MIDWEST
CHICAGO— Children’s Memorial Hospital will give the public sneak peaks of its new $915 million, 23-floor replacement hospital this month. The Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago is set to open June 9, built in part thanks to a $100 million donation from the facility’s namesakes. Officials for years have complained that they have outgrown the old 245-bed hospital, which stood on Chicago’s North Side Lincoln Park neighborhood, and in 2004 the hospital board approved construction of a replacement facility. All rooms in the new facility will be private and each of the 23 floors feature themes that were developed by one of 23 creative community partners. Institutions such as the Field Museum, the Museum of Science and Industry and the Shedd Aquarium donated sculptures and other decorations (see p. 36). The hospital now neighbors the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in the downtown neighborhood of Streeterville. Officials say the project is under budget and ahead of schedule. The facility allowed the hospital to expand existing programs, such as a 36-room cardiac-care unit that takes up the 15th floor. The move also means a larger emergency department, growing from 25 to 45 rooms. Community open houses are slated for May 11 and May 12.
ROCKFORD, Ill.— Swedishamerican Health System announced plans to lay off 49 workers and eliminate another 76 open jobs. Dr. Bill Gorski, president and CEO of Swedishamerican, which includes a 320-bed hospital and a network of clinics, said in a news release the job cuts were part of an effort to slash $9.5 million from its expenses and “maintain our financial stability.” Plans also call for systemwide cuts to discretionary spending and a freeze on merit pay, as well as outsourcing its durable medical equipment business, gift shops and valet parking, the release said. Workers who lose their positions may find work elsewhere in the system or with outsourcing companies, the release said. Swedishamerican, which closes its books May 31, reported operating income of $5.5 million on revenue of $441.7 million last year, or an operating margin of 1.2%. That’s compared with the prior year’s operating income of $7.8 million on revenue of $416 million, or an operating margin of 1.9%. Gorski blamed write-offs, unpaid bills and lower payments from publicly subsidized insurance for the cuts. “Rising charity care and bad debt levels, Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement cuts and the delay in payments from the state of Illinois, which now are more than 200 days late, have produced shortfalls in our budget that can no longer be sustained,” he said.