Instead of a few-blocks ride to West Suburban Medical Center, the Rev. Ira Acree’s wife was forced to take a 20-minute ambulance ride to a Portage Park hospital after suffering a medical emergency several weeks ago.
“What would have normally been just a five minute ride from Greater St. John Church to here, ended up being a 20 minute ride across town,” Acree said Tuesday outside West Suburban Medical Center. “And listen, when somebody is having a stroke, a heart attack, a seizure or an aneurysm, 20 minutes can become a tragedy.”
The owners of West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park abruptly closed the hospital in late March and furloughed most of its employees. Resilience Healthcare chief executive officer Manoj Prasad, who’s in charge of the hospital’s day-to-day operations, blamed the hospital’s electronic medical record system.
Prasad and the hospital’s landlord, Rathnakar Reddy Patlola, sued each other last month. Patlola is seeking a Cook County judge to appoint a receiver — a neutral third party — to oversee the hospital’s operations. A hearing in the receiver case is scheduled for Friday.
Numerous faith leaders and healthcare workers gathered outside the Oak Park hospital Tuesday morning to demand its reopening. They called for state leadership to intervene and help reopen the facility, for the release of all audits conducted on the hospital, as well as for the Oak Park and Austin neighborhood communities to be central to the hospital’s future leadership.
Advocates say the hospital’s closure has created a medical desert in the community, prolonging access to emergency care.
West Suburban Medical Center was one of a few safety-net hospitals serving West Side residents. The remaining hospitals nearby include Rush Oak Park Hospital, Loretto Hospital in Austin and Community First Medical Center in Portage Park.
“For many in our community, this hospital was more than a medical facility; it was a lifeline,” said Lajuan Whitfield, pastor of New Life Holiness Church in Austin. “It was where babies were born, it was where emergencies were treated, it was where loved ones were cared for and healthcare professionals faithfully served our community.”
Dr. Vishnu Chundi, a former longtime infectious disease specialist at West Suburban Medical Center, said he watched the hospital shift from being graded an A, the best possible grade, to an F, the worst possible.
“This hospital was an excellent hospital,” Chundi said.
“We watched the deterioration of healthcare. We watched our nurses who were highly skilled in stroke, heart attacks leave because they simply didn’t have the means to take care of their patients, and that is unacceptable to us,” Chundi said.
“As physicians, nurses and staff, we took great pride in this hospital for providing really good care and we’ve seen that go away. And I think the West Side should demand emergency care and an acute hospital that befits the sickness in that area.”
When asked if they want the hospital to be placed in receivership, Bishop Dwight Gunn, from Heritage International Christian Church, said advocates appreciate the case is being considered and that their ultimate hope is proper oversight of the hospital that focuses on “the people of the community.”
“We know that processes have to play out,” Gunn said. “Unfortunately, private ownership has created a situation here that makes it even more difficult in our move forward.”