Palos Health to join Northwestern Medicine
PalosHealth announced last week it will join Northwestern Medicine on Jan 1.
Earlier this year, the governing boards for both organizations approved the merger and definitive agreement. All regulatory approvals have nowbeen received.
With PalosHealth joining, Northwestern Medicine will offer services across Chicagoland at 11 hospitals and more than 200 ambulatory sites, provided by a combined workforce of more than 36,000 physicians, nurses and staff.
PalosHealth includes a 425 licensed bed hospital in Palos Heights and a South Campus in Orland Park, which provides access to primary and specialty care, advanced diagnostic technology and a surgery center. The health system includes 3,000 employees and a 600-member medical staff.
Palos Health is currently building a 50,000-square-foot office center at U.S. 30 and Owens Road in Mokena. The Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board approved Palos Health’s application in December. The center is expected to open in the spring.
The three-story officewill have about 50 exam rooms and offer primary and specialty care services in areas such as dermatology, immediate care, internalmedicine, obstetrics and pediatrics, as well as imaging services including mammography, ultrasound and X-ray, according to Palos Health.
The new merger announcement comes about a year after Palos and Loyola ended their own merger talks.
In January of 2019, both said they were exploring a merger and had signed a nonbinding letter of intent to pair up. In May, they said they had ended discussions but that their existing partnership would continue.
Owner hopes to reopen WillowSprings 7-Eleven
Dallas-based 7-Eleven last week closed its store at 8700 S. Archer Ave. in Willow Springs.
Village Administrator Brent Woods said that he had been working with the store franchisee on reopening the store as an independent operator.
Woods said the store owner had purchased all of the equipment and inventory from7-Elevenandwas hoping to reopenthe convenience store in early January possibly under the nameWillowMart.
Woods said the attached gas station may reopen as soon as mid-January.
BlueNose Brewery to close; 3 Floyds shutters taproom
Acraft brewery that got its start in Justice in 2012 and has been operating inHodgkins since 2015 announced on Facebook that it would be closing in early January or “when the beer runs out,” according to co-founder Jordan Isenberg.
Blue Nose Brewery tapped its first keg eight years ago in Justice. The brewer produced about 1,000 barrels of beer per year and sold it mainly through its Hodgkins taproom and select bars and restaurants.
Isenberg did not return a phone call, but said in published reports the decision to close was based on restrictions put in place to battle COVID-19. He plans to keep Blue Nose’s brewing equipment to start a new, smaller brewery in a different location.
Also permanently closing its brewpub is 3 Floyds Brewing in Munster in northwest Indiana.
3 Floyds drew thousands of craft beer fans to its taproom every year on its Dark Lord Day, a festival surrounding the annual release of its imperial stout that drew fans from across the Chicago area.
The 25-year-old brewery had been closed for dine-in services since March, though it remained open for curbside pickups. It had originally announced it would reopen once the pandemic had subsided.
Founder Nick Floyd told investors in a recent letter that it would not reopen the brewpub but would continue to brew its popular brands.
Walmart to give bonuses to Illinois associates
Walmart announced it plans to give an additional $700 million in cash bonuses to its U.S.-based associates, bringing its total 2020 quarterly and special cash bonuses for its U.S.-based associates to more than $2.8 billion.
The company’s latest bonus announcement includes $11.1 million in quarterly bonuses paid to Illinois associates in their Nov. 25 paychecks following strong third quarter business performance and an estimated $13.9 million in special cash bonuses to be paid to Illinois associates on Dec. 24 in recognition of associates’ sustained commitment to customers during the pandemic. Full and part-time associates are eligible for both bonuses.
Approximately 1.5 million full- and part-time Walmart and Sam’s Club associatesworking in the company’s stores, clubs, distribution centers and fulfillment centers will receive the special cash bonus on Dec. 24. It will beWalmart’s fourth special cash bonus paid to U.S. associates since the start of the pandemic.