ROCKLAND, Ill. ­— Mercyhealth recently held an official ribbon cutting for the new Javon Bea Hospital and Physician Clinic–Riverside, inviting hundreds of guests to the ceremony.

Mercyhealth CEO and President, Javon Bea was joined by Mercyhealth Board Chairman Rowland “Rollie” McClellan, as well as Illinois State Senator Dave Syverson, Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara, Winnebago County Chairman Frank Haney, Rockford Chamber of Commerce President Einar Forsman, and Rockford Area Economic Development Council CEO Nathan Bryant, who all commended the economic benefits of Mercyhealth developing a new, state-of-the-art hospital in the region as well as continuing the operations of a hospital on Rockford’s west side.

“Whether it was Harvard or Janesville or Lake Geneva or all the other locations, when Mercy comes into that community, you can count on increased health care services, more staffing, more investments being made, and in each of those communities you see improved outcomes,” said Dave Syverson, who has sat on Mercyhealth’s board for 15 years.

Mercyhealth broke ground on the new, six-story, $505 million hospital and physician clinic on June 6, 2016.

Since that time, Bea said AECOM, Mortenson and all the contractors as well as Mercyhealth Vice President of Architecture and Facilities, Joanna Benning, who led the construction project, worked to ensure its timely progress.

“Today marks a very special moment as we formally dedicate and bless Mercyhealth’s Javon Bea Hospital and Physician Clinic–Riverside, which will be providing healing and life-saving services to the residents living in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin,” said Mercyhealth President & CEO Javon R. Bea, whom the hospital’s board named the new facility after.

The newly constructed 563,000-square-foot hospital will house 194 beds and serve patients of all ages.

The hospital’s service offerings include a state-of-the-art women’s and children’s hospital, including high-level perinatal and neonatal intensive care units, and pediatric emergency services as well as high-risk maternity care, according to RrStarNews.

The campus will also provide the region with a high-level trauma center; an adult sub-specialty hospital to include plastic surgery in addition to brain and spine, endocrinology, orthopedics, pulmonology and heart services; operating suites and surgical services; a diagnostic center and physician-care clinics to serve adult and pediatric patients.

The project is on schedule to be begin receiving its first patients in January 2019.

Reports from Mercy Health and rrrstarnews.com contributed to this story.

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