Chicago's Weiss Memorial Hospital shuts down operations, faces uncertain future

CHICAGO - Weiss Memorial Hospital on Chicago's North Side shut down on Friday as a result of recent financial hurdles and other concerns, including its removal from federal Medicaid and Medicare programs.

The closure leaves patients who count on the hospital—and employees—with more questions than answers. 

What we know:

The safety net hospital, located in the Uptown neighborhood, went dark on Friday after being dropped from key federal programs.

The facility has been in financial trouble for years, and recently faced a myriad of issues, including a major A/C failure earlier this summer that forced patients to be transferred to other facilities. 

According to Block Club Chicago, some departments—including radiology, cardiology, and women’s health—are expected to remain open at the building, located at 4646 N. Marine Drive. 

Dr. Manoj Prasad who is the CEO of Resilience Healthcare, which owns Weiss Memorial Hospital and West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park, said on Friday that the facilities are in desperate need of more state funding, and claims that he stepped into a dire situation when they took over in 2022. 

Now, concern is growing that West Suburban Medical Center could be heading down the same path as Weiss.

What they're saying:

On Friday afternoon, a group of local leaders, nurses, and patients rallied outside Weiss Memorial Hospital's ER, calling for swift intervention to keep the hospital open for vulnerable community members who rely on it. 

"We cannot allow this hospital to close," said Marc Kaplan with Northside Action for Justice. "This is a community disaster."

A sign outside of the hospital's emergency department stating its closure marks the end of affordable and accessible care for countless neighbors. 

"Closing Weiss is devastating, it's the loss of a critical resource and a lifeline. Every day in our ER, we see people who cannot afford to wait. Seconds matter, minutes matter. Without Weiss, those minutes stretch longer and the distance to care grows wider," said Daniel Maser, a registered nurse in Weiss Memorial Hospital's emergency department. 

On Friday afternoon, when searching Weiss on Google, the facility was listed as "Temporarily closed."

"With the hospital closing, the thousands of patients and hundreds of staff who depend on Weiss Memorial Hospital for their healthcare and livelihoods will be hung out to dry. This is part of a larger story of disinvestment, corporate neglect of community, safety-net hospitals like Weiss and private, for-profit speculation in Uptown," Hannah Gelder, Director of Organizing for ONE Northside, said in a news release.

Meanwhile, a doctor who is affiliated with another healthcare group but works out of the adjacent professional building, shared off-camera with FOX 32 that the hospital is "empty" — and there haven't been patients there in weeks.

"This is about accessibility, accountability, and action," said Ald. Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth, 44th Ward. 

Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin acknowledged growing concerns about the hospital’s quality of care and patient safety.

"We have been in touch with them to really investigate some reports that we’ve received about the quality of care and safety for the patients. That is the bottom line here," Durbin said. "And some questions were raised and we communicated those to Weiss. We’re going to continue to follow that, but I think what you’re hearing there is something that’s being heard by other hospitals as well. What about the future?"

Dig deeper:

A series of recent, troubling signs pointed to an uncertain future at Weiss Memorial Hospital. 

In mid-June, a significant air conditioning failure occurred during a citywide heat wave, prompting patient transfers and service disruptions. In a news conference on Friday, Prasad called the ordeal "catastrophic."

At the time, most patients were moved to the hospital’s sister facility, West Suburban Medical Center, or to other nearby hospitals. Outpatient services and ancillary departments at Weiss remained in operation.

Weiss Memorial Hospital and West Suburban Medical Center are owned by Resilience Healthcare, which acquired both facilities after former owner Pipeline Health System filed for bankruptcy in 2022.

By late June, Resilience had stopped paying its PR firm. 

Then, in late July, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) confirmed that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) was terminating Weiss' access after the hospital was found to be noncompliant during recent inspections.

That covers the majority of people seeking care there. Weiss' 'Illinois Hospital Report Card' shows that in 2024, 87 percent of inpatients and 61 percent of outpatients were on Medicare or Medicaid.

"Uptown is a landing ground for so many immigrants, and refugees and asylum seekers from all around the world who would not have access to healthcare if it were not for Weiss Hospital," said State Sen. Mike Simmons, (D) 7th District. 

While activists were voicing their concerns outside of Weiss, the hospital system's CEO spoke during a separate news conference. 

"That outcome was entirely unexpected," Prasad said of CMS' decision. 

Prasad said both hospitals—Weiss and West Suburban—need very expensive repairs.

"All of the buck stops with me, but all of this needs funding," Prasad said. 

Prasad is appealing the decision by CMS to cut them loose; at the same time, he says he is committed to making sure West Suburban doesn't suffer the same fate.

"It's not a short plan, it's not an easy plan, it takes almost a year for either of these processes to be completed," Prasad explained. "It's easy for us to cut and run but that's not what we are about."

What's next:

Prasad claims that some outpatient services at Weiss will continue to be available to patients. 

The next closest hospital is Thorek Memorial Hospital, located at 850 West Irving Park Road or Ascension Saint Joseph at 2900 North Lake Shore Drive. 

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