The North Chicago VA Medical Center's (NCVAMC) mission is, “We are a caring community, proud to provide patient centered, coordinated health care to Veterans, Navy and all VA/DoD Sharing patients.” The medical center consists of 159 operating hospital beds, 195 nursing home care beds, and 105 domiciliary beds that include homeless and alcohol/drug abuse programs.

NCVAMC is an affiliated facility with appropriate acute care components, which are necessary to fulfill its mission.  These supportive acute components include primary and secondary medical care, surgery and rehabilitation medicine to support an aging veteran population.

North Chicago has Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC) in McHenry and Evanston, Illinois.  The Vet Center in Evanston is co-located with North Chicago’s Evanston CBOC. A third CBOC is located in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

NCVAMC, is part of the Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 12, which includes Jesse Brown VA Health Care System; Hines VA Hospital; North Chicago VAMC; Milwaukee VAMC; Madison VA Hospital; Tomah VAMC; and Iron Mountain VAMC.  These VA facilities make up a regional health care system that provides a full spectrum of health care to veterans.  NCVAMC serves as the long-term care referral center for this area's medical and mental health patients.

NCVAMC has an affiliation with the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, which is located adjacent to the medical center on land leased to it from the VA.

In addition, NCVAMC provides training in Audiology/Speech Pathology, Biomedical Engineering, Dental Assisting, Medical Technology, Pharmacy, Nursing, Physical Therapy, Podiatry, Psychology, Social Work, and many other areas.  Over 400 residents, interns and students were trained at NCVAMC in FY06.

The Research programs at NCVAMC and Hines VAH were consolidated during FY97.  The primary objective of the amalgamation is to augment patient care by increasing the quantity and quality of research while reducing administrative cost.  Biomedical and clinical research is ongoing in such areas as molecular biology, cardiology, oncology, alcoholism, immunology, diabetes, substance abuse, spinal cord injuries, speech pathology, aging, pulmonary, health care outcomes, infectious diseases, vision, psychiatric illness, rehabilitation medicine and behavioral sciences.

The medical center, which is located midway between Milwaukee and Chicago, is bordered on all sides by the Great Lakes Naval Training Center.  North Chicago VAMC has significant sharing agreements with the Great Lakes Naval Training Center. The sharing agreements include laboratory tests, fire protection, laundry, supplies, and blood products. Also, all NHCGL Corps School corpsmen receive their last nine days of training at NCVAMC.  It is the first true hands on training with patients for the corpsmen.

The Great Lakes Naval Hospital and North Chicago VAMC have formalized a limited resource sharing agreement that allows military beneficiaries to receive care at the VA Medical Center and veterans to receive care at the Navy Hospital.  The agreement, which was signed on March 1, 2000, formalizes decades of cooperation between the two hospitals.  It is a refinement and renewal of agreements in effect over the past several years and takes advantage of certain excess capacities currently existing at the two facilities.

On October 16, 2002, Dr. Roswell, Under Secretary for VHA and Dr. Winkenwerder, Deputy Secretary for Health Affairs for DoD signed a VA/DoD Executive Council Decision Memo which agreed that Naval Hospital Great Lakes would move inpatient medicine, mental health and surgery, along with emergency room services to North Chicago VAMC.  The Navy will get a new ambulatory care outpatient clinic.  VISN 12, North Chicago VAMC and Naval Hospital Great Lakes have been working with VHA and DoD to implement this decision.

The first phase of the partnership was accomplished in October 2003, when Naval Hospital Great Lakes shifted inpatient mental health services to North Chicago VAMC.  TRICARE is billed by VA for providing inpatient mental health care.

On September 30, 2004, the Department of Veterans Affairs awarded a contract to renovate the surgery and emergency room services at North Chicago Veterans Affairs Medical Center (NCVAMC).  This is the second phase of the joint venture plans between NCVAMC and Naval Hospital Great Lakes (NHGL).

The renovation project began in January 2005 and was completed in June 2006, which provides four new operating rooms and a substantially expanded emergency department (ED).  This converts the acute evaluation unit to an emergency department with 24/7 board certified/board eligible ED physicians providing care to VA & DoD patients with emergent health care needs.  The ED saw 11,144 DoD patients from June 2006 – February 2007, including about 1,500 pediatric cases. This is in addition to seeing 4,960 veterans during the same period. In June 2006, NCVAMC became the only ED in VISN 12 to have 24/7 coverage with emergency medicine physicians. NCVAMC also utilizes an electronic tracking board—an information system that is quickly gaining acceptance VA wide. In October 2006 a DoD dependent presented at the ED and had a baby 20 minutes later.  First deliver at NCVAMC.  Also during the same time of June 2006 – February 2007 a total of 1,689 surgical procedures were performed. The surgical case load represents a mix of DOD and VA providers and patients. VA surgical specialists performed 843 procedures. DOD surgical specialists performed 846.  There were 88 pediatric surgery cases.

All of Navy’s inpatient medicine, surgery and emergency room services have been shifted to NCVAMC.  This is a milestone since nowhere else in the country is there such a relationship between VA & Navy.  This partnership means VA & Navy personnel are working together to provide the best quality care to veterans, active duty and their dependents.  Navy and VA providers are working along side each other and for the first time in a VA there is pediatric care provided for DoD eligible dependents.

The last phase of the partnership is a $130 million DoD construction project to build a new federal ambulatory care center (FACC).  A site location on the grounds of NCVAMC and governance model was approved by the VA/DoD Health Executive Council on May 27, 2005.  Construction should begin in FY 07 that will initially be for surface parking and a parking garage and then in FY08 construction of the FACC should begin.

In December 2004, Navy moved its regional blood donor center to underutilized space at North Chicago VAMC.  This avoided a $3.2 million expense to renovate existing Navy spaces or $900,000 not to build it in the ambulatory care center.

Over the past three years, NCVAMC and NHCGL have received approximately $9 million dollars from funds set aside by the Public Law 107-314, Section 721 to enhance the sharing of services by improving access and quality of care to our beneficiaries.

In 2005, Joint Incentive Fund proposals to establish a joint women’s health center and contemporary mammography and stereo-tactic equipment were approved, funded and implemented.

In 2006, Joint Incentive Fund proposals established a fiber optics link between NHGL and NCVAMC, the purchase and construction of a fixed MRI including a radiologist and two technicians, a hematology/oncology clinic and the expansion of the NCVAMC Hospitalist Program with two physicians were approved, funded and being implemented.

In 2007, Joint Incentive Fund proposals will provide for an all-digital PACS for use at NHCGL with interconnectivity with NCVAMC to benefit patients and providers at NHCGL and NCVAMC and a Program Management contract that will provide administrative and analytical support necessary in creating the federal health care facility.  

Enhanced Use (Energy Plant): Through Enhanced Use, there is a new state-of-the-art energy plant at North Chicago. Construction was completed in October 2003.  Construction to expand the energy plant to meet steam and electrical needs of the VA and Navy Recruit Training Center has been completed.

VA & Navy Land Utilization: The Great Lakes Naval Training Center needed additional land primarily for the construction of dining and living facilities for Recruit Training Command.  The majority of the land (48 acres) in question is encumbered as part of a long-term lease between VA and Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science.  The Navy and VA signed an MOU on February 8, 2002.  The Navy will purchase energy from the energy plant that was constructed at North Chicago VAMC for the buildings the Navy is constructing on the 48 acres.  Both the Navy and Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science have begun construction.  The first barracks, USS Arizona, has been completed and was dedicated on February 24, 2004.  Since then other barracks have been built and are operational.  The barracks built will get energy to operate from the NCVAMC energy plant as part of the land for energy agreement between VA & DoD.