Joliet, Illinois
Joliet boasts extraordinary healthcare facilities. The Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center has the region’s only emergency room just for children, supported by a staff of pediatric physicians in 17 specialties. Through a partnership with the University of Illinois at Chicago, Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center provides neurosurgical services in the region as well as an open-heart surgery program.
Silver Cross Hospital is the biggest provider of dialysis in Will and Grundy Counties. Partnerships with Children’s Memorial Hospital, the Chicago Institute of Neurosurgery and Neuroresearch, and Parkview Musculoskeletal Institute have expanded Silver Cross services to the community.
Both the Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center and Silver Cross Hospital have emergency departments that are designated as Level II Trauma Centers. There are situations where other options will outweigh locality in choosing a hospital or physician. In those cases, Health Grades lists all of the hospitals in Illinois with ratings for specific procedures. The United Cerebral Palsy of Illinois website provides a wealth of information on health care, disabilities, and prevention of certain disabilities. Individual doctors in Joliet can be found and evaluated with UCompare Health Care, a free online database service. You can also refer to the Illinois Hospital Directory for contact and medical information.
Joliet, Illinois is a city in Will and Kendall Counties, located 40 miles southwest of the City of Chicago and is the county seat of Will County. The population of Joliet (2000 U.S. Census) is 106,221. Population estimates in 2008 identify Joliet as experiencing an incredible short-term increase to 152,812 residents, as it continues to be Illinois’ fastest growing city, as well as one of the fastest growing cities in the United States. All the right stuff, in the right place at the right time seems to be the formula for the sudden and massive growth in Joliet, IL. While much of this is planning and development know-how, a nod must be given to plain luck or fate.
The Empress Casino and Harrah’s Casino are a triple-play for Joliet in that these Riverboat-bound operations provide well-paying jobs, bring tourists and income to the area, and bring tax benefits to the state and local government coffers.
Joliet has always been a prosperous area. In 1673, French explorer Louis Joliet chose the area as an ideal settlement site. Joliet was attractive because of the fertile deltas of the Des Plaines River, the surrounding prairie soil, easily mined soft coal, and an ample supply of timber to harvest, and European settlers began to arrive in 1833. Joliet’s founding fathers discovered that the area was ripe with the abundant natural resources needed to farm, build homes, establish businesses, and build a new town.
When Interstate 355 opened to provide Joliet commuters with a direct route to the northwest and western suburbs of Chicago, it added the attractiveness of a well-endowed bedroom community for Chicago and opened local amenities to a whole new audience.
