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Suburban Chicago residents want answers after medical center closes
Pressure is mounting to reopen West Suburban Medical Center, as community leaders and clinicians in Oak Park warn that the closure is creating a major healthcare gap for nearby residents.
OAK PARK, Ill. - Pressure is mounting to reopen West Suburban Medical Center, as community leaders and clinicians in Oak Park warn that the closure is creating a major healthcare gap for nearby residents.
What we know:
On Tuesday, local pastors and medical staff gathered outside the largely shuttered facility — demanding answers and a clear path forward.
They say West Suburban Medical Center has long served as a vital resource for many area families and losing it could be detrimental to their well-being.
"This issue can no longer be ignored. For many in our community, this hospital was more than a medical facility — it was a lifeline," said Pastor Lajuan Whitfield with New Life Holiness Church.
Located on Austin Boulevard and Erie Street in Oak Park, the hospital abruptly closed its doors in late March.
This comes after controversy last summer when West Suburban Medical Center and Weiss Hospital in the city's Uptown neighborhood lost air conditioning for several days, raising concerns about conditions inside the facilities.
Doctors and local faith leaders are asking for support from state leaders. However, because the hospital is privately owned, the situation is complex.
Now, the future of West Suburban Medical Center is being shaped in Cook County Circuit Court, where a legal battle over control of the facility continues between Resilience Healthcare and Ramco Healthcare Holdings.
Separately, Resilience's CEO, Dr. Manoj Prasad, has been accused of misusing $35 million in hospital funding.
Prasad previously stated he plans to reopen the Oak Park facility by July — but a detailed timeline remains unclear.
Currently, only a few clinics run by PCC Community Wellness Center remain open on West Suburban's campus, with signs directing patients to a walk-in wellness center at 5425 W. Lake Street in Chicago.
Otherwise, much of the campus remains quiet and largely inactive, with Emergency Room signs covered, parking lots mostly empty, and landscaping beginning to overgrow.
Dig deeper:
The hospital's closure has highlighted a significant community need for access and proximity to critical healthcare.
"We believe the closure of a community hospital creates consequences far beyond healthcare — increasing unemployment, deepening inequity, delaying emergency response times, and destabilizing neighborhoods that are already carrying a heavy load," said Pastor James Brooks, Vice President of Mission and Community Engagement for Lawndale Christian Health Center.
Brooks, who is also the senior pastor at Harmony Community Church, says at the time of the facility's closure, the hospital was operating at upwards of 80 percent capacity.
"Today is not about a building, today is about people. It's about mothers, it's about fathers. It's about seniors, it's about children, it's about working families and vulnerable residents throughout our Oak Park and Austin communities, who quite frankly deserve access to good healthcare," Whitfield said.
"If you were born in the West Side of Chicago, you have a 20-year less life expectancy than if you were born in the Loop. If that's not an injustice, I don't know what is. These are all correctable," added Dr. Vishnu Chundi, an infectious disease specialist who previously worked for West Suburban Medical Center.
Physicians, like Dr. Chundi, say the local community deserves better care than it's been receiving — and are urging action to address the need on Chicago’s West Side.
What's next:
Fox Chicago reached out to attorneys for both Resilience Healthcare and Ramco Healthcare Holdings but did not immediately hear back.
On Friday, May 29, a court hearing is scheduled, where a Cook County judge could decide key questions about who will maintain control of the hospital.