#1 In June, MetroSouth Hospital in Blue Island suddenly announced plans to close by the end of the year if a buyer isn’t found. The CEO stated in the Chicago Sun Times (07-25-19) that “More patients are choosing to leave the community for care and as a result, the hospital is losing millions of dollars a year.”
What experiences have you (or anyone you know) had that would attribute to not seeking care at MetroSouth? Do you have positive experiences to share or other comments?
I’ve never been admitted to St. Francis or MetroSouth and don’t know anyone who has. I went there once to donate blood for a relative and was sent there once when I had a work injury. The news is full of hospitals wanting to close but where is everyone supposed to go? The CEO saying people are “choosing” not to go there doesn’t sound right. If you get sick, wouldn’t the doctor tell you what hospital to go to? I think it would depend on what hospital your doctor practices at.
Thank you, Mr. Railroad Man. I wondered about this “choosing” as well. When growing up, my family went to Dr. Fial near 128th & Halsted in Chicago. He had another practice near 125th & Harlem and had privileges at both St. Francis and Palos hospital. When Dr. Fial closed his Chicago office following a drunk driver crashing into the building, he practiced strictly out of Palos. So, we only went there.
After he died, his nurse referred us to a doctor in Evergreen Park who was affiliated with Little Company of Mary. Then we went there. However, when my mom fell down the front steps and broke her arm, I took her to St. Francis because she was in pain and I didn’t feel we needed her private doctor to handle this. Maybe others can share an experience.
You can’t stay in business without customers. So, what’s wrong with MetroSouth? I first remember going to St. Francis back in the 1970s. Back then most middle-class families had insurance or paid their own bills. Nowadays much of the business that walks through the front door is low income. That’s okay, however, when you add in the fact that the shortfall has to be picked up by state or federal programs, it puts limits on what the doctor or hospital can charge or what care they might provide. Please keep in mind that some doctors won’t even take Medicaid or Medicare because of these restrictions.
This sets up a whole new dynamic of operations for the hospital, which must cut back. They will also lose many of the best doctors in their chosen fields. Now I ask you – if you are in the middle-income bracket, would you or a family member choose to go to a hospital that has a high percentage of vacant rooms? A low threshold of service? And by their own admission, are losing money (a lot of money), or would you look for a better choice to spend your cash and your insurance dollars? Of course, you want the best your money can afford.
What is happening to MetroSouth is a change in the areas that make up their customer base and the owners can’t make up the difference in income. It shows that those who can are looking for a better deal.
Mr. Hughes, you are bringing up some interesting points.
First, middle-class families paying their own bills. I knew of many people who had insurance through their jobs. They would speak of a small copay to see a doctor and it seemed that they had a lot of preventative care because there were lots of doctor visits. Okay, they were entitled to this since they paid into it, but things seemed questionable when some would admit going to the ER for a cold or some other non-emergency. I felt that health insurance was abused and that contributed to how we all must have it today.
I had one job in my whole life where I had health insurance for a few years. The plan only had certain doctors to choose from and the ones I knew were not on the plan. You’d like to be close to home but insurance controls who you see and where you go.
If this area is considered low income, where are all these patients being treated? I want to get this out there for a response but I may need to add more later.