Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Oak Forest Hospital Starts Cutting Back

The Oak Forest Hospital will start making cutbacks today in an effort to save some money before they eventually close the facility.
“Right now, we don’t know if my mother has a doctor or not after today,” Joyce Edmond, who lives in Dolton with her mother, said. “She has a very rare form of cancer (myelodysplastic syndrome). Her bone marrow doesn't produce blood. She needs these transfusions to stay alive.“And she needs a doctor to write her a prescription for medicine that costs $5,000 a month if we had to pay for it. My mother doesn't have insurance. And she is in no condition to make the trip to Stroger Hospital.”

This is just one compelling story from the Chicago Sun Times report that brings to light an all too common situation the hospital closing has created. The article states that Cook County has implored Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board to close the facility on June 1st, but the County denied that motion until future plans had been reviewed.

The Chicago Tribune reports that "the intensive care unit and acute rehabilitation department will be suspended and emergency room care streamlined. Of the 20 patients remaining in the hospital’s 213 beds, eight will be discharged or relocated to other facilities by the end of the week, sources said. The others, including four long-term care and six ventilator-dependent patients, will remain at Oak Forest."

How can you just turn away patients? Employees are going to be thrown out in their nursing scrubs and patients relocated or discharged? Seems a bit ridiculous. And to top it all off, the Board President Toni Preckwinkle tried to blame the County board memebers and administration for the closure, not the mismanagment of funds. The Chicago way, just blame someone else!

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