Governor Quinn today announced that the state of Illinois will provide temporary emergency assistance for Roseland Community Hospital to remain open in the community while it develops a long-term turnaround plan. Approximately $350,000 in temporary assistance will allow the hospital to continue to serve the community while developing this comprehensive plan for future stability.
The “temporary assistance” is meant to to keep the hospital open while its board and state officials develop a long-term plan to put the safety-net hospital on solid financial footing.
Roseland Community Hospital is an anchor of the community and this made it imperative to try to save it, said Governor Pat Quinn in a statement released to the Chicago City Hall Examiner. “We will do what we can to protect the patients and employees. This temporary relief will allow their doors to remain open and continue to provide critical care services. However, this is not a long-term solution. The hospital must take the necessary steps to develop a plan for a sustainable future.”
Rep. Robin Kelly had spent much of the day on Wednesday in an attempt to keep Roseland Community Hospital from closing its doors. In a statement, Rep. Kelly said that “From the beginning of our discussions on Roseland Hospital, the Governor and I have been in agreement that Roseland is a vital community resource but that substantial structural changes were necessary in order for the hospital to operate in a fiscally responsible manner.”
Governor Quinn did come through for the community. Rep. Kelly added, thanking Governor Quinn for his intervention with a short-term solution and committing to find a long-term solution. “I’d like to thank the Governor for his actions today, which are important first steps in accessing the long-term viability of Roseland. I look forward to continuing to work with him to help Roseland develop a more sustainable business model that will allow it to serve the community more effectively.”
On Tuesday, Roseland Community Hospital replaced President and CEO Dian Powell after officials said she inaccurately blamed the hospital’s deepening financial woes on missing payments from the state, said the Chicago Tribune.
Dian Powell on Monday said the state hadn’t paid $6 million it promised for development and operation of an adolescent behavioral health unit that Roseland opened in 2011. However, the following day, the hospital said her statement was inaccurate. Instead, it said, the state issued an advance supplemental payment of $958,240 to keep Roseland afloat amid mounting debt. Board Chairman Genivee Chapman was appointed interim CEO.
As a condition of the state’s emergency assistance, independent financial experts will conduct a comprehensive review of the hospital’s budget, operations and finances. In addition, the hospital will select an independent chief restructuring officer to oversee the operations and development of the long-term plan.
Hospital officials told Andrew L. Wang of Crain’s Chicago Business that Roseland Community Hospital needs an immediate infusion of $7 million to pay down a roughly $8 million backlog of bills to vendors, plus an additional $46 million in longer-term financial assistance to put it on a path to sustainability.
Executives have not yet proposed a viable plan to properly run the hospital, which is essential to keep its doors open in the long-term. Roseland Community Hospital is in deep debt and its leadership has serious, long-time management issues that must be addressed. The state of Illinois will continue to work with the hospital to identify potential partners and available resources within the law so they can develop a plan for long-term stability.
For two months Governor Quinn’s top health care advisors have been meeting with the hospital and requesting critical information that would allow the state to consider emergency assistance. This week, the state of Illinois received that information. Due to Roseland’s dire fiscal situation, the state of Illinois has also advanced all payments to the hospital for this fiscal year.
Governor Quinn will continue working with many elected officials, including Rep. Robin Kelly and State Senator Emil Jones III.
Send John Presta an email and your story ideas or suggestions, johnpresta@att.net.
John is the author of an award-winning book, the 2010 Winner of the USA National Best Book award for African American studies, published by The Elevator Group, Mr. and Mrs. Grassroots. Also available an eBook on Amazon. John is also a member of the Society of Midland Authors and is a book reviewer of political books for the New York Journal of Books. John has volunteered for many political campaigns. John is an unpaid volunteer and social media advisor at Robin Kelly for Congress.
