Artist Rendering of New Illini Xpress Walk-In Clinic
Illini Community Hospital, Pittsfield, IL, will relocate and expand its walk-in clinic as part of a $1.6 million dollar project.
Illini Xpress Walk-In Clinic will move from 101 E. Washington, on the square in Pittsfield, to a new facility that will be built on the hospital campus. In addition to traditional clinic space, the facility will include two drive-through bays similar to those at the Blessing Express Clinic in Quincy.
“The drive-through concept works well for the diagnosis and treatment of a number of conditions and it’s a better way to serve our patients, as we don’t see COVID, or COVID-like illnesses, going away anytime soon,” said Kathy Hull, Chief of Small Rural Hospitals, Blessing Health System.
Hull said other benefits of the project include that the new building will be designed specifically for healthcare delivery, and relocating the clinic to the hospital campus will allow staff to more quickly and efficiently respond during times of high demand for care to assist clinic caregivers.
The new building will also have shell space for future expansion.
Illini Xpress Walk-in Clinic recorded 4,827 patient visits during 2021. It opened in August 2015 as a result of an opportunity identified in the Community Health Needs Assessment for a new care option in Pike County for non-life threating illnesses and injuries.
The first step of the project will be to demolish the Annex building on the northeast corner of the Illini Community Hospital campus, where the new facility will be built. Construction is expected to be complete in fall 2023.
Funding comes from an $891,500 United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development Grant and $730,000 from Blessing Health System.