A Fateful Hour at MetroSouth

On Friday evening, September 20^th, during the 7:00 hour, MetroSouth Hospital dropped another bomb. I just came from a business meeting with a friend and we were traveling down Gregory street. While approaching MetroSouth, I mentioned that after my dental visit, I drove past the back of the hospital on Tuesday, the 17^th, to check out the parking lots. There were still plenty of vehicles in the surrounding lots. You would never know anything was wrong, however, I heard from others who had recently been serviced by MetroSouth, that the inside was “noticeably void of people.”

My friend drove into the Emergency Room entrance into the lower parking lot. We just sat there for awhile looking at the ER entrance door and taking in what could be the final weeks. An ambulance pulled up in front of us. EMT workers went inside, wheeled a patient out on a gurney, and placed him in the ambulance. As we sat there, the feeling was dismal. I sure as hell was not expecting what was to come next.

There were three men with a ladder. One was holding it steady, another was tearing off large silver pieces of tape and handing it to the man on top who was covering the words “Emergency Room.” I said, “Oh no, look what they’re doing, they’re closing it down!”  We watched in awe and my friend finally said, “This is MetroSouth’s last gasp of life.” It seemed like a rather oxymoronic statement considering an emergency room saves lives. Apparently, the owner, Quorum Health, likely has a Do Not Resuscitate order as well.

It was just stunning and upsetting to say the least. My friend walked up a little, whipped out his cell phone, and took pictures. Unbeknownst to us, as we were about to leave, we noticed that cones had been set up where we drove in. We think we were the last car to drive through followed by the last ambulance.

The whole time we were sitting there, I could feel the memory of bringing my mom to this emergency room one night. It was over ten years ago, back when St. Francis owned it. Oftentimes when someone needs to go to an emergency room, the person may be in some state of shock. The feeling can be surreal and that’s just what it felt like to observe this moment of history in the making.

I’ve been writing about this subject matter since July and felt like I was somewhat on auto-pilot. On one hand, you feel like you want to help change an outcome but you don’t have the power, yet, many feel that this is all pre-ordained and we are merely players on a stage. When I got home shortly after seeing this sad scene, I finally started crying. It wasn’t just about the connection with my mom, but I wondered about the patient on the gurney and where he was transported. How many others?

To ensure that this was not just a temporary situation of blocking the entrance, I drove around their block the next day. The cones were still there. Every single sign had the silver tape blocking the Emergency Department signage. Interesting how they started this shortly after the 7:00 hour the night before, just as darkness fell.

On Saturday afternoon, September 21^st, the village of Calumet Park sent out a message from their Code Red system announcing that “MetroSouth has cancelled all emergency room operations. They will no longer accept patients by ambulance or walk-ins. The Calumet Park Fire Department has prepared for this situation and will transfer you or your loved one to the closest appropriate hospital. In most cases, this would be Ingalls Hospital in Harvey. Please do not seek medical attention at MetroSouth because you will be turned away by hospital security.”

Of all the departments of a hospital, the emergency room is literally the most critical. This was the one major department that everyone was trying and hoping to save. We can understand downsizing the hospital beds, eliminating other departments, etc., but the emergency room? Wow. I would’ve thought that would have been the last leg standing. Instead of falling from the top to the bottom like the Twin Towers, they have removed the foundation. Meanwhile, the legal battle continues.