Nov. 18--Plans to build a fourth hospital in Rockford won the approval of Illinois regulators on Tuesday, over the objections of a competitor.
MercyRockford Health System's proposed $407 million hospital off Interstate 90 will have 188 beds, including a neonatal intensive care unit. The project includes remodeling the company's aging Rockford Memorial Hospital to reduce the number of beds there from 391 to 94.
MercyRockford's plan to create a second hospital campus was met with resistance by OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center, which is less than 10 miles away from the proposed hospital. OSF officials at Tuesday's meeting of the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board said Rockford doesn't need a fourth hospital because it would duplicate services.
The staff of the health facilities board had raised concerns about overlapping services in a report released earlier this month. But the board, in an 8-0 vote, commended MercyRockford for building a new hospital while also committing to renovating Rockford Memorial, which serves as a safety-net hospital for the city's low-income population. About 31 percent of the hospital's revenue comes from Medicaid, the government insurance program for the poor, officials said.
The proposed hospital stoked fears in Rockford that MercyRockford was cutting services to the poor. The new hospital will be in a more affluent area of Rockford, about a 10-minute drive from Rockford Memorial. MercyRockford officials said it would be less expensive to build a second campus than to replace Rockford Memorial, portions of which are 60 years old. The location of the second campus also will make it easier to lure patients from southern Wisconsin, hospital executives said.
Javon Bea, the company's CEO, tried to reassure the community that MercyRockford is not abandoning its legacy. More modern facilities are needed to turn around the hospital's finances, he said. Bea said Rockford Memorial has had operating losses totaling $47.6 million in the past five years.
"This plan will allow us to continue our mission," Bea said during the hearing at Bolingbrook Golf Club.
Bea was surrounded by more than 200 employees and supporters as he addressed the board. MercyRockford bused them in for the meeting. Supporters wore blue T-shirts that said "I support one hospital. Two campuses" on the back.
The board heard nearly two hours of public comment before voting. After the roll call, a loud cheer erupted in the ballroom.
asachdev@tribpub.com
