Mayor gets leeway to try to save St. Francis

Well maybe Blue Island's St. Francis might be saved afterall. Refer to this earlier post here and this Southtown article was found via Chicagoist...

Blue Island aldermen on Friday night approved a resolution granting Mayor Donald Peloquin or his designees the authority to do whatever they can to save St. Francis Hospital.

At a special city council meeting, city officials, residents and St. Francis staff members packed the room and voiced their concerns about the looming loss of the downtown hospital they see as critically important to the city's continued economic health.

Three weeks ago, St. Francis' owner, St. Louis-based SSM Health Care, announced plans to close St. Francis, saying the hospital was losing millions of dollars per year with no hope of a turnaround in the foreseeable future.

SSM officials said the financial problems largely stemmed from the hospital caring for so many uninsured and underinsured patients, with Medicaid payments covering the costs.

Peloquin said Friday the resolution gives him official authority to try to negotiate a sale and to obligate the city as part of any sale, subject to final approval by the city council. He said he not only wants to keep St. Francis from closing but wants to make it better than it was before.

"Our ultimate goal is to maintain the facility, maintain the staff and hopefully bring in additional staff and services," he said.

Barbara Holt, district director for U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-1st), of Chicago, attended the meeting and said Rush would do all he could to save St. Francis.

I also want to refer to this post here on this same subject but with a different angle.