West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park will shut down all operations beginning Friday, according to a Mar. 25 announcement from Manoj Prasad, president and CEO of the hospital’s parent company. The closure affects a safety-net hospital that primarily serves low-income patients from Chicago’s West Side neighborhoods.
The loss of the facility means residents in Austin and nearby communities will have fewer options for medical care. Hundreds of workers are also losing their jobs; West Suburban employed about 600 full-time staff members based on recent federal data.
Prasad described the shutdown as a temporary measure due to longstanding revenue shortfalls made worse by problems with a new billing system. In an email to staff, he wrote that the hospital was using “a manual and very tedious process” to collect unpaid bills needed for payroll. “The numbers indicated that at least half of our work was not getting billed, but nobody could understand why,” Prasad said in his message.
However, two sources familiar with hospital operations said they believe the closure is unlikely to be temporary and blamed chronic mismanagement for inadequate care and dangerous conditions. They allege billing issues were linked to disputes with previous records management vendors, leading the hospital to lose access to old patient records and miss months of billing. One source told Block Club Chicago that staff had been forced back into using paper records: “The hospital has now retreated ‘into the 1990s,’ as it rushes to work through paper records and send bills.” Another source described daily shortages: “It’s understaffed, it doesn’t have basic materials for patient care such as basic swabs and gauze,” adding that critical equipment is often unreliable.
Prasad rejected these claims, calling his critics “armchair quarterbacks” who should identify themselves publicly. He asked, “Also ask them… where were they hiding in December 2022 when no one came forth to save the hospital?”
During Prasad’s leadership since purchasing West Suburban in 2022 for $92 million along with Weiss Memorial Hospital, services at West Suburban have been reduced significantly—including ending partnerships with nonprofit providers and shutting down key units like labor and delivery last July. The teaching program ended after doctors raised concerns about conditions; despite promises it would resume, it has not restarted.
Officials from the Illinois Department of Public Health confirmed awareness of the impending closure but criticized its handling. Jim Leach said: “We are disappointed by the lack of advance notice and clear communication from hospital leadership… Transparency and advance notice are essential in order to safely transition and protect patients, staff, and the communities it serves.”
