More than 150 workers are losing their jobs as Kindred Hospitals prepares to close two of its facilities in Chicago and Sycamore.
Kindred had said in the fall that it planned to close Kindred Chicago Lakeshore in Edgewater and Kindred Hospital Sycamore, which are both long-term, acute care hospitals meaning they care for patients with complex conditions after they leave traditional hospitals. The system plans to instead send area patients to two of its other hospitals, Kindred Hospital Chicago – North and Kindred Hospital Chicago – Northlake.
Kindred has “offered substantially all employees, including all frontline employees in good standing,” jobs at other Kindred hospitals, Kindred Hospitals Chicago said in a statement.
But according to a WARN notice filed with the state’s Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Kindred is laying off 74 employees at the Edgewater hospital and 83 at the Sycamore hospital. Those numbers do not include people who accepted jobs at other Kindred hospitals but they do include those who declined jobs at other Kindred facilities, a spokesperson said.
“Kindred’s priorities throughout this process have been to ensure the seamless delivery of care for patients and to support its employees,” Kindred said in the statement.
An attorney for Kindred noted in letters to elected and state officials in the fall that the Edgewater hospital was operating at about 36% capacity and the Sycamore hospital was operating at just over 30% occupancy. The attorney wrote that Kindred Hospital Chicago – North and Kindred Hospital Chicago – Northlake, could take patients from the closing hospitals.
“This decision will best enable Kindred to care for the greater Chicago community and invest more robustly in the remaining facilities,” the attorney for Kindred wrote.
The Edgewater hospital has 103 beds, and the Sycamore hospital has 64 beds, according to applications to close the hospitals filed with the state Health Facilities and Services Review Board. The two hospitals are no longer accepting admissions.
Kindred had originally said it planned to close the hospitals no later than April 30, but it has since asked for the state board to approve the closures earlier, at the board’s March meeting, noting in a letter to the state board that it’s difficult to retain staff with the impending closures.
Kindred has facilities in 16 states, and is part of the larger health system ScionHealth.
