Oak Park, Ill.-based West Suburban Medical Center plans to lay off about 500 employees effective Aug. 31, a spokesperson confirmed to Becker’s July 1. The struggling hospital closed June 11 after its remaining functional elevator broke down.
West Suburban Medical Center has anywhere from 501 to 1,000 employees, according to its LinkedIn page.
“This mass layoff is expected to be permanent,” Doris Gutierrez, executive director of human resources for West Suburban Medical Center, said in a June 30 employee letter obtained by Becker’s. “As you know, West Suburban Medical Center does not have a job bumping system, that is, employees will not be able to displace more junior employees out of their job positions as a result of this mass layoff.”
Resilience temporarily paused all patient care services and furloughed employees March 26 in its clinics, emergency room and hospital amid payroll challenges. It then resumed hospital-based clinic and outpatient testing services April 15, which brought around 80 of its 670 furloughed employees back to work.
In mid-June, West Suburban’s final elevator closure forced an on-site dialysis clinic to relocate 140 patients. PCC Community Wellness Center, an independent federally qualified health center, also closed three clinics it operates within the hospital on an emergency basis and relocated care for over 100 patients.
Manoj Prasad, MD, PhD, CEO of Resilience Healthcare, the parent company to West Suburban Medical Center, said in a July 1 statement shared with Becker’s that he and his team are “committed to working towards reopening the hospital for the community.”
This is not the first time a hospital under Resilience has faced significant challenges. On Aug. 8, 2025, Resilience closed its Chicago-based Weiss Memorial Hospital amid CMS’ plan to terminate its Medicare program participation.
Ramco Healthcare Holdings owner Rathnaker Patlola, which owns West Suburban’s physical real estate, said in a July 1 statement shared with Becker’s that he was “surprised and disappointed” to learn that Dr. Prasad had issued the mass layoff notice.
“We believe that the actions taken today by Resilience and Dr. Prasad violate the spirit and the letter of the parties’ agreement,” he said. “We will take steps to enforce the agreement to ensure that the hospitals reopen for the communities and their employees.”
A spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Public Health said in a July 1 statement, also shared with Becker’s, that this “unfortunate situation” was caused by a private company, and that the department had not received an advanced notice or clear communication about the hospital leadership’s service suspension in March or about the recent layoff decision.
“Although the department expects advance planning from healthcare providers to protect and serve patients, staff, and communities across Illinois, we do not have the authority to directly regulate or impact employment decisions,” the spokesperson said. “The department is deeply concerned about workforce stability in community hospitals and continues to monitor the situation with West Suburban.”
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