Oak Park has the benefit of being close to several area hospitals, but village EMS data shows that four out of five local emergency patients end up at the same facility.
According to data dating back to 2022, roughly 80% of Oak Park patients taken to hospitals by Oak Park Fire Department Ambulances have been taken to Rush Oak Park Hospital in recent years. Over the last three-and-a-half years, OPFD has transported over 12,500 patients to the hospital’s campus on Maple Avenue for emergency services, according to department data.
Wednesday Journal obtained this data via a Freedom of Information request.
Oak Park Fire Chief JT Terry said the department’s EMS responders follow a strict protocol to get patients to the most appropriate care.
“All Village of Oak Park Fire Department firefighter/paramedics operate under the Illinois Department of Public Health Region 8 EMS System,” Terry told Wednesday Journal by email. “The Region 8 Standing Medical Orders dictate when patients must be transported to the most appropriate facility (e.g., burn center, trauma center.) Hospitals are rated and evaluated based on their capabilities (e.g., Level I trauma center, Level II trauma center, comprehensive stroke center, burn center, etc.) and their ability to immediately address certain medical conditions (such as stroke or cardiac events) without needing to transfer the patient to a higher-level facility or wait for on-call staff to arrive.”
In addition to the state’s guidance, OPFD emergency responders are empowered to use their professional judgment to ensure a patient gets appropriate care.
”Before transporting a patient to the nearest appropriate facility, firefighter/paramedics assess field signs and symptoms to ensure the chosen facility can handle the nature of the illness or injury,” Terry said.
Outside of Rush Oak Park, OPFD ambulance rides are typically routed to either Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood or to the West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park. So far in 2025, 7% of OPFD ambulance rides have ended at Loyola and 6.57% have ended at West Suburban, according to department data.
MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn and the Edward Hines Jr. Veterans Administration Hospital have both received a few dozen patients transported by OPFD EMS in recent years, although those ambulance rides represent less than 1% of total OPFD emergency responses.
Last year, OPFD EMS transported more than 4,500 patients to hospitals for emergency services. The department escorted more than 3,000 emergency patients to local hospitals from January to July 2025, according to department data.
In some cases, patients are able to dictate which hospital they’re brought to, Terry said.
“Patients who are alert, oriented, and deemed decisional (i.e., over 18 or with a legal guardian present, not under the influence, and not involved in a traumatic event) may request transport to a hospital of their choice, as long as the facility is within our local area,” he said. “These individuals must be informed that deviating from the SMOs may result in delayed or less effective care, and they are required to sign a release of liability for both the fire department and the hospital system. This option is only permitted for low-acuity calls, for example, a 20-something who breaks an ankle during a pickup basketball game and requests transport to Loyola because their primary physician is based there, rather than being taken to a closer hospital in town.”