Seven weeks after Vista Medical Center East placed 69 administrative and ancillary personnel on a six-week furlough to stem the flow of red ink, those workers remain sidelined as the hospital shifts its focus in search of profitability.
Vista Health Systems CEO Kevin M. Spiegel said Monday the hospital extended the furloughs and did not give a timeframe when they might end. The hospital continues to operate at a loss, though it is getting closer to profitability as it has hired 35 full-time nurses to meet patient needs.
“Our focus is in hiring full-time nurses and not administrative and ancillary personnel,” Spiegel said. “They will provide the bedside care our patients need.”
Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan currently continues to work toward financial stability as it cuts its losses and deals with other issues like an influx of uninsured and underinsured patients who come through its doors.
Along with its financial issues, Vista is also dealing with fallout from the death of Chelsea Adolphus, a patient who was found unresponsive on the hospital roof and died on Jan. 25. Her family filed a wrongful death suit days after her death.
Spiegel said the hiring of the 35 full-time nurses along with the furlough has lessened overall payroll expenses at the hospital. He is looking for a revenue boost by getting the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) to designate Vista as a safety net hospital.
“We are carefully working on the fiscal practices at Vista,” he said. “We’re still losing money, but our overall (financial) performance is improving.”
With a large share of its patients being either uninsured or underinsured, Spiegel said Vista has a smaller revenue stream than other hospitals in Lake County. If Vista can become a safety net hospital, it will get additional funding for caring for those patients.
HFS media relations officer Melissa Kula said in an email Monday that Vista is not currently classified as a safety net hospital. The designation is made annually, “based on utilization date as prescribed by administrative rule.”
Safety net funding is provided by the state through the federal government from Medicaid. Spiegel said he is aware Congress is considering a reduction in Medicaid funding.
“The safety net designation helps hospitals who provide care to the uninsured and the underinsured,” he said. “It also helps with undocumented individuals which Waukegan has, along with the uninsured and underinsured.”
Meanwhile, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office is conducting a jury inquest into Adolphus’ death on April 10. Though these inquests are normally the duty of the Lake County Coroner’s Office, Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli said in an email Monday that Coroner Jennifer Banek recused herself from the case.
“The purpose of the inquest is for a jury to determine the cause and manner of death, based on the facts,” Covelli said in the email.
Vista filed suit against Banek in Lake County Court on Jan. 27 asking the judge to ban her from conducting any inquiries into Adolphus’ death because she has, “economic and personal interests that conflict with her official duties as coroner,” according to pleadings in the case.
“Vista Health Systems welcomes an independent and unbiased party to fully investigate the issue,” Spiegel said.
Covelli said the inquiry is a civil, not a criminal matter. Waukegan Police Department Deputy Chief Scott Chastain said Monday his department is cooperating with the sheriff’s office by providing the reports it made after Adolphus’ death. No criminal investigation is pending.
“We saw nothing criminal,” Chastain said. “We made a full investigation and found nothing criminal in nature.”
