About us
At Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital, our health care teams are deeply experienced and guided by the needs of Veterans, their families, and caregivers. Located 12 miles west of downtown Chicago and at six out patient clinics across the region, Hines VA offers primary, extended and specialty care to Veteran patients in the Chicago area. We are the largest VA in the state of Illinois, where more than a million Veterans reside. The hospital treats more than 56,000 Veterans from World War II through the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
About the VA Hines Healthcare System
The VA Hines Healthcare System provides you with outstanding health care, trains America’s future health care providers, and conducts important medical research.
Health care and services
We provide you with health care services at 7 locations in northeastern Illinois. Facilities include our Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital in Hines and 6 community-based outpatient clinics in Aurora, Hoffman Estates, Joliet, Bourbonnais, Peru, and Oak Lawn. To learn more about the services each location offers, visit the VA Hines health services page.
The VA Hines Healthcare System is one of the leading health care systems serving Veterans in the VA Great Lakes Network. We’re an innovative care center within the Veterans Integrated Service Network 12 (VISN 12). VISN 12 includes medical centers and clinics in Wisconsin, Illinois, northwestern Indiana, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
Research and development
At the VA Hines Healthcare System, we conduct research to discover knowledge, develop VA scientists and health care leaders, and create innovations that advance health care for Veterans and the nation. We offer Veterans the opportunity to participate in and benefit from our work. Our goal is to use research to promote better health and health care for all.
Major research areas include:
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI) treatment
- Parkinson’s disease
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
- Clostridium difficile
We host these research and resource centers, which have 175 investigators working on about 550 active projects:
- Center of Innovation for Complex Chronic Care (CINCCH)
- Cooperative Studies Program Coordinating Center (CSP)
- Network of Dedicated Enrollment Sites (NODES)
- VA Information Resource Center (VIReC)
Teaching and learning
Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital is a teaching hospital that provides a full range of health services for Veterans, with state-of-the-art technology as well as education and research.
Our primary affiliation is with the Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine. We offer internships and residencies in all major medical specialties and subspecialties.
We are affiliated with 70 colleges and universities that offer education and training in associated health professions and occupations.
We also offer the following residency and internship programs:
- Administrative Fellowship
- Dietetic Internship Program
- Geriatrics Fellowship Program
- Medical Laboratory Science Program
- Pharmacy Practice Residency
- Psychology Internship
- Psychology Practicum
- Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowship
- Recreation Therapy Internship
We’re proud of our partnerships with top institutions and organizations that support the educational mission of the VA.
Fast facts
- Our hospital is located 12 miles west of downtown Chicago on a 147-acre campus, on land that was purchased by the Edward Hines Lumber Company on behalf of Edward Hines Sr.
- Our hospital was named after Edward Hines Jr., who was killed in combat in France during World War I. Edward Hines Sr. offered to donate his land to the City of Chicago as a potential site for a military hospital in honor of his son. Construction began in late 1918, and on October 24, 1921, President Warren G. Harding named the hospital for Edward Hines Jr.
- We complete more than 830,000 patient visits per year and provide care to over 56,000 Veterans.
- Our Fisher House has 20 bedroom suites and a fully stocked kitchen and dining room for overnight stays for family members, caregivers, or loved ones of Veterans receiving treatment at our hospital. Since opening its doors in 2010, our Fisher House has served more than 11,000 guests.
- Our hospital currently operates 483 beds.
Accreditations and achievements
Our facilities and programs have received accreditation from the:
- Joint Commission
- Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
- National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS)
- Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF)
- Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND)