The foundation with a monopoly on healthcare services in Southern Illinois has for a second time delayed its decision on a proposal to merge services from Kenneth Hall Regional Hospital in East St. Louis to the smaller Touchette Regional Hospital in neighboring Centreville.
At the January 15 meeting, the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board tabled the decision until April, when the group meets again in Springfield, Ill.
Twenty busloads of people opposed to the merger traveled to Springfield early Tuesday morning to be present for the board’s decision. Approximately 800 people overflowed the meeting room, hallways and corridors at the meeting site. The group included mayors from East St. Louis, Cahokia and Washington Park, two former mayors and a number of state and local elected officials.
“We had senior citizens, children and people from every walk of life there,” said Kelvin McNeil, pastor of Body of Christ Worship Center in East St. Louis, who estimated 100 pastors and ministers attended the meeting.
“They talked about ‘why would you take a hospital out of East St. Louis, which is a bigger community, into a hospital in a smaller community?’ That’s some of the questions they want answered,” said Barbara Black, president of Service Employees International Union Local 2000, which represents employees of Kenneth Hall Hospital.
After a delay in December, the second deferral is considered another step toward victory in defeating the proposal that would pull the plug on the only hospital in East St. Louis.
“Our people are continuing to empower themselves by showing we will stand for what belongs to us and stand for our community’s success,” said East St. Louis Mayor Alvin Parks Jr.
“I think our rebuttal package, as well as our presence today and the fact that they anticipated our presence, has led to them delaying this decision.”
In a statement, the Southern Illinois Healthcare Foundation said it now “must reassess our options up to and including closing Kenneth Hall Regional Hospital.”
The board reportedly needs time to closely review information turned in late by SIHF and to consider the impact the move would have on the community.
“One of the questions that came forth was ‘we need to see your audited financial statements from 2004-2006.’ To our knowledge it had not been done,” Parks said.
SIHF maintains that Kenneth Hall Hospital has been operating at a deficit from back in the old St. Mary’s Hospital days, when it rescued the hospital in 2004. It also said that since 2004 there has been steady progress towards integration of administrative services between Kenneth Hall Regional and Touchette Regional hospitals.
SIHF said it “can no longer cost effectively sustain duplicate services at both facilities.”
“We were directed by the State of Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services to develop a sustainable plan that would maintain healthcare services, while eliminating duplication of those services in our market area,” the SIHF said in a statement.
“Our plan to cost effectively sustain healthcare services in our regional area has been the only viable solution proposed by any group to address the financial problems at Kenneth Hall Regional Hospital.”
Parks said U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.) sent a letter of support of the efforts of East St. Louis.
“We are anticipating something similar from our senior senator, Dick Durbin. The fact that one happens to be running for president speaks volumes,” Parks added.
Not yet officially on board is Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. “We must get our governor to commit to a full-service hospital being in East St. Louis,” Parks said.
Although SIHF apparently believes its plan is the only viable one, those working to save the hospital disagree. An unnamed group of investors has been working behind the scenes to purchase Kenneth Hall Hospital from SIHF.
“There has been some discussion, but not anything very significant,” Parks said. “They (SIHF) don’t want to operate it and don’t want anyone else to operate it – to the detriment of East St. Louis and anyone else who uses the hospital.”
April 8-9 in Springfield is next scheduled board meeting about Kenneth Hall Hospital. A location is not yet announced, but East St. Louis supporters plan to show up in greater numbers.