Calumet Park Mayor Ronald Denson & State Rep. Bob Rita address residents about MetroSouth.
On July 23rd, Calumet Park Mayor Ronald Denson hosted a meeting for the public about the impending closure of Blue Island’s MetroSouth hospital. The crowd gathered outside the village hall at 124th & Throop street, with Throop street closed down. Mayor Denson asked how many people here have used MetroSouth’s services. Many hands went up including mine. He spoke of the consequences for residents with the bottom line that people will die by not getting to the hospital soon enough.
There was only one comical moment when State Rep. Robert Rita showed up late and announced that he couldn’t find a parking space. The chuckles broke up the tension and concern that everyone felt, but things quickly got serious again. Rep. Rita said he and other officials were given very little notice about the closing before the news went public. He said it was unacceptable, especially since MetroSouth officials made promises about investing in the community. The owner, Quorum Health, is from Tennessee and Rita said they have no idea how this will affect our community.
Cal-Comm director, Gerard Corrigan, spoke of how much crucial equipment was set up on top of the hospital. Fire Chief, James Ross, stunned the audience with a report of ambulance transportation times:
From Calumet Park to MetroSouth – 2 minutes
Ingalls (Harvey) – 12 minutes
Roseland (Chicago) – 14 minutes
Little Company of Mary (Evergreen Park) – 16 minutes
Christ (Oak Lawn) – 20 minutes
Palos Community (Palos Heights) – 30 minutes
Mayor Denson wants to buy time by keeping the doors open long enough to exhaust every option. Rep. Rita invited everyone to attend the following day’s meeting at St. Benedict in Blue Island to share their own story of how they will be impacted of the closure.
No one wants a hospital to close. We’re all holding out hope that someone will buy the hospital despite a pending vote on September 17th to close. However, any prospective owner will inherit the same issues that MetroSouth inherited from St. Francis Hospital. The Daily Southtown reported (August 21) that MetroSouth officials will need to accelerate their plan to close the hospital by September 30th instead of the previous date of November 1st. The clock is ticking faster and louder.
Comments are open to this article (and previous one in ChicagoLand) and one opinion poll (see Chime In). We should keep discussing this because a new buyer will need to clean up the mess and that includes listening to the communities it serves. Below is a sign that Cal-Parkers are sharing to sign a petition at the village website.
I can understand why MetroSouth officials didn’t come out until the last minute. In an attempt to sell the hospital, you cannot let prospective buyers know that you are so desperate that if you can’t find a buyer, you’re gonna close. If they (prospective buyers) knew that, it would certainly curtail any interest they might have in buying it. It would also force the seller into a situation where he would have to give it away just to get out from under it. If the seller has any chance of finding a qualified buyer, he has to negotiate from a strong position, not one of desperation.
Once it closes, the owner has to keep up security, electric, and insurance coverage. It’s still a constant drain on resources, but it’s still an asset. If there is a current mortgage holder, they have to maintain security and insurance on this asset. You don’t get to just lock the door and walk away.
It’s certainly a messy situation. I see what you’re saying, but what makes this more disturbing is the two years spent allegedly trying to sell the hospital and no one was interested. You would think the hospital would have the best connections and market available to negotiate a deal that was out of the public’s eye. Meanwhile, Little Company of Mary, landed a deal to expand their hospital by merging with another investor. (So someone was willing to invest.) Another thing is that even the employees didn’t know what was going on behind the scenes because the hospital didn’t want them to bail out.