Town hall meeting held in push to reopen West Suburban Medical Center
A town hall meeting was held Monday evening in a push for service restoration at West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park.
The hospital, located at 3 Erie Court, abruptly closed late last month.
Organizers at the meeting said the closure has left the community without a safety net and is causing strain for nearby hospitals.
Workers are calling for neighbors to put pressure on lawmakers.
"We're asking for community action as well to help us to vow to the politicians to really to listen to the voice of the people," said West Suburban Nursing Director Sylvia Williams.
Dr. Manoj Prasad, CEO of Resilience Healthcare, the company that owns the hospital, blamed its closure on billing system issues, which missed a year's worth of charges and put the hospital millions of dollars in debt. Despite this, he said he plans to reopen the hospital once it has the money to fund operations.
He addressed the closure on April 1, saying the goal is to reopen this summer. However, state lawmakers and doctors who work at the hospital have lingering doubts that the owner can pull it off.
