Suburban Chicago hospital ordered to restore services

CHICAGO (AP) - A judge has ordered a closed suburban Chicago hospital to restore patient services or face significant fines for ignoring an earlier order.

Cook County Circuit Judge Moshe Jacobius said hospital owner Pipeline Health, owner of Westlake Hospital in Melrose Park, must restore services by Thursday or will be fined $200,000 a day.

During a Tuesday hearing, Jacobius found the hospital operator violated a temporary restraining order to maintain services at the 225-bed hospital. Pipeline Health said staffing issues caused it to suspend services, and any violation of the temporary restraining order happened because it was issued after it already began cutting services.

Jacobius made it clear the state Health Facilities and Services Review Board will determine if the hospital will stay open permanently, a decision to be made at the end of the month.

Pipeline's attorneys declined to comment after Jacobius' ruling.