Today in Springfield, Ill., the fate of East St. Louis’ Kenneth Hall Hospital will be decided and dozens of East St. Louis residents and city leaders are headed there to protest. They boarded buses early Tuesday morning to head to Springfield to protest a possible merger with Touchette Regional Hospital in Centerville. Officials set up 18 different pickup points for people who wanted to make the trip.
Residents who are served by Kenneth Hall are worried about the lack of healthcare accessibility if the hospital is closed, which they believe may result in lives lost. According to East St. Louis civic and community leaders, Kenneth Hall is the only place some can walk to or easily take metro link or other public transit to get medical treatment.
Under the current merger plan, Kenneth Hall would continue offering emergency room services and outpatient mental health services, but city leaders say as many as 300 jobs could be lost. For many patients at the hospital the biggest concern is doctors leaving.
The Illinois state health facility planning board is meeting Tuesday and is expected to rule on the hospital’s certificate of need.