The city of Hammond, Ind., on Dec. 19 filed for a temporary restraining order against Franciscan Alliance to prevent the closure of Franciscan Health Hammond's emergency room, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Mishawaka, Ind.-based Franciscan Health, a 12-hospital system, plans to stop accepting ambulances at the 226-bed hospital's emergency department on Dec. 23, according to the report. The system plans to redirect inpatient and emergency care to its hospitals in Dyer and Munster — which are two and six miles away, respectively — as it looks to close Franciscan Health Hammond by the end of the year.
The restraining order is a last-ditch attempt to keep the emergency room open, "accepting patients from across Northwest Indiana," Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott said in a Dec. 19 tweet.
In another tweet, Mr. McDermott said the basis of the restraining order was the City of Hammond's "detrimental reliance upon Franciscan's (multiple) promises and reassurances to keep downtown Hammond's emergency room open."
Franciscan Health Hammond has been the main provider of emergency care in the city for the last 120 years and it is essential that the hospital remain open to preserve the health and safety of residents in the area, according to the court filing.
"Franciscan has made the difficult but necessary strategic decision to consolidate hospital resources, including emergency medicine resources, outside of Hammond," an attorney representing Franciscan Health told Becker's Hospital Review. "In doing so, it believes it will be better equipped to provide high-quality, state-of-the art services to all residents of the Calumet Region, including the residents of Hammond."
The health system is preparing a written response to file with the court before a hearing on Dec. 20 and is confident it will prevail on the issues raised by the City of Hammond, according to the attorney.