COMMUNITY GROUPS FORCE ADVOCATE TO DELAY CUTS AT BETHANY HOSPITAL
STATE REGULATORS TO REVIEW ADVOCATE’S BUSINESS PLAN

Facing heightened scrutiny over proposed service cuts at Bethany Hospital, Advocate Health Care has quietly backed away from its plan to eliminate two key services on March 1st while it awaits an inquiry by state regulators.

Advocate submitted a formal application to the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board (IHFPB) last week, seeking approval to eliminate Bethany’s OB/GYN unit and mental health program – the first indication that the hospital systems intends to comply with state laws requiring regulators to authorize major reductions in hospital facilities. Despite announcing in January that the cuts would be effective on March 1, Advocate acknowledged in its application that the services will not be discontinued until the IHFPB conducts a formal review of the matter, which likely won’t occur until April.

The application was filed after critics charged that Advocate – which announced its intention to cut Bethany services more than a month before it even applied for the right to do so – was shunning state oversight. Since that announcement in January, however, opposition to the cuts from the surrounding community has burgeoned. A community meeting organized by opponents earlier this month drew close to 300 West Side residents. That unrest has also prompted the City Council’s Health Committee to convene a hearing on the issue Tuesday.

Critics say the plan would significantly decrease health care capacity for a mostly low-income minority population in neighborhoods with large numbers of uninsured and hospitalization rates that surpass city averages.

Meanwhile, Advocate is still threatening to close its emergency room and substance abuse treatment program on March 1st, as part of a comprehensive conversion of Bethany Hospital into a facility that treats only long-term health problems.

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Hospital Accountability Project, Service Employees International Union
40 N. Wells, Suite 300 Chicago, IL 60606
(312) 541-9566

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