Chicago hospital hangs for sale sign

[cougarnurse]

And another one! First St. Francis.... Health Blog : Chicago Hospital Hangs For Sale Sign, Citing Credit Crunch

Lincoln Park Hospital may be in one Chicago’s fanciest neighborhoods. But the tony location hasn’t spared the facility from the vicissitudes of the financial markets.

The Chicago Tribune reports the aging hospital has put itself on the market after failing to come up with millions of dollars to finance improvements and fund operations. If no buyer surfaces, the money-losing hospital may close.

“There are some significantly expensive things that need to be done to bring it up to current architecture and fire codes,” Michael Curran, the Lincoln Park Hospital’s CEO, told the Tribune. He put the cost of necessary work at $7 million to $9 million minimum. “We don’t have that sort of capital.”

Lincoln Park Hospital is licensed for 420 beds but staffs only 145 of them.
The hospital, owned by Merit Health Systems, had been seeking additional financing without success. “Access to capital has been shrinking and shrinking and shrinking, and the outlook is worsening by the week,” Curran told the Trib.