Employees Rally to Support Roseland Community Hospital
Wendy Jones remembers her mother suddenly suffering a heart attack while in the emergency room of Roseland Community Hospital (RCH) on Chicago’s far South Side.
“The hospital staff acted quickly and saved her life,” said Jones on Friday outside the medical facility open at 45 W. 111th St.
Jones said the encounter is the main reason she supports the 85-year-old medical facility.
Outside the hospital, Jones joined about 150 other demonstrators, many with signs proclaiming “Roseland Matters” and “Black Lives Matter.”
Hospital employees, elected officials and others held the rally just a day after a federal judge ordered Illinois to release Medicaid payments to health care providers.
The state told providers they couldn’t pay them because the 2016 fiscal year budget wasn’t passed.
The hospital faced a loss of $2 million in Medicaid payments for the month of July before the ruling.
But on Friday, supporters of the hospital, including several elected officials, touted the importance of the medical facility.
Ill. State Rep. Mary Flowers (Dist.-31st) said she was happy that the federal ruling keeps the hospital open for now, but feared state impeding budget cuts from Gov. Bruce Rauner would eventually close its doors.
“What we have today is a major crisis in our community,” Flowers said. “We have a long way to go.”
In a statement to news organizations, Catherine Kelly, a Rauner spokeswoman said, “Roseland Hospital will receive its Medicaid payments under Thursday’s court orders, but this continues to highlight the need for a balanced budget and reforms to state government that will up resources to help the most vulnerable.”
Ill. State Rep. Emil Jones III (Dist.-14th) said the hospital was important because “we must protect our most vulnerable.”
He added that the group should call Rauner and “let him know his cuts are hurting our community.”
Ill. State Sen. Donne Trotter (Dist.-17th) had a similar view.
“This crisis does not have to exist,” Trotter said. “This hospital is an institution.”
Some hospital employees said the facility is important because of the jobs it provides to the area. Having 500 employees, it is the largest employer in its neighborhood.
Before the ruling, RCH officials feared massive layoffs next month.
The hospital also struggled financially in the past, in fact, in 2013, former Gov. Pat Quinn approved $350,000 in aide to keep RCH from closing.
Roseland Community Hospital CEO, Tim Egan said he believes the hospital will remain open for now because of last week’s ruling.
“We are here today and fighting to make sure we are here tomorrow,” Egan said.
Some hospital employees said RCH is important to residents in the neighborhood because sometimes, valuable time spent traveling to another hospital m result in death.
Jones said the hospital’s quick work in 2009 helped her mother, Ella Watkins.
“Roseland hospital is a life-saving hospital,” Watkins said.
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