Naperville, Illinois
As with most large population centers, Naperville, Illinois has a large base of hospitals, doctors and health care organizations, and the variety of choices can be confusing. 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 Naperville 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.
Edward Hospital, located near Naperville’s downtown section, is the primary hospital for the city. Edward Hospital has separate, in-neighborhood facilities for many of the issues you might go to different hospitals for, such as their cancer center, diabetes center, imaging services, and health and fitness centers. Edwards Hospital has the most preferred cancer treatment center in the area and recently opened a second cancer facility in Plainfield, Illinois.
Assisting the health care situation are hospital-affiliated medical offices located in Naperville, provided by hospitals in neighboring cities, such as Central DuPage in Winfield and Advocate Good Samaritan in Downers Grove.
Naperville, Illinois is spread across the counties of DuPage and Will. It is part of the Greater Chicago suburbs and is part of the Chicago Metropolitan Statistical Area. As reported in the U.S. Census of 2000, the city had a total population of 128,358. The 2006 estimate shows a population increase of 11.1% with 142,901 residents. Subsequent unofficial tabulations continue to suggest population increases.
Approximately two-thirds of Naperville, IL residents live in DuPage County, which contains the “downtown” area and was the original incorporated City of Naperville. The city expansion brought about the South Naperville section that is in Will county, where about one-third of the Naperville residents reside. Naperville has a total landmass of 35 square miles.
Naperville is the fifth largest city in the state, and was one of the 10 fastest growing cities in the country throughout the last decade of the 20th century. Naperville has ranked high on prestigious lists, such as 29th out of 100 among the “Best Places to Live and Launch a Business” in the United States, according to Fortune Magazine in 2008. Naperville is number two on the 2006 Money Magazine annual list of “Best Small Cities to Live In,” and number three on the same list in both 2005 and 2008.
Naperville claims the lowest crime rate for a city its size in America, thanks to a 181-officer Police Department, which, along with their Fire Department, are each fully accredited. The city has nine fire stations in key locations throughout the community, and 187 full-time firefighters, more than half of whom are also licensed paramedics.
Naperville evolved in the 1990s into a wealthy city, partly due to a migration of professionals seeking jobs at relocated and new high-tech companies. Many of these new age employers are located inside the Naperville city limits. Tellabs, Inc. and Alcatel-Lucent, both major telecommunications infrastructure suppliers, are prime examples in their field. NALCO Holding Company, a worldwide provider of water and chemical handling processes and equipment, has their corporate headquarters in Naperville.
The Naperville Park District maintains several thousand acres of neighborhood parks, sports fields, bike trails and walking paths all well-suited to increase opportunities for healthy outdoor exercise.
