Mercyhealth says floods nearly shut down Rockton Avenue hospital campus

May 08-- May 8--ROCKFORD -- Mercyhealth's Rockton Avenue hospital campus is one major flood event away from closing, says the health care conglomerate's president and CEO Javon Bea.

Just hours before meeting with the public Tuesday at the former Rockford Memorial Hospital, Bea revealed the hospital was in danger of being shut down after a June 18 storm dumped 5 inches of rain in four hours on the city's northwest side. Now, Mercyhealth is pressuring the city to spend millions of dollars to revamp a water drainage system that Mercyhealth's engineering study says is woefully inadequate.

"We came within just hours of the Illinois Department of Public Health shutting us down," Bea said.

The hospital's basement flooded during the storm, and the lower level contains critical patient support services such as the pharmacy, laboratory, data processing unit, linear accelerators and other ancillary equipment.

"Our Rockford staff was developing makeshift battlefield pharmacies and labs and everything upstairs to try to keep things going," he said. "We were diverting all ambulances, we shut down surgeries just trying to keep the place open because once IDPH closes it, it's a bad deal. It's hard to get it (back) open."

Bea said that flooding caused more than $30 million in insured losses, and it was one four heavy rain events to affect the hospital's operations in the past 12 years.

"The insurance company has informed us that if changes are not made on the campus and to city's drainage infrastructure, insurers may refuse to insure the Rockton campus or it will become cost prohibitive," Bea said. "Without insurance, Mercyhealth cannot keep the Rockton Campus open."

That information was later shared Tuesday evening by Bea and other Mercyhealth officials in a meeting open to neighborhood residents. Members of the news media were not allowed inside.

Alderwoman Ann Thompson-Kelly, D-7, whose ward includes the Rockton Avenue hospital, attended the meeting.

"It's not a we versus them problem," she said. "It should not totally be the city's responsibility or totally the hospital's responsibility. I'm hoping we can come up with a solution together."

Cathy Johnson, a member of Northwest United Neighbors Association, which includes the Rockton Avenue hospital, said she too is hopeful Mercyhealth and the city can work together.

"It's a bigger problem than just the Mercy campus," she said.

Before the meeting, Bea told the Register Star about an engineering study completed by Fehr Graham on behalf of the hospital. He said the hospital's and the neighborhoods' water drainage problem was 60 years in the making. He showed a black and white 1959 topography picture of the hospital surrounded by acres of green space, which absorbed a lot of water. A 1990 picture shows a heavily developed area with buildings, parking lots and homes, but inadequate water detention.

Bea said the hospital sits at the bottom of a 250-acre bowl and as the surrounding area was developed, the city failed to increase its drainage infrastructure, contributing to frequent flooding.

Bea said Mercyhealth is willing to invest another $6 million to $8 million to address what it calls "water intrusion issues," but he also wants the city to follow Fehr Graham's suggestion of spending $6.5 million to install under Arcadia Terrace a box culvert, which would empty into Kent Creek. State and federal funds should also be sought to install another box culvert under Garfield Avenue, which also would empty into Kent Creek, the firm recommends.

Bea said the box culverts won't eliminate the flooding issues, but would "significantly diminish their impact."

"If the city does not take steps to improve the drainage infrastructure, we will consider building a 3-foot to 4-foot berm to surround the medical office building and hospital," Bea said.

Such a move, he said, would only worsen the flooding residents and businesses around the hospital already experience.

Mayor Tom McNamara said Tuesday he met with Bea about three weeks ago and is aware of Mercyhealth's request.

"Even if I wanted to, I couldn't advocate for this kind of expense without fully understanding the scope of the issue on their campus," he said. "So, after that meeting, I asked him to provide us supporting documents to help us understand the scope of their issues."

McNamara said he is still waiting.

He also said, "I cannot guarantee that the City Council will ever fund anything. However, I can guarantee that if I go to them with this request from Javon with no supporting documentation, I will be told to go fly a kite."

Chris Green: 815-987-1241; cgreen@rrstar.com; @chrisfgreen

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