Health
Future Uncertain for 2 Chicago-Area Hospitals Amid Federal Funding Cuts, Mismanagement Allegations
Two Chicago-area hospitals are at risk of closing their doors completely.
Federal funding cuts and allegations of mismanagement prompted the closures of most operations at Weiss Memorial Hospital in Uptown, while Oak Park’s West Suburban Medical Center is facing a similar fate.
Weiss’ massive winding down follows the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issuing a termination notice for the hospital, citing violations related to nursing services, emergency protocols and the facility’s physical condition.
Local leaders and community members rallied outside Weiss on Friday to condemn the shutdown. One organizer, Linh “Lilly” Le, said she was there as a “show of solidarity.”
“In the short term, people are being transferred out and they’re only providing outpatient services,” said Le, the community organizing director of the Vietnamese Association of Illinois. “In the long term, there’s a lot of concern about how to maintain affordable health care access to the most vulnerable folks in our community.”
Le said Weiss’ closure was not adequately relayed to patients, many of whom are Vietnamese elders.
One such resident, Kim Nham, 78, said the hospital never contacted her to let her know it was closing. She discovered the news a week ago through the Vietnamese Association.
“We don’t have any (time for) preparing,” said Nham.
Nham moved to the United States 1978 as an evacuee of the Vietnam War at the age of 23, and she’s lived in Uptown since 1980. Four decades later, Nham has “a lot of memories at Weiss.” She’s depended on her local hospital since settling in Chicago — from going for her annual mammograms to birthing all three of her children at the facility.
Both safety-net hospitals are under the ownership of Dr. Manoj Prasad’s Resilience Healthcare as of 2022, and Prasad has come under fire for mismanagement allegations. Weiss and Western Suburban have recently dealt with faulty air conditioning systems and have a history of disinvestment.
“This management has failed on all respects when it comes to taking care of internal operations,” said state Rep. Hoan Huynh (D-Chicago), who’s been a patient of the hospital. “We’re seeing the loss of jobs as well in this neighborhood for our nurses, our frontline workers and our doctors.”
In order for the hospitals to re-open and become fully operational, Prasad would need to appeal the federal insurance decision, which he confirmed he’s working on in a news conference. Upon attaining full compliance, Weiss and Western Suburban can then reapply for federal funding.
