West Suburban Medical Center is soon to change ownership-and its owner, Resurrection Health Care, is taking a huge hit on the sale.
Vanguard Health Systems – a Nashville-based, for-profit chain of hospitals – is closing in on a purchase of West Sub in Oak Park, along with its sister Westlake Hospital in Melrose Park.
Vanguard will pay about $41 million to Chicago-based Resurrection for the two struggling hospitals, according to a filing with the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board. Brian Crawford, a spokesman for Resurrection, says the exact price will be roughly $20,000,000 for Westlake and about $21,000,000 for West Sub.
Resurrection assumed about $70 million in debt in taking over West Sub in 2004, and has invested nearly the same amount into the hospital. Those investments include $24 million for a brand-new emergency room that was unveiled in November. Another $30 million has been put into Westlake.
Despite all the money invested in the two buildings, Crawford says Resurrection had no choice but to sell them. Combined, the hospitals have lost $166 million over the past five years, according to the filing.
Vanguard and Resurrection reached a definitive agreement March 17, and the same day, Resurrection filed an application with the state to have the sale approved. Public hearings are scheduled for Monday April 26, to help the review board decide whether it should approve the sale.
West Sub’s hearing will be at 1 p.m. at Oak Park Village Hall, 123 Madison. The review board is expected to start deliberating on the decision June 8 in Springfield; the two parties hope to close the sale by June 30.
-Marty Stempniak
