Hines VA Hospital marks 100 years with new programs, including COVID and kidney treatments

Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital is the oldest and largest veterans hospital in Illinois, but doctors there say they keep innovating.

Soon after COVID-19 began to spread, Hines became one of the first hospitals in the United States to use a respiratory helmet to treat patients.

The helmet, which looks like a clear astronaut’s helmet, goes around a patient’s head to provide oxygen, and can help prevent the more drastic step of having to put a breathing tube down the patient’s throat. Officials cite it as an example of the hospital’s care for its patients.

Hines, located near Maywood, celebrates its 100th anniversary this weekend, with a tree-planting and time capsule burial Friday, and a livestreaming ceremony Sunday.

The hospital provided care to 44,000 veterans and had 900,000 patient visits in the past year, but wants to spread the word it can handle more, Director James Doelling said.

“We certainly want to help more veterans,” he said. “We’ve accomplished so much. It’s a great testament to our staff and the veterans we serve.”

The land for the facility was donated by Edward Hines Sr., in honor of his son, who never returned home from World War I.

Over the years, the hospital has had several pioneering accomplishments. The facility opened the first Veterans Administration-funded tumor research lab in 1932. That helped lead to, in the 1950s, Hines’ Dr. Robert Schrek publishing a groundbreaking study linking cigarette smoking to cancer.

Hines opened the first VA Blind Rehabilitation Center in 1948, which still helps teach visually impaired veterans how to accomplish activities of daily living, such as dressing, cooking, navigating and shopping, to live independently.

One year ago, the hospital implemented a kidney transplant program, which Doelling said has transplanted 32 kidneys since then.

And it was one of the first facilities in the state to vaccinate patients against COVID-19 in December 2020.

Hines offers six remote outpatient sites, in Aurora, Hoffman Estates, Oak Lawn, Kankakee, Joliet and LaSalle.

Hines also operates a Community Living Center, which currently houses 95 veterans recovering from major procedures or illnesses, as well as hospice patients. Its Residential Care Facility is home to 26 veterans with spinal cord injuries.

During the pandemic, like other medical facilities, the hospital shut down visitation and reinstituted restrictions during the recent surge in cases nationwide.

Currently, one family member can visit for one hour per day, in accordance with federal guidance. If any veteran residents become exposed to COVID-19, Hines restricts visits while monitoring all residents. Once everything is deemed medically safe, visitors can return.

Hines also tests all nursing home staff and veterans weekly and monitors residents each shift for COVID signs. Doelling said strict COVID prevention measures have helped keep the number of cases down, and vaccination rates for residents were at 93%. Its nursing home has a 5-star overall rating from Medicare.

Since 2010, Hines has also operated Fisher House, with 20 bedroom suites to temporarily accommodate patients’ loved ones for free.

The Wounded Warrior Project, a nonprofit group which helps veterans, applauded Hines.

“We congratulate the Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital on 100 years of serving veterans in our community,” said Erin Fletcher, the Chicago-based director of Wounded Warrior Project’s Warrior Care Network. “We work with VA facilities around the country every day, and commend the dedicated clinicians and staff at Hines VA for helping ensure our nation’s veterans get the care they deserve.”

rmccoppin@chicagotribune.com

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