Published December 15, 2020 •
Updated on December 15, 2020 at 6:09 pm
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A state board rejected a plan Tuesday to close a Chicago hospital after pleas from the community to keep the doors open.
Trinity Health wants to close Mercy Hospital in Chicago s Bronzeville neighborhood, saying the site is losing money as well as patients. It has proposed to open an outpatient clinic about two miles away.
“Failure to acknowledge the realities of today will mean that the residents of the South Side of Chicago will continue to suffer gross health care inequities,” said John Capasso, a Trinity Health executive vice president.
Illinois board rejects plan to close Mercy Hospital
By AP NEWS
Trinity Health wants to close Mercy Hospital in Chicago’s
Bronzeville neighborhood, saying the site is losing money as well as patients. It has proposed to open an outpatient clinic about two miles away.
“Failure to acknowledge the realities of today will mean that the residents of the South Side of Chicago will continue to suffer gross health care inequities,” said John Capasso, a Trinity Health executive vice president.
But the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board voted 6-0 to reject the plan. Trinity Health said it will return to the board in 2021.
Illinois board rejects plan to close a Chicago hospital chron.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from chron.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The Illinois Health Facilities & Services Review Board today unanimously voted to deny
Mercy Hospital & Medical Center’s application to close early next year.
Board members expressed concerns that the outpatient center Mercy plans to open in the area won’t be operational until Sept. 30, which would leave some residents without access to medical care immediately following the hospital’s closure in the midst of a pandemic.
Board member Sandra Martell, a public health administrator for the Winnebago County Health Department, is among those who voted not to approve Mercy’s application to close. She said her decision is “based on staff reports and concerns that closure would have a significant impact on the health of the community served by Mercy.”
A state board on Tuesday unanimously rejected a plan to close Mercy Hospital in the Bronzeville neighborhood.
The Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board voted 6-0 after about four hours of testimony from dozens of community members, activists, doctors and nurses all of whom called for the board to reject Trinity Health’s request.
Trinity Health said it was disappointed by the board’s vote.
“We will look forward to going before the board again in early 2021 with our plans to discontinue inpatient services at Mercy Hospital and transition to an outpatient model to serve residents on the South Side of Chicago,” Trinity Health said in a statement.