The emergency room for Franciscan Well being Hammond will see its final sufferers noon Saturday following a last-second keep issued by the Indiana Court docket of Appeals.
The keep, issued Friday afternoon by Chief Decide Cale Bradford, halts a Lake County choose’s ruling that might have postponed the closure of Franciscan Well being Hammond’s emergency room for 9 months whereas town of Hammond searched for an additional operator.
In consequence, ambulances will probably be diverted beginning at midnight Saturday and the hospital’s ER is about to shut to walk-ins at midday Saturday, in accordance with Franciscan officers.
Following Lake County Superior Court docket Civil Division Decide Bruce Mother or father’s Dec. 22 choice, the Franciscan Alliance filed an emergency movement Wednesday to attraction the Mother or father’s ruling, which the appellate courtroom granted Friday afternoon.
“The Franciscan Alliance is grateful for the Court docket of Appeals order,” Franciscan Well being Hammond Interim President and CEO Barbara Anderson stated in a information launch Friday. “As such, Franciscan will proceed with leasing operations and shutting the emergency division as of Dec. 31, 2022.”
The choice to shut the Franciscan Well being Hammond emergency room on the finish of the 12 months was introduced abruptly Nov. 23, leaving many Hammond metropolis officers and residents blindsided.
Hammond Mayor Tom McDermott known as the choice an “indictment on the American well being care system,” leaving a weakened well being care system for the poor. “They’re abandoning their mission to assist the poor and so they’re transferring the place the wealthy individuals are,” he stated.
McDermott stated there was no worthwhile authorized recourse for town to pursue following the attraction.
“They will tear every thing out of there, and I would not be shocked in the event that they threw a grenade in there on their means out,” he stated.
In November, Anderson stated the hospital’s closure was a results of staffing shortages and dwindling affected person numbers.
Throughout the Dec. 21 listening to to increase Franciscan Well being Hammond’s emergency room, Franciscan’s authorized counsel argued that even when ordered to take action, the emergency room wouldn’t have the ability to operate following the Dec. 31 deadlines.
“As most ambulances have already stopped bringing sufferers to Franciscan Well being Hammond, we don’t anticipate that closing the Emergency Division will trigger disruption in emergency medical look after residents,” Anderson stated.