Why doesn't Galena have a hospital? (Chicago, Rockford: transfer, neighborhood, living in)

[christianstad]

Is it too small? Too rural?


I would love to move there, town or Territory but not without a hospital in town.


Thank you.

[jasperhobbs]

Originally Posted by christianstad

Is it too small? Too rural?


I would love to move there, town or Territory but not without a hospital in town.


Thank you.

Galena has a hospital, Midwest medical center link below. Not that old with a fitness center and assisted living unit recently built connecting to the hospital.

Midwest Medical Center - Compassionate Care Close to Home

[BOBNCHI]

And Dubuque is only about 10 miles away with 5-6 hospitals or urgent care facilities.

[christianstad]

Thanks but I mean a real 24 hospital with an ER - a place to go if you have an emergency like a heart attack or stroke. Not at all interested in going to Dubuque for emergency services.

[deeman7]

Only going off the website, it looks like that hospital has a 24/7 ED? Emergency Care

Not sure what else you'd expect for a small town with a small city 10 minutes away. Seems sufficient to me.

[atler8]

Originally Posted by christianstad

Thanks but I mean a real 24 hospital with an ER - a place to go if you have an emergency like a heart attack or stroke. Not at all interested in going to Dubuque for emergency services.

Well, if that's the case, then you should focus on finding a community or a neighborhood in an urban area where you would be situated only a matter of a few minutes away from a major medical center. Better yet, near a level 1 trauma center (which are relatively rare, especiaily in rural America).

FYI: The center of Dubuque is only 16 miles from the center of Galena and access to Dubuque and it's multiple, excellent medical facilities is gained via the 4 lane U.S. Highway 20.

You do realize that millions of Americans who live in large urban areas happen to live further than 16 miles from a major medical facility, right?

All of which begs the question of why are you asking about Galena in the first place? Are you looking for a small town like it?

[Hiruko]

I've been to Midwest and they have trauma capabilities. I'm baffled by the OP's concerns.

[christianstad]

Now when I contacted Midwest I'm sure they told me that heart attack procedures had to go to Dubuque and as we all now every minute counts


I live in the city and 'am about 3 miles away from Weiss Memorial and 5 miles from Northwestern.

[DriftlessExplorer]

Originally Posted by christianstad

Now when I contacted Midwest I'm sure they told me that heart attack procedures had to go to Dubuque and as we all now every minute counts


I live in the city and 'am about 3 miles away from Weiss Memorial and 5 miles from Northwestern.

Hmm. I have different information. Maybe some deeper insight. Maybe it will be helpful for you or others who stumble upon this thread titled with a loaded question. I'm an EMT in the area. I've worked and brought patients into Midwest hospital in the midst of all types of emergency situations from traumas to strokes to full cardiac arrests. Allow me to correct a few items?

Galena does have a hospital. It is real. As others have indicated it's called Midwest Medical Center.

Midwest Medical Center does have a 24 hour emergency department / "ER"

Midwest Medical Center does not have a cath lab. If you are in the midst of an MI (heart attack) you'll either go to Midwest for stabilization and then transport to or direct ground transport to UnityPoint Finley in DBQ or MercyOne DBQ (most likely the latter, especially if this is what's requested to EMS). If I was in the midst of an MI I'm okay with the 15 extra minutes considering where I live. This is the nature of rural living anywhere, Galena is no different.

Midwest Medical Center does have clot-busting meds for strokes. If it's a major occlusion you'd need more advanced care - that means a helicopter flight to Rockford or elsewhere.

Midwest Medical Center is something called a "Critical Access Hospital". It is not a trauma level 1 facility like you'd find in Chicago. That's the deal with living in rural areas. If you want something like Northwestern Memorial (Chicago) in the town the size of Galena, you're usually going to be out of luck.

Midwest Medical Center does have a helipad. If you need a trauma center or other resource it doesn't provide it can get you where you need to go. I've used this helipad before, transfers are quick. I've also airlifted right from the scenes of traumas.

Bottom line and short version - yes of course it has a hospital appropriate for it's size. If you want high level medical care minutes away, rural living is most likely not for you. Nonetheless EMS does a good job of getting the resources you need moving (ground transport, ALS, CAH, air transport, etc).

[Chigal777]

I live in Lincoln Park Chicago. Half a block to St. Joseph and 3 block to Advocate Illinois Masonic.

But, please keep in mind that those 3-5 miles might take even longer to get to you with the traffic and late response in the city. Let there be another riot in Chicago, you won't even get through 911. That's exactly how it was the first weekend of the riot. I'm also considering moving to Galena. I'm going there on Thursday to check it out. Have you been there? What is it that draws you to the town so far from Chicago? My family thinks I'm crazy for wanting to move so far from the city but I just want peace and quiet. I'm done with this city spiraling out of control.

Originally Posted by christianstad

Now when I contacted Midwest I'm sure they told me that heart attack procedures had to go to Dubuque and as we all now every minute counts


I live in the city and 'am about 3 miles away from Weiss Memorial and 5 miles from Northwestern.