – Plainfield).

For example, before the new law went into effect, if a patient from Plainfield with a broken leg who was given IV medication for hydration or pain, Plainfield Fire Protection District paramedics would have been required to take the patient to Edward Hospital in Naperville (13 miles from the Edward Plainfield campus) or another hospital in the area for treatment.

The new law allows the patient to be transported to the Edward Plainfield 24/7 ER, something that also benefits the fire department and community.

ALS patients with more severe injuries or life-threatening conditions, such as possible strokes or heart attacks, would still be taken to Edward Hospital or other hospital-based ERs in the region.

In 2015, Edward Hospital’s two ERs treated nearly 98,000 patients – 69,476 in Naperville, 28,309 in Plainfield – among the most for hospitals in the Chicago area and state of Illinois.

For more information about Edward-Elmhurst Health's emergency and immediate care services in the west and southwest suburbs, visit www.eehealth.org/services/emergency.