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Dear Downers Grove Businesses,

As we begin a new year, SPARK continues its mission as the Small Business Community Navigator Program dedicated to supporting, retaining, and growing businesses across Downers Grove. Designed to keep our business community informed, connected, and inspired, SPARK highlights the people, resources, and success stories that strengthen our local economy.

January’s theme focuses on healthcare and well-being – an essential sector that directly impacts both economic vitality and quality of life in our community. In this issue, we’re pleased to share insights from local healthcare leaders, including Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital as it prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary this spring, underscoring the vital role healthcare organizations play in Downers Grove.

In the months ahead, SPARK will continue to explore key industries shaping our community, including retail, finance, industrial growth, hospitality, manufacturing, and downtown development. All of us at the DGEDC look forward to sharing perspectives from business leaders invested in Downers Grove’s success, and we thank you for being part of the SPARK community as we kick off the year ahead.

Respectfully,

Bryan Gay

President & CEO

Downers Grove Economic Development Corporation

Downers Grove Visitors Bureau

Featured Healthcare Investors

Investor Highlight: Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital

Celebrating a 50 Year Legacy of Exceptional Care

Since opening its doors on October 11, 1976, Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital has evolved from a local community hospital to one of our nation’s leading providers of acute healthcare. Now part of the third largest non-profit, integrated health system in the U.S., Advocate Good Sam is home to DuPage County’s only Level I trauma center and certified Level III neonatal intensive care unit – the highest designations available.

In addition to earning national recognition for nursing excellence, maternity care, cardiac care, outpatient prostate care, emergency department performance, bariatric surgery and more, Good Sam is the only healthcare organization in Illinois to receive the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for performance excellence.

To join in the hospital’s 50^th anniversary celebration, Eric Rhodes, President of Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital and DGEDC Board member, invites you to attend their Prestige Ball on Saturday, May 16, 2026.

For tickets, details or to support the President’s Fund for Special Needs, visit advocatehealth.org/GSAM50.

Board Member Highlight: Eric Rhodes

Meet Eric Rhodes

President, Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital

As President of Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, Eric oversees the execution of excellent safety and health outcomes, growth and financial performance and teammate and physician engagement, all while ensuring top-notch patient experiences at the 300+ bed acute care hospital.

Prior to his appointment in June of 2024, Eric served as President and CEO at Ascension Saint Francis Hospital in Evanston, Illinois, driving post-pandemic economic recovery by focusing on ER Department performance, specialty care and community outreach.

A graduate of Xavier University, Eric enjoys speaking to students about his career journey and lessons learned about the importance of preventative care and understanding one's health risk factors. Eric is quick to emphasize the importance of patient advocacy and teamwork, which he credits for saving his life when he experienced his own medical emergency while on the job at Good Sam.

Business Community News

Lurie Children's Expanding to Downers Grove

Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago has selected the Village of Downers Grove as the site for its planned second hospital. This milestone marks Lurie Children’s first inpatient hospital outside its flagship Streeterville campus and represents a major step toward bringing world-class pediatric care closer to families where they live.

The proposed hospital is designed to provide comprehensive pediatric services, including a dedicated pediatric emergency department, surgery suites, inpatient beds, and access to key pediatric subspecialties such as oncology, cardiology, gastroenterology, and orthopedics. For many families in the western suburbs, this expanded access is critical. According to Lurie Children’s, nearly half of children in the region currently must leave their community to receive inpatient pediatric care. This new facility aims to change that by offering high-quality, lower-acuity care locally while maintaining the exceptional standards for which Lurie Children’s is known.

Village leaders see the hospital as more than a healthcare expansion – it’s a meaningful investment in community well-being and economic vitality. Mayor Bob Barnett emphasized that new healthcare facilities are about caring for neighbors and strengthening local infrastructure, noting the Village’s shared commitment to Lurie Children’s mission of family-centered, compassionate care.

The project aligns with Lurie Children’s long-term strategy to expand access across the region. In addition to its downtown hospital, the system operates more than 20 outpatient centers and 10 partner hospitals throughout the Chicago area, including facilities in Schaumburg and Chicago’s West Side.

We look forward to continued collaboration, community engagement, and welcoming Lurie Children’s to Downers Grove.

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