Dixon’s OSF HealthCare Saint Katharine announced Thursday its 2026 plans to expand family-planning services and offer virtual care options and a digital patient portal system.

OSF HealthCare detailed those plans in a Thursday news release that marked the first anniversary of its Jan. 1, 2025, merger with the former KSB Hospital in Dixon.

KSB’s dwindling finances led it to seek affiliation in February 2024, and it signed an agreement with OSF in May 2024 that included $40 million to renovate facilities and improve access to general and specialty care.

[ Ceremony marks completion of Dixon’s KSB Hospital, OSF HealthCare merger ]

“As we celebrate our first year with OSF HealthCare, I’m deeply grateful for the trust and support of the communities we serve,” OSF Saint Katharine President Jackie Kernan said in the release.

In 2026, OSF Saint Katharine plans to grow its family-planning/obstetrics care services by hiring more providers and offering additional classes and groups for moms. It also will open an OSF OnCall Urgent Care in the summer, which will offer virtual care options, according to the release.

OSF also plans to implement an electronic health record system called Epic, which features a digital patient portal, according to the release.

“This partnership has strengthened access to care, brought new resources to our teams, and affirmed our shared commitment to compassionate service,” Kernan said.

Reflecting on 2025, its first year in the Sauk Valley area, OSF highlighted its accomplishments. Those included its Sterling clinic that opened Oct. 13, hiring a new surgeon and midwife – Drs. Andrew Feyh and Dana Hoffman – for that clinic, successful residency programs, and community initiatives such as a support group for moms that had to move its meetings to the Dixon YWCA in June to accommodate for the increasing number of attendees, according to the release.

OSF HealthCare, headquartered in Peoria, operates 16 hospitals throughout Illinois and Michigan. It operates OSF OnCall, a digital health-operating unit; OSF Home Care Services, an extensive network of home health and hospice services; the OSF HealthCare Foundation; and OSF Ventures, which provides investment capital for promising health care innovation startups.