What happens when your hospital closes?

What happens when your hospital closes? The closure of West Suburban Medical Center in March is leaving patients facing longer travel times and busier emergency departments in the Chicago area. Residents who previously relied on the facility now report driving roughly 10 to 20 minutes to hospitals that are already strained and nearing ambulance turn-aways, according to state records cited in the report. Patients with ongoing needs, including Austin resident Shantis Johnson, who is due in August with twins and has chronic asthma, say the ER and walk-in clinic at West Suburban were central to their care. The article also links the pressure on hospitals to upcoming Medicaid cuts for people who are poor or have disabilities, noting that in Illinois about one in four people relies on Medicaid and that more than 400,000 could lose coverage. The risk is heightened by the financial stress on hospitals carrying over $700 million in debt to the state.