Endeavor Health is tearing into the fourth floor at Edward Hospital in Naperville, launching a roughly $29 million revamp of surgical and intensive-care space that will add two operating rooms, relocate two others, and carve out a new 10-bed intensive-care unit. The upgrade is designed to handle more complex cardiac, vascular, and thoracic cases that have been squeezing the hospital's existing operating suites and ICU, with hospital and state filings saying the changes should boost bed and surgery capacity while cutting transfers and delays for critically ill patients.
State review lays out the plan
According to an Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board staff report, the modernization (Project No. 25-036) focuses on the fourth floor of the hospital's northeast bed tower, where the system plans to add two new ORs and relocate two existing ORs into a consolidated four-suite surgical unit and build out a 10-bed ICU. The report pegs the project cost at $28,755,020 with an anticipated completion date of December 31, 2027, and notes that the plan would lift Edward's authorized bed count from 358 to 368 and increase ICU capacity from 49 to 59 beds.
A local push to beef up cardiac care
System leaders frame the expansion as a key move in a larger push to make Edward a regional destination for heart care and to shift more procedures into dedicated cardiac facilities. The project was first reported by Crain's Chicago Business on March 18, 2026. Hospital officials have argued that more OR and ICU capacity should help clear surgical backlogs and make it easier for older patients and those with highly complex cases to get scheduled and treated locally instead of waiting or going elsewhere.
Part of a larger cardiovascular build-out
Endeavor has been steadily stacking up cardiac-focused facilities across its system, including a 71,000-square-foot Cardiovascular Health Institute on the Edward campus that was detailed in a 2023 Daily Herald story. That outpatient center was set up to move some catheterization and electrophysiology procedures out of the main hospital so the inpatient side could reserve space for sicker patients. The newly planned OR and ICU build-out at the hospital itself is aimed at handling the most acute heart and related cases that still need full inpatient care.
Money, bonds, and state questions
The HFSRB staff report says the $28.8 million price tag will be covered entirely through project-related bond issues, and notes that the applicants submitted evidence of a Moody's Aa3/Stable rating. At the same time, state staff raised eyebrows over whether the spending fits the usual benchmarks, pointing out that modernization costs run higher per gross square foot than the board's standard and that architectural and engineering fees sit above typical ranges. "The State Board Staff found the Applicants not in compliance with one Criterion 1120.140 6 Reasonableness of Project Costs," the report states.
What comes next
With the staff review wrapped and no public hearing requested, hospital leaders expect construction to roll ahead on the permit schedule, with a target completion by late 2027. If the timeline holds, the extra space should give Edward Hospital more room to handle complex cardiac surgery close to home and cut down on transfers to other systems. Locals who want to keep tabs on the work can watch for future hospital statements and state planning notices as construction and staffing plans move from paperwork to jackhammers.
