St. Francis Hospital in Blue Island to close -- Hospitals and C...

My heart breaks for this loss to the south side. They take such good care of their patients there, and also their employees. From my job we send intellectually delayed adults and they have been treated so kindly by all at St. Francis.
It makes me sick how the hospital planning board, which was taken over by Rezko people, played politics with such important decisions This is a sad day for health in the south suburbs..

St. Francis is a wonderful facility that has provided a high level of care and compassion for it's patients for over a century. As we all know, the South Suburban area needs more of this type of a community asset and not less.
How unfortunate that the only alternative for people in this regi will be Ingalls Memorial, a "hospital" where they treat you like you a number and have long ago lost their sense of compassion and commitment to excellent care. I have been to both facilities and there is no comparison to St. Francis. The loss of St. Francis to Blue Island will only make the situation at Ingalls even worse then it is now, if that's possible.

My guess is, given the demographics, that the hospital has had to give away everything to the point of bankruptcy.

Without a diverse payor mix, a hospital cannot pay staff or invest in new technology. Other hospitals in primarily low income areas will suffer the same fate unfortunately.

It is sad to see a great hospital closing. Our state government will fight for free rides on a bus; however, State Medicaid pays pennies on the dollar at best leading to hospital closing. Cook County residents win two days in a row - highest sales tax in the nation yesterday and the closing of a hospital today.

Thank you Springfield

Blame Blago, Rezko and Levine for th closure. This is the consequence of corruption of the boards Blago appointed.

I was born there!

St Francis had a great Cardiology Dept and was great throughout the years.

This is going to be such a big blow to the suburb and the always underserved and ignored southside. I grew up there and my parents still live there. This is a huge loss of patient care and jobs for this suburb.

How sad is this? When a hospital closes.. that's bad.

Joe wrote:

I was born there!

Me too!

SAD

The good people of Blue Island and surrounding areas that use St. Francis need to unite and stop the closing of such a fine hospital! With enough public pressure it can be done!

I think a lot of people are ignorant as to what the South Side/South Suburbs encompass. Blue Island is not a dump, neither is Evergeen Park or Oak Lawn. Beverly is probably one of the top 3 neighborhoods in the City of Chicago, very similar to Evanston or Oak Park.

What a sad day! a great ER but abused by the locals.they ran that hospital into the ground.90% using ER as a fricken clinic and only 10% paying for it.

All my brothers and sisters were born at St. Francis because my mother's doctor, Dr. Cramer, had privileges there. She chose to go there from Chicago Heights. It's really sad that the hospital has to close. Blue Island is home to some beautiful historic homes and the area once was thriving. And there really is a perceptible difference in the care received at Catholic hospitals although that may have changed without all the wonderful nuns that used to staff the hospitals for virtually no salary.

My kids were born there and both my parent's died there. What it will do to the economy of Blue Island and other communities in south subrrban Cook will be horrible.

I was a Candy Striper there in the mid 1970's

You can't give away healthcare to illegals and people unable or unwilling to pay.

...there is nothing in this life that is free ...not even health care...when public aid foots the bill actually it is us the taxpayers footing the bill...and our current taxes are breaking our backs...

Sad to see this fine institution close.