Rochelle Community Hospital


Rochelle Community Hospital (RCH) wanted to consolidate its two separate clinics in Rochelle, a rural community in north-central Illinois. The clinics differed in many ways, including their operational layouts, overall cultures, and official designations (one was a Rural Health Clinic and one wasn’t). RCH’s objectives revolved around creating a cohesively functioning new clinic on its main campus, one that also strengthened  RCH’s connection to the community. More specifically, RCH wanted to accomplish the following with the new clinic:

  1. Expand available services and continue to be a leader in local healthcare
  2. Achieve Rural Health Clinic designation
  3. Create operational efficiencies
  4. Improve full-time and visiting physician recruitment
  5. Generate greater staff satisfaction
  6. Promote patient and community wellness with an improved rehabilitation and fitness center


ERDMAN provided planning and design services per Rural Healthcare Clinic regulations, in addition to advising RCH on streamlining operations and updating care models. ERDMAN’s approach included facilitating a one-day session, with RCH staffs from both clinics meeting at ERDMAN headquarters. This collaborative, interactive process explored how the two groups could come together to deliver services more effectively and efficiently. Specific activities included working with a variety of mocked-up clinic areas, including an exam room, procedure room, reception area, and nurse’s station. Since the project’s completion, outcomes have included the following:

  1. A merged staff familiar with one another, more united in the clinic’s mission, and reinvigorated by a new environment they had a hand in planning
  2. A more consistent patient experience in line with the RCH brand
  3. Greater efficiency both in clinic layout and in allocation of staff roles
  4. Achievement of recruitment goals and service line expansion

RCH and ERDMAN continue to work together on campus improvements, including converting three standard inpatient rooms into two advanced orthopedic inpatient rooms. The conversion will improve RCH’s ability to perform total joint replacement on site—yet another way to enhance RCH’s services and enable Rochelle residents to receive more care closer to home.


  1. Location: Rochelle, IL
  2. 26,000 SF hospital expansion and related site work
  3. Services include an orthopedic clinic, x-ray, cardiovascular rehab center, primary care practice and lab
  4. Total Cost: $7,295,109
  5. Completion: 2016