'Safety Net' Hospitals That Often Treat Chicago's Most Vulnerable Communities Face Dire Financial

[TexasTowelie]

‘Safety Net’ Hospitals That Often Treat Chicago’s Most Vulnerable Communities Face Dire Financial Strain


A new report underscores just how much small hospitals on Chicago’s South and West sides struggle financially, and what can be done to prevent them from closing.

These small so-called “safety net” hospitals tend to be staples in their communities. They typically treat low-income and elderly Black and Latino patients, and often don’t have enough money flowing in to make ends meet.

A new study commissioned by the Health Care Council of Chicago estimates that by 2024, a dozen of these hospitals could lose at least $1.8 billion combined. And that doesn’t even account for money hospitals lost during the COVID-19 pandemic, as they suspended money-generating surgeries and shifted patients to video and phone visits to help slow the spread of the coronavirus.

“We cannot do this for another three or four years and expect that we are not going to see the threat of more hospital closures, more job loss, while health does not get better,” said David Smith, CEO of Third Horizon Strategies and lead author of the paper. “This does not have to be our future.”

Read more: https://www.wbez.org/stories/safety-net-hospitals-that-often-treat-chicagos-most-vulnerable-communities-face-dire-financial-strain/09eb1a75-c471-49de-b14f-bd12cb743600