Rockford, Ill.-based Mercyhealth officials voiced their opposition to SwedishAmerican Hospital's proposed 10-bed neonatal intensive care unit during a hearing Tuesday, stating the NICU would be "an unnecessary duplication of services that would hurt patients and families with inferior care," according to the rrstar.com.
Officials from both organizations, as well as community members, local clergy and elected officials, voiced their opinion on the creation of a second NICU and a $128.2 million expansion of SwedishAmerican Hospital's facilities in Rockford at a Illinois Health Facility and Services Review Board hearing Tuesday.
Representatives of Mercyhealth said the addition of a second NICU in the area would diminish care for critically ill newborns, while SwedishAmerican officials said the expansion would fill a potential gap in services for parts of Rockford, according to the report.
The board will review SwedishAmerican's application to expand its facility and build a 114,830-square-foot patient tower for women's and children's services in September. If approved, the hospital's NICU would open in the existing facility "almost immediately" and transition to the new building once it opens in 2020, officials told rrstar.com.