OSF HealthCare Saint Katharine Medical Center joins OSF Family
Key Takeaways:
- OSF HealthCare Saint Katharine Medical Center becomes the 17th hospital in the OSF HealthCare Ministry.
- The former KSB Hospital is based in Dixon, Illinois and has six clinic locations in Lee and Ogle counties.
- With 900 Mission Partners (employees), OSF Saint Katharine is one of Lee County's biggest employers.
OSF HealthCare Saint Katharine Medical Center is now part of the OSF HealthCare Ministry. The former KSB Hospital in Dixon, Illinois, became the 17th hospital in the Peoria-based integrated health system on January 1.
An 80-bed acute care hospital, OSF Saint Katharine is one of Lee County’s largest employers.
The Most Rev. David J. Malloy, Bishop of the Diocese of Rockford, conducted the blessing and dedication ceremony on January 7, which followed months of work to integrate the former KSB facilities (including six clinic locations in Lee and Ogle counties) into OSF HealthCare. Additionally, OSF welcomes 900 new Mission Partners (employees) to the OSF Family.
In spring 2024, OSF HealthCare and Katherine Shaw Bethea Hospital (KSB Hospital) signed a letter of intent to obtain KSB, before finalizing agreements and seeking the necessary regulatory approvals.
“As health care continues to evolve, we are responsible for ensuring that we are planning for the future. The challenge of being a standalone, rural hospital in today’s financial environment, was an important element in our board’s consideration,” says David Schreiner, PhD, president/chief executive officer, KSB Hospital. “OSF HealthCare shares our deep commitment to caring for the health of rural communities and has demonstrated innovative ways to transform health care for the benefit of all people they serve.”
The hospital was originally named Katherine Shaw Bethea Hospital in 1897 when Judge Solomon Bethea donated his estate to honor his late wife, Katherine. The new name, OSF Saint Katharine, pays tribute to the hospital’s long-standing commitment to the Sauk Valley region and aligns with the values of OSF HealthCare.
“We have a great opportunity in Dixon and surrounding communities to advance healthcare that is connected to all the other pieces of OSF,” says August (AJ) Querciagrossa, CEO of the Western Region. “It's no different than our other communities, like Galesburg or Peru. When we talk about regional healthcare delivery models, I look at Dixon as a regional healthcare delivery model that will have access to higher, tertiary and quaternary care through the OSF network.”
Querciagrossa adds that he’s excited about the potential for the services that already exist at OSF Saint Katharine.
“We train the doctors of the future in Dixon, both in podiatry and in family medicine for our rural track,” says Querciagrossa. “I think that is imperative to all our successes, whether it's OSF or others, to continue to make sure rural medicine thrives.”
OSF Saint Katharine will soon offer new services to the community including OSF OnCall, and OSF MyChart with the integration of Epic, the electronic medical record system used across the OSF Ministry. This will expand the focus on digital health access and other opportunities.
“The same people that are caring for all of our patients and our community members now are going to care for you with love and compassion,” says Jackie Kernan, president of OSF Saint Katharine. “You're going to notice our name has changed, but the compassionate cares remain the same.”
A local community advisory council has been established to provide advice and counsel to hospital management and OSF. The council will focus on insight, guidance and the development of local strategies, in addition to providing feedback on the management of local facilities.
“I hope for our Dixon community members, that they feel that OSF came in and did an amazing job of enhancing the care that was provided,” says Kernan. “That they feel comfortable with the services and feel proud that we're here and that we're serving our community with Mission-driven care.”
With the addition of OSF Saint Katharine, OSF HealthCare employs nearly 25,000 Mission Partners at more than 150 locations – including 17 hospitals throughout Illinois and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
“For me and for all of our communities, thank you for the welcome, thank you for the kindness, your patience with us in the process as we get to know you better,” says Querciagrossa. “We're very grateful for that support, and truly looking forward to a very healthy and happy 2025.”