The owners of Westlake Hospital may proceed with the winding down of services in the Melrose Park facility, a court has ruled.
Pipeline Health won the favorable ruling in the Illinois Appellate Court Thursday morning.
A three-judge panel ruled unanimously that the village of Melrose Park had no grounds to request a temporary restraining order against Pipeline.
Pipeline was held in contempt of court for violating the temporary restraining order on Tuesday. They had until Thursday morning to restore service or run the risk of being fined $200,000 a day. This decision by the appellate courts renders a motion that could lift that judgment.
“We are pleased the appellate court has ruled in our favor, and we are now working to lift the order completely,” said Pipeline Health CEO Jim Edwards. “We need to get back to investing in patients and not buildings.”
Melrose Park Mayor Ron Serpico issued a statement Thursday saying that the ruling “does not erase the fact that Pipeline Health broke Illinois law by discontinuing services at Westlake Hospital. Melrose Park has worked tirelessly to hold Pipeline Health accountable to the law.”
Earlier this month, Cook Circuit Court Judge Eve Reilly had decided the sudden closure could have “irreparable harm” to the community and granted a temporary restraining order against Pipeline from shuttering the hospital until May 1 — the day after a hearing is scheduled before the state Health Facilities and Services Review Board to determine if Pipeline can shut down Westlake.
“Pipeline cannot be allowed to continue to break Illinois law without consequences and Melrose Park is looking at all options to hold Pipeline accountable, including requesting the Attorney General or State’s Attorney to intervene to protect health care access to the residents of Melrose Park,” Serpico said in his statement.
“Before Pipeline purchased the hospital, it promised — under penalty of perjury — to keep Westlake open and to continue providing charity care to the community,” Ari Scharg, the village’s attorney said.
Last month a lawsuit was filed by the village against Pipeline accusing the California-based company of fraud. That case is still pending.
“This decision absolutely does not impact the lawsuit that Melrose Park filed alleging that Pipeline purchased Westlake Hospital under fraudulent terms,” Serpico said.
State Rep. and Westlake Hospital trustee Emanuel “Chris” Welch has been working on the legislative side to keep the facility open and was disappointed by Thursday’s ruling.
“While today’s decision is a setback in our efforts, it’s vital that we continue to stand together in demanding access to care for our neighborhoods,” Welch said in a statement. “I will continue to work with local elected officials and community members to exhaust every option possible to block Pipeline’s decision to take healthcare away from our largely black and brown community.”
Manny Ramos is a corps member in Report for America, a not-for-profit journalism program that aims to bolster Sun-Times coverage of issues affecting Chicago’s South and West sides.
