Supporters have Personal Reasons to Support Either Centegra or Mercy

Ken and Mary Kozy were a bit concerned about moving into a community without its own hospital.

But Sun City Huntley was where they wanted to be so they put any concerns behind them and purchased a home in the over 55 community off of Route 47.

Five years later, the couple is championing the idea of Centegra Health System building a 128-bed hospital in their hometown.

“We have a community of 7,000, 55 plus (residents) here. On average, we have a higher need for a hospital,” Ken Kozy said, adding a hospital would also benefit Huntley’s large population of families.

Mary and Ken are healthy, having needed an emergency room only once since they moved from Wheaton. Mary said Ken was bitten by a yellow jacket and went to Centegra’s Woodstock hospital emergency room about 20 minutes away.

“It would have been nice if there had been a closer hospital,” Ken said. If it had been a more serious situation,  he would want to have a hospital close by, he said.

Mary, who lost her sight at age 18, said Sun City Huntley is now 12 years old and many of the original residents are aging and developing some health problems. There is a need to have a hospital nearby so they can receive access to health care, she said.

A Centegra-Huntley hospital seems to have a lot of support among Sun City residents who have talked about the issue at neighborhood gatherings and block parties, Mary said. “I haven’t heard anyone who has said they don’t want it,” she said.

Centegra’s Certificate of Need application for a hospital at Haligus and Algonquin Roads has received 16,000 letters of support, said Susan Milford, Senior Vice President of Strategic Marketing and Planning and Wellness Services.

“One point that comes up clearly is people want convenient access to an emergency program,” Milford said.

Rich Gruber, Mercy Health System Vice President, did not have the number of letters of support Mercy received but he said the city of Crystal Lake has been a vocal supporter.

“The residents of the area have been incredibly supportive,” Gruber said. “We thank them for their generosity. It has been meaningful to us as we go through this process.”