Latest news with #IllinoisHealthFacilitiesandServicesReviewBoard
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Afternoon Briefing: Weather service confirms 8 tornadoes touched down in Chicago area
Good afternoon, Chicago. The National Weather Service today confirmed that Wednesday's severe weather led to eight tornadoes in the Chicago area. Three touched down in Gary, where power lines were downed and the roofs were torn from homes. One touched down in Highland, Indiana. Tornadoes were confirmed in four Illinois communities, including Frankfort, Joliet, Lynwood and Steger. The roof of a former factory in the process of being converted into a self-storage facility in Steger was peeled away during the storm, Steger Fire Chief Michael Long said. This weekend is expected to offer a cold front on Saturday followed by rain or snow showers on Sunday and a chance of snow showers to start the week Monday morning. Here's what else is happening today. And remember, for the latest breaking news in Chicago, visit and sign up to get our alerts on all your devices. Subscribe to more newsletters | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles & Games | Today in History The man fatally shot by a CPD officer yesterday during a domestic violence incident in Pullman has been identified by authorities. Read more here. More top news stories: 8-year-old boy fatally wounded yesterday in South Shore identified Hundreds turn out for US Rep. Brad Schneider's town hall The Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board voted 4-4 on Endeavor's application for a certificate of exemption to close the 52-bed unit at Northwest Community Hospital. Read more here. More top business stories: Quarry expansion in Wheatland Township wins Will County Board OK despite opposition from residents, government leaders Gary airport authority board updates minimum standards, hears comments on House bill Owners of the No. 1 NFL draft pick the last two years, the Chicago Bears will have to wait until No. 10 for their first selection this year. Read more here. More top sports stories: Zach LaVine shares gratitude for the Bulls in Sacramento reunion: 'I love Chicago. Always will.' Column: What we've learned at Chicago White Sox camp, from no true leadoff man to who looks like a closer A recent study suggests large print texts may help struggling readers develop their reading skills. The majority of students who participated reported that they enjoyed reading the large print and a significant number reported being more engaged when reading large print. Read more here. More top Eat. Watch. Do. stories: Review: 'Operation Mincemeat' on Broadway is a very British parody of a secret WWII mission Metea Valley Theater in Aurora to present 'Legally Blonde the Musical' Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for a unanimous court, said the case turned on elementary logic. The law in question prohibited making 'any false statement or report.' Read more here. More top stories from around the world: Southwest flight almost takes off from taxiway — rather than runway — at Florida airport Eyeing China threat, President Donald Trump announces Boeing wins contract for secretive future fighter jet
Chicago Tribune
20-03-2025
- Health
- Chicago Tribune
State board denies request to close Northwest Community Hospital inpatient psychiatric unit
State regulators have shot down a request by Endeavor Heallth to eliminate inpatient psychiatric services at Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights. The Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board voted 4-4 on Tuesday on Endeavor's application to close the 52-bed unit at Northwest Community Hospital — meaning the motion to grant the request failed, said John Kniery, administrator for the board. A spokesman for Endeavor did not immediately respond to Tribune questions Thursday afternoon about the vote or the future of inpatient psychiatric care at Northwest Community. The state Health Facilities and Services Review Board has long expressed concern over communities losing services related to treatment of acute mental illness, and how cutting inpatient psychiatric units can affect wait times in emergency departments, among other issues. Endeavor announced in late January that it planned to close the unit because of a decrease in demand and an increased focus on outpatient and community-based care and telehealth services. Endeavor said at the time that it expected the move to affect about 100 workers, though it hoped many of them would take other positions across the health system. Endeavor sent a notice in February to the llinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity saying that it planned to lay off 99 workers from the hospital. Endeavor had planned to stop offering inpatient care for acute mental illness at the hospital April 11. Endeavor said it did not believe that discontinuing those services at the hospital would affect access to care because there were still extra psychiatric inpatient beds at other Endeavor locations and throughout the region. In 2023, there were 71 extra beds for patients with acute mental illness in the area Northwest Community serves, according to the board. Prior to the board meeting Tuesday, the board received one letter of opposition to Endeavor's plan from a woman who wrote 'there is a severe shortage of mental health beds across Illinois' and that the unit had saved her sons' lives. Endeavor acquired Northwest Community Hospital in 2021, while Endeavor was still called NorthShore University HealthSystem. Endeavor had announced the plan earlier this year to stop offering inpatient psychiatric services at the hospital at the same time that it said it was laying off 'a small number of individuals' across the health system. At the time, Endeavor, in a statement, cited 'significant cost pressures and headwinds that require our organization to adapt and think differently about how we maximize our talent and resources to operate effectively and continue to deliver high-quality, expert care to our communities.' The changes at Endeavor followed a nearly $492 million operating loss for the health system during the nine months that ended Sept. 30, with much of that attributable to $453 million in expenses to settle patients' claims alleging one of Endeavor's former doctors sexually abused them, Endeavor said in a financial disclosure in November. The unaudited financial statement did not name the doctor. But Endeavor and Swedish Hospital have settled more than 75 lawsuits filed against them by former patients of gynecologist-obstetrician Dr. Fabio Ortega, accusing him of sexually abusing them while he worked at the health systems and, in many cases, accusing the health systems of failing to protect them from abuse despite being aware of complaints against the doctor. A Chicago Tribune investigation published last year described how Endeavor allowed Ortega to continue providing care despite multiple complaints from patients.
