Endeavor Health is eliminating inpatient psychiatric services at Northwest Community Hospital and laying off “a small number of individuals” across the health system, Endeavor said in a statement Thursday.
About 100 workers at Northwest Community will be affected by the change at the Arlington Heights hospital, and Endeavor said a statement it’s “hopeful that many will join us in other positions across our system.” In addition to those employees, “A small number of individuals in other areas across the organization” were notified Wednesday they were being laid off.
“Like many in the health care industry, we are entering 2025 facing significant cost pressures and headwinds that require our organization to adapt and think differently about how we maximize our talent and resources to operate effectively and continue to deliver high-quality, expert care to our communities,” Endeavor said in the statement. “In some cases, changes may include difficult decisions such as the elimination or realignment of certain positions.”
At Northwest Community Hospital, inpatient psychiatric services are being cut because of a decrease in demand and an increased focus on outpatient and community-based care and telehealth services, Endeavor said in the statement.
Inpatient psychiatric services will end April 11. An Endeavor spokesperson did not immediately respond to a question Thursday morning about how many inpatient psychiatric beds Northwest Community has.
Endeavor plans to help members of its behavioral health team at Northwest Community “explore other opportunities at and beyond Endeavor Health,” Endeavor said. Endeavor does not believe that discontinuing psychiatric inpatient services at the hospital will hurt access to care in the area because there are still extra psychiatric inpatient beds at other Endeavor locations and throughout the region, Endeavor said in the statement.
Endeavor, then known as NorthShore University HealthSystem, acquired Northwest Community Hospital in 2021.
The changes at Endeavor follow a nearly $492 million operating loss for the health system during the nine months that ended Sept. 30. Most of that loss was attributable to $453 million in expenses to settle patients’ claims alleging one of Endeavor’s former doctors sexually abused them, Endeavor said in a financial disclosure in November.
The unaudited financial statement did not name the doctor. But Endeavor and Swedish Hospital have settled more than 60 lawsuits filed against them by former patients of gynecologist-obstetrician Dr. Fabio Ortega, accusing him of sexually abusing them while he worked at NorthShore University HealthSystem, which is now Endeavor. Ortega also formerly worked at Swedish, which is now part of Endeavor.
Many of the patients contended in their lawsuits that the hospital systems where Ortega worked failed to protect them from the abuse despite fielding complaints from other patients. A Chicago Tribune investigation published last year described how Endeavor allowed Ortega to continue providing care despite multiple complaints from patients.
