Ground broken for Illini Express Clinic on square in Pittsfield

PITTSFIELD, Ill. — Illini Community Hospital broke ground at 9 a.m. Friday, April 21 for a $1.6 million project on its Pittsfield campus that will create a new Illini Express Clinic. The project is expected to be completed by December 2023.

The hospital, known as the Illini Xpress Walk-In Clinic, will move from 101 E. Washington on the square in Pittsfield, to the new facility and have the new name Illini Express Clinic. It will be on the northeast corner of the campus where the Annex building once stood.

In addition to traditional clinic space, Illini Express Clinic will feature one drive-through bay that will allow people seeking selected screenings or care to not have to get out of their vehicles. 

“Illini is committed to quality care and convenient access for patients. This project features both,” Illini Community Hospital Administrator Holly Jones said in a press release. “Blessing Hospital has been using the drive-thru concept since 2020 when the COVID pandemic began. Patients loved the convenience of the service then and still do today. Blessing’s Express Clinic experienced more than 21,400 visits last year. We expect residents of Illini region will respond favorably to this type of access for their non-life threatening healthcare needs as well.”

The new building will be designed specifically for healthcare delivery. Relocating it 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 Illini Xpress Walk-In Clinic recorded 5,421 patient visits during 2022. 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-threatening illnesses and injuries.

Funding for the Illini Express Clinic project comes from an $891,500 United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development grant and $730,000 from Blessing Health.