The St. Margaret’s Health board of directors met Friday and finalized the Spring Valley hospital will close 11:59 p.m. Friday, June 16.
The closure will include all operations – hospital, clinics and other facilities – at both St. Margaret’s-Spring Valley and St. Margaret’s-Peru.
This is not the outcome any of us wanted and it is due to many circumstances beyond our control.
Tim Muntz, president and CEO of St. Margaret’s-Health, Spring Valley
“This is not the outcome any of us wanted and it is due to many circumstances beyond our control,” said Tim Muntz, president and CEO in a memo to employees and staff.
St. Margaret’s had announced in mid-May a June 16 closure was imminent without emergency state funding. A state budget passed without any assistance for the hospital.
The closure will leave western La Salle and eastern Bureau counties without an emergency room throughout the summer.
Spring Valley Mayor Melanie Malooley-Thompson called Friday’s announcement an “unfortunate outcome,” but otherwise stood behind previous statements she’d made about the hospital’s financial difficulties. She said at Monday’s City Council meeting Carle Clinic had showed interest in purchasing the Spring Valley hospital but decided against it.
While St. Margaret’s Health-Peru (the former Illinois Valley Community Hospital) and assorted properties will be acquired by OSF HealthCare, the Spring Valley hospital was not part of the pending sale.
Friday’s finalization of Spring Valley’s closure comes the same day the Hygienic Institute in La Salle closed, directing patients with financial need to Dr. Kara Fess in the lower level of 920 West St., across from the closed Peru facility. The Streator Medical Clinic, Henry Medical Clinic and La Salle Medical Clinic were among other St. Margaret’s closures.
As of Friday, OSF HealthCare has not filed with the Health Facilities and Services Review Board an application for change of ownership, a required step in acquiring the Peru hospital, and which would be followed by a 60- to 90-day completion period. State Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Morris) and state Rep. Lance Yednock (D-Ottawa) have said in a statement they’re working with Gov. JB Pritzker to expedite OSF HealthCare’s application in Peru.
