The proposal will now go to the county commissioners, which will consider it their July 13 meeting. The County Board has final approval over any new measures.
The new plan proposes measures that will help focus the system’s resources on primary care rather than hospital care. The proposal calls for $143 million in new expenditures, including building a new clinic in Chicago’s northern suburbs and expanding services at existing clinics. The plan also proposes closing acute care services at Oak Forest Hospital in Oak Forest, Ill., and scaling back acute care services at Provident Hospital in Chicago, and converting the two facilities into major outpatient centers.
The proposal will save the system an estimated $310 between 2011 and 2015, but unions worry that cutting costs will result in layoffs. The system has eliminated nearly 1,000 jobs in the last year and may lay off another 400 employees in the next few months.
Read the Chicago Tribune report on the proposal.
Read other Becker’s coverage on Cook County health system.
Illinois County Health System Lay Off 335, Cut 700 Jobs
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