West Suburban Medical Center owner plans to reopen hospital by summer, but questions remain
Following the abrupt closure of West Suburban Medical Cenrter in Oak Park last week, the hospital's CEO spoke out publicly for the first time on Wednesday, saying the closure is temporary and he has a plan to reopen this summer, but the plan is being met with a lot of skepticism.
Doctors who work at West Suburban doubt the CEO can deliver on his plan.
West Suburban closed on Thursday, blaming its abrupt shutdown on a computerized billing system, and has said it will reopen once it has the revenue needed to fund operations.
The hospital's financial problems were even worse than many people realized — with millions of dollars in debt and major billing problems that meant the hospital was not getting paid for some patient care.
On Wednesday, the owner said he has a plan to fix that and reopen the hospital by early summer, but Illinois state lawmakers said they want proof that the owner can pull it off.
"The closure of this hospital is a reversal of access to healthcare for this area," said Rep. La Shawn Ford (D-Chicago).
State leaders said West Suburban was facing serious financial troubles — including debt, unpaid taxes, and problems with its electronic billing system.
The hospital's owner said a billing failure meant the hospital was only collecting a fraction of the money it should have been paid, which led to the sudden closure.
He said they have now identified the problem and are working to recover that money, which he believes will help reopen the hospital by summer.
"I always want to make sure that I have at least four or five payrolls saved somewhere, because I don't want us to work and have our employees have a payless payday," said Dr. Manoj Prasad, CEO of Resilience Healthcare, the company that owns the hospital.
Prasad said he hopes to reopen the hospital by July, but state leaders said they will be watching closely to make sure the hospital is financially stable before it opens again.
Prasad said he inherited major problems when he bought West Suburban in 2022
"We had stretchers and gurneys that were duct-taped," he said. "All of the emergency room charges were vanishing. We did not know why."
He blamed a billing system that missed a year's worth of charges, or about 120,000 claims. He argued he deserves credit for running a hospital no one else wanted.
"We have come in when nobody would even touch this place. We have kept it up and running for three and a half years. Tell me who else did," he said.
Ford said he hears the doctor's passion, but not a detailed plan.
"You're a big guy. Don't worry about credit. We ain't worried about credit. What we want to do is make sure that we have the ability to reopen. You'll get the credit, because you'll open it, but right now, the concern is patient care and patient safety," Ford said.
According to Ford, West Suburban is at least $181 million in debt, yet Prasad said he's confident the hospital will reopen in early July.
"I have got full confidence that, one way or the other, we'll be back to provide services," he said.
The hospital's medical director, Dr. Chidinma Osineme isn't so certain.
"I don't have the capacity to, at this point, say that," she said.
Since 2019, she's watched West Suburban slowly unravel.
"I'm worried about the patients of Austin. Yes, I am," she said, referring to the Austin neighborhood in Chicago, which is across the street from West Suburban.
West Suburban is a safety net hospital which takes in patients regardless of whether or not they can pay. Its closure has left many patients on Chicago's West Side and western suburbs with one fewer option for affordable health care.
The hospital's emergency room used to serve 75 to 80 patients a day.
"Gunshots? Yes. Addiction? Yes. Cancer treatment? Yes. Rhese are life-saving care that they need, and they come here, and our doors are closed," Osineme said.
When and if those doors reopen depends on who you ask.
"I think he has a drive to do it, but I don't think that he has a clear guarantee to open the hospital by July," Ford said.
Many patients have had questions about accessing their medical records. West Suburban said it has a team of six people working on that issue, and it can take 7-10 business days to send out those records, but they're handling urgent requests immediately.
Meantime, the CEO of another hospital is offering to help.
Atif Bawahab, the president and CEO of Insight Hospital and Medical Center in Chicago – formerly Mercy Hospital – said he's in talks with the owner and landlord of West Suburban.
Bawahab said Insight is willing to step in immediately to stabilize the situation in the short-term and work to rebuild the hospital over the long-term.