[2] The 201-bed hospital is on a 160-acre (65 ha) campus in Lake Forest and provides a comprehensive array of inpatient and outpatient medical and surgical services.

[9] In 1882, no hospital existed in Lake Forest, Illinois, a small town best known as a summer getaway for Chicago residents.

[5] Dr. Alfred C. Haven, a recent newcomer to the town, was Lake Forest's only physician, and the closest hospital was located in Waukegan, Illinois.

[5] By 1940, Lake Forest had radically changed from a summer destination to a year-round, permanent residence for many families.

[5] Without the ability to expand further onto the college campus, community members and hospital staff began considering the establishment of a new, larger institution to meet these growing needs.

[5] The City of Lake Forest continued to expand and the hospital provided the growing region with new technology and specialized care.

[5] With the opening of the McGaw Medical Building in 1981, Lake Forest Hospital became the first comprehensive healthcare campus in the region.

[5] By the late 1980s, Lake Forest Hospital consolidated outpatient surgical services, established the first cardio-pulmonary rehabilitation program in Lake County, constructed its emergency helipad, upgraded radiology to include nuclear medicine and achieved a Level II trauma designation.

[17] On April 1, 2009, the hospital expanded its network of diagnostic imaging centers, adding services in Gurnee-Tower Court, Libertyville, and Glenview.

[20] The hospital was awarded the American College of Radiology (ACR) Breast Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Accreditation.

[20] In 2010, Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital earned Magnet Recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).