One hospital in Illinois and another in New York shuttered last weekend after they were unable to find a way to overcome hefty financial challenges:
1. Spring Valley, Ill.-based St. Margaret's Health closed June 16 after running out of resources to continue operations. In a May internal memo, St. Margaret's President and CEO Tim Muntz said the hospital "continues to be in severe financial distress" and requested emergency funding from the state of Illinois. A state budget recently passed without any assistance for the hospital after concerns that St. Margaret's Health would use state funding for payroll needs. Peoria, Ill.-based OSF HealthCare, a 15-hospital system operated by The Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis, is acquiring some of St. Margaret's assets, including its hospital in Peru, Ill., which closed in late January.
2. Lockport, N.Y.-based Eastern Niagara Hospital closed June 17 after years of financial challenges. The closure affected 337 employees. Though the hospital's ambulatory center is closing, it will reopen immediately under Buffalo, N.Y.-based Catholic Health's management. In 2019, Eastern Niagara signed an operating agreement with Catholic Health after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection; the health system has been planning to close this facility as it launches Lockport Memorial Hospital in the same city.