Weiss Memorial Hospital in Uptown on the brink of closure

Weiss Memorial Hospital on Chicago’s North Side is set to lose major federal health insurance payments starting this weekend, raising questions about whether the hospital might close as soon as Friday.Weiss from Medicare and Medicaid after a monthslong pattern of being in and out of compliance with federal regulators for everything from not having enough nurses per shift to failing to prevent “inappropriate” delays in treatment.As a result, an emergency room nurse told WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times the hospital will likely close Friday morning.“I have been telling patients we will be closing within the week,” the nurse said, who spoke to WBEZ and the Sun-Times anonymously out of fear of retaliation. “I wonder every time I show up to work if the doors will be locked.”Weiss was informed it would lose Medicare access this Saturday in a July 24 letter from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, known as CMS, to Dr. Manoj Prasad, who owns Weiss. Federal regulations require that when a hospital is terminated from Medicare, it’s also cut from the Medicaid program, according to a spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, which runs Medicaid.The healthcare and family services inspector general’s office will file a notice to terminate Weiss from Medicaid effective the same day it is cut from Medicare, the spokesperson said.In 2024, Medicare and Medicaid payments, which cover patients who are elderly, low-income or have a disability, made up 84% of total revenue at Weiss, a WBEZ and Sun-Times analysis of Illinois public health records show.“I don’t see how they could continue to operate with that kind of loss,” said Dr. Joel Shalowitz, who taught health care business classes at Northwestern University for about 30 years.Losing both sources of government funding is rare, Shalowitz said, particularly since hospitals receive warnings to address any issues.

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The ER nurse at Weiss said there has been no communication from Weiss management or Prasad on whether the hospital will remain open beyond Saturday.Their manager told the nurse the hospital will close Friday at 7 a.m. The staff schedule is not set beyond Saturday, which the nurse said is unusual.“It feels intentional. I can’t imagine a person that just allows these things to persist without trying to address things at all,” the nurse said.Prasad can request a hearing on the termination decisions. He did not return messages to comment. Prasad also owns West Suburban Medical Center in suburban Oak Park.Weiss, a fixture along the lakefront in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood, is a for-profit general hospital that has been bought and sold multiple times. Hospital leaders invested in everything from orthopedics and an outpatient behavioral health center to women’s health and advanced cardiac technology to better diagnose heart disease, according to a history of the hospital on its website.Prasad bought Weiss and West Suburban in 2022. These days Weiss mostly treats white and Black patients, state public health data shows. Most people who are hospitalized are older adults, while about one-third of their outpatient services are used by patients who have private health insurance that typically reimburses hospitals more than Medicare or Medicaid.In addition to losing Medicare and Medicaid payments, private health insurers might stop paying for services their customers receive at Weiss if they are concerned about the quality of care there, Shalowitz said.

‘Unsafe’ conditionsIn its letter to Prasad, CMS described Weiss’ compliance issues since November 2024.State inspectors found on Nov. 26, 2024, that Weiss failed to restrain patients without a physician’s order and lock supply cabinets and carts in the ER, according to records obtained by WBEZ and the Sun-Times. Weiss also did not have enough nursing staff, investigators found.In response, Weiss said it had implemented policies to address the issues and also shared a plan that Weiss’ executive director for quality would oversee.But over the next several months, compliance issues persisted, according to the CMS letter.In June, Weiss evacuated its entire inpatient unit when the hospital's air conditioning failed. Every unit was shut down except for the emergency room and outpatient clinics.At the time, Prasad said the ER was unaffected by the AC issues. But state investigators recorded temperatures nearing 87 degrees in the ER on June 18.As a result, the hospital opened a “makeshift” ER in the hospital's medical office building. State investigators on July 12 found several issues with the ER, including that it lacked medications, oxygen supplies, monitoring equipment and adequate staff.Investigators also identified three cases in which patients did not receive adequate care. They eventually were transferred to other hospitals.The emergency department medical director told investigators: "The hospital leadership lacks the awareness of the capabilities” of the makeshift ER, which the director said was not safe for patients, according to the state.The medical director and Prasad have since denied those statements and told the Sun-Times the state’s findings were “untrue.” They also said the ER was relocated with the state's approval. But neither supplied proof disputing the state's investigation.

Weiss’ medical director and owner said that the state’s findings about problems with the hospital’s makeshift ER were “untrue.” Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

The ER nurse who spoke to WBEZ and the Sun-Times also said some of the state's findings were overblown. While staff had to get creative at times within the temporary ER, the nurse said it was safe for patients.The broken AC system was the larger issue, the nurse said. The lack of AC had been a problem at the hospital for several weeks before the inpatient unit was cleared out and ambulances were sent to other hospital ERs, the nurse said.Management kept telling staff to give it a couple weeks, and the AC would be fixed, the nurse said."But conditions were only getting worse," the nurse said, adding that ER staff asked management to have ambulances skip Weiss and go to other ERs instead. “But management wouldn't listen. We were having multiple cardiac arrests and doing chest compressions in a 90-plus degree room was difficult and exhausting. … We'd be drenched in sweat head to toe."The nurse filed a complaint on June 13 with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.While the fate of Weiss is in limbo, Shalowitz suggests patients reach out to their doctors and see if they are on staff at other hospitals and where else they can get treatment.Ascension St. Joseph, about 2 miles south of Weiss, anticipates Weiss physicians may start transferring some patients to the hospital, an Ascension spokesperson said. The hospital's cancer center has also seen more oncology patient referrals since Weiss' issues began, the spokesperson said.Endeavor Health Swedish Hospital, about 3 miles west of Weiss, has seen "notable increases" in ambulance arrivals and emergency room and inpatient visits, a spokesperson said, as Weiss struggles.

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The unwinding of historic Mercy Hospital in Bronzeville during the pandemic offers a window into the potential ripple effects on patients, nearby hospitals and the surrounding community should Weiss close.Other hospital emergency departments got slammed with patients. One Mercy doctor gave his patients a small card that fit into their wallets listing their medications, illnesses and last screenings and immunizations. The idea was to help patients transition easier.Amid a massive campaign from patients and advocates to save Mercy, the hospital wound up being bought for $1 and is now Insight Hospital and Medical Center.Kristen Schorsch covers the health of the region for WBEZ. Kaitlin Washburn is a general assignment reporter at the Chicago Sun-Times.