This abandoned hospital was located in Waukegan, Illinois; a large city approximately 40 miles north of Chicago. The hospital, which was originally built as Saint Therese Hospital, has an interesting history as it began as the dream idea of a local chapter of the Missionary Sisters - Servants of the Holy Spirit. The small group of missionary sisters came together and organized the first hospital in the Waukegan area dedicated to providing comprehensive care for vulnerable, low-income populations.
After Saint Therese Hospital opened it’s doors in 1929, it exceeded the standards and was an immediate success, especially as the hospital also introduced a number of “firsts” in the Waukegan area, including the establishment of intensive care, inpatient psychiatric care, skilled nursing, comprehensive inpatient rehabilitation, as well as a department for social workers to help with the homeless and chemically dependent.
Beyond providing direct medical care, Saint Therese Hospital committed itself to helping patients improve the circumstances that contribute to health and overall well being. In keeping true to the founding Missionary Sisters and its Catholic roots, the hospital offered intensive supports for pregnant single women, including housing and employment assistance - another first of its kind. By 1985, the hospital campus had expanded to include several new buildings and plans, so to more accurately reflect the spread of these services and programs, the hospital changed its name to Saint Therese Medical Center.
At some point in the 2000’s, Saint Therese Medical Center merged with another local hospital and it again changed names to became Vista Medical Center. This merge and subsequent name change sparked some controversy within the local community, especially as many residents wanted the hospital to stay true to its original cause set forth by the Missionary Sisters and the Catholic Church. The hospital ended up in several lawsuits during this time period, scarring its once reputable name. In 2018, medical company US HealthVest announced the acquisition of the Vista Medical Center and once again renamed it to Lake Behavioral Hospital. US HealthVest transformed some of the former medical buildings on the hospital campus into a new 146-bed psychiatric hospital that now offers a full continuum of care to psychiatric patients of all ages.
his state of the art psychiatric hospital opened as a direct response to the urgent need for mental health care and services within the United States.By 2020, the large majority of the former Saint Therese Hospital was permanently closed and left abandoned.
In 2023, despite Lake Behavioral Psych Hospital still operating on the campus, the former Saint Therese Hospital was demolished. It will be interesting to see what eventually rises the grounds of the old hospital.
