Yes! With construction on campus prompting the temporary relocation of the NMC Main Entrance to the NMC Conference Center on the east side of the hospital, all vehicle traffic (including ambulances) is now using the Crest Road entrance to the hospital campus. Ambulances and patients going to the Emergency Department follow Crest Road around behind the hospital (and through a bit of gravel road way at this time). Cars heading to Northwestern Urgent Care, Cobblestone, and Doctors Office Common are using the Crest Road entrance. All other hospital patients and visitors are also using the Crest Road entrance. We are finding we have ample parking for patients and visitors at the front of campus and we sincerely appreciate people’s patience with the slightly longer walks involved with our temporary Main Entrance between now and October.

I was so pleased to see the following comment on social media in the early days of our transition, “Just had a delightful experience with the new temporary entrance – starting when I drove in – people there helping directing you to where to park for what appointment you’re going to – to when you walk in and lovely people taking you to where you need to go – all with smiles!!” Thank you for sharing that, Elizabeth LaBrecque! It made our day. Our team has worked very hard to help ensure we continue to provide an exceptional experience for our patients and visitors during construction. The NMC volunteers who greet people at our front door have added shift and expanded roles to help us through construction. It is wonderful to have them helping people within our hallways. Outside, our experiment with a “Campus Ambassador” in the parking lots is drawing positive feedback. During our peak hours throughout the day, we have a staff member stationed in the parking lot to greet arriving vehicles and help clarify paths of travel, parking, and entrances. Leif Tilotsen, a familiar face to some from his role in our Restaurant & Catering Department, is taking point on that effort. Other NMC’ers, including Lisa Bovat of Hospitality, Katherine Winchester of Volunteers, and Dan McCoy of Information Systems have helped establish that role and continue to help support it. I am proud of the NMC family for coming together to maintain our focus on our patients and visitors during construction.

As this phase of construction progresses, the changes to traffic flow and entrances will settle down as we have worked through most of the necessary changes. The Main Entrance has temporarily relocated to the Conference Center. Northwestern Cardiology and Northwestern Pulmonology have relocated temporarily to Suite 10 of Doctors Office Common. The NMC Laboratory’s outpatient blood drawing service has relocated temporarily to Suite 1 of the Doctors Office Common. The one remaining change in this phase is the temporary relocation of our Loading Dock to the back of the hospital. This is scheduled to happen on July 25. Once that happens, delivery trucks will proceed past the Conference Center parking lot on Crest Road to access the new temporary Loading Dock. Once that happens, we will have two to three months of relative continuity on campus, with intense construction work going on but not causing significant changes in how patients and visitors and others access the buildings on campus.

For more information on our progress with our construction project, please visit our website at www.northwesternmedicalcenter.org . You will find a link at the bottom left of our homepage entitled “Learn about Our Expansion” that will connect you to ongoing updates and background information. It is very exciting to see all of this unfolding. Thank you, again, for your patience as we enhance our healing environment and create the flexible, efficient space needed to keep pace with our community’s healthcare needs!

— Jill Berry Bowen, NMC’s Chief Executive Officer