Fencing has now been erected around the emergency department at Franciscan Health Hammond, which used to be called St. Margarget's Hospital.
This comes after an Indiana appellate court essentially lifted an injunction that the city was granted earlier this month that had ordered the hospital's ER to remain open another nine months so the city could find another provider.
Franciscan said with this closure and consolidation, patients will be better served at its locations in Dyer and Munster, but the move leaves Northwest Indiana's largest city without a hospital. "This organization has billions in the bank and they pay no taxes. There's a reason they pay no taxes. Part of their mission is to help poor people. But now they're running away where there's no poor people. They want to go where people are wealthy, and you know it's just -- it's really rotten," said Hammond Mayor Thomas Mcdermott, Jr.
"As most ambulances have already stopped bringing patients to Franciscan Health Hammond, we do not expect that closing the emergency department will cause disruption in emergency medical care for residents," Franciscan Health said in a statement. "We believe this decision prioritizes patient safety, which has been our primary concern throughout the legal proceedings."Copyright © 2022 WLS-TV. All Rights Reserved.
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