The deal fell apart in May after lawmakers approved revisions to the state’s hospital evaluation program, but refused to make funds available for the project.
“The decision to discontinue services at Mercy Hospital was not an easy one,” Mercy President Carol Schneider said in an emailed statement. “But patients on the south side have unmet needs within the current system. Transforming from a model of hospitalization to one with greater access to outpatient services will better address the disparate health outcomes that our community is experiencing today. “
Mercy will close between February 1 and May 31, subject to state approval, according to the statement. However, the hospital is planning an outpatient center that will offer diagnostics, urgent care, and coordination of care to avoid emergency room visits and hospitalizations among residents.
Livonia, Michigan-based Trinity Health, which also owns Loyola Medicine, with three hospitals, is the fifth largest revenue-based hospital non-profit system nationwide. It has about $ 19 billion in revenue, 92 hospitals, and hundreds of clinics in 22 states.
Since buying Mercy in 2012, Trinity has provided hundreds of millions of dollars to finance infrastructure improvements and meet operational needs, according to the statement. But the “Mercy Aging Center will require at least $ 100 million of additional capital investments in the next five years to maintain a safe and sustainable acute care environment,” the statement said, noting that “$ 4 monthly operating losses millions can no longer sustain themselves. ” “
Mercy had been operating in the red, with a net loss of $ 68.3 million in 2018, according to data compiled by Modern Healthcare. The hospital treats large numbers of patients with Medicaid, which pays less than Medicare and commercial insurance.
COVID-19 did not play a role in the decision to close. But Mercy notes that patients in her service area suffer disproportionately from chronic illnesses and that the pandemic has further highlighted these disparities.
“We cannot meet the needs of the community on our own,” Schneider told Crain in January, when the four South Side hospitals first went public with their merger plan. “Our current state is not sustainable and the people in our communities really deserve this transformative approach.”
Founded in 1852, Mercy was the city’s first private hospital and a haven during the Great Chicago Fire in 1871, according to the hospital’s website.
WBEZ first reported the shutdown.
