Attorney General Files Pollution Lawsuit Against Oak Forest Hospital

On Aug. 28, Lisa Madigan filed a suit against Cook County due to an alleged failure to file permits on behalf of the old Oak Forest Hospital in a timely manner.

The old Oak Forest Hospital is at the center of a lawsuit between Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Cook County. The suit centers on two apparent failures by the county to submit permit applications with the state, which were reported to the Attorney General by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, according to Attorney General spokesperson Scott Mulford. “...The actions which gave rise to the alleged violations were that the hospital did not meet the deadlines for renewing its permit and filing its Annual Emission Report,” Mulford said via email. The permit the hospital failed to file regards its Federally Enforceable State Operating Permit—without it, the hospital was operating without an air pollution permit. The second …

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BBurns

9:35 am on Thursday, September 6, 2012

I agree...sad & pretty gross too. >:(   more ›

Get a Glimpse of the Oak Forest Health Center Groundbreaking

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle joined doctors, local elected officials and dozens of community leaders to unveil the first phase of the re-development of the Oak Forest Campus as part of the planned transition to the Oak Forest Health Cente

Mark Your Calendar: Public Workshops Planned to Discuss Future of Oak Forest Hospital Campus

The first of three meetings regarding the future of the Oak Forest Hospital campus is scheduled for Jan. 17. The meetings will keep the public informed ask for public input. All Cook County residents are welcome to attend.

State Approves Changes to Oak Forest Hospital

The hospital will be converted into a regional 24-hour care facility.

After months of empassioned debate and protest by community members, Oak Forest Hospital will be converted into a 24-hour regional urgent care facility. The Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board Tuesday voted 7 to 1 in favor of the plan to turn the south suburban hospital into an outpatient clinic with primary care doctors, specialists and diagnostic testing, according to a Chicago Tribune report. "The transformation of the Oak Forest campus will allow for better and more responsible use of resources to dramatically improve health access for medically underserved residents in the Southland," Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said. "I will continue to utilize my Southland Health Advisory Council to provide input to…

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Only Two Lobbyists Reported Contacting County Officials About Oak Forest Hospital Closing

The same lobbyists don't believe they're alone, and the Cook County Clerk's Office hopes to bring attention to it.

In the last year, only two lobbyists have grabbed a Cook County official’s ear to discuss the closing of Oak Forest Hospital, according to data released by the Cook County Clerk’s Office. Publicly, no one appears to have fought harder on behalf of keeping Oak Forest Hospital an inpatient clinic than William McNary, co-director of Citizen/Action Illinois (CAI) and member of the Southland Health Advisory Council. McNary and CAI co-director Lynda Delaforgue are the only lobbyists in Cook County who reported meeting this year with county officials and members of the Cook County Health and Hospital Systems (CCHHS) and its independent board that has proposed closing most of Oak Forest Hospital as part of a long-range overhaul of countywide …

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Oak Forest Residents OK Dog Park as New 'Pet' Project

Oak Forest residents came out last night to suggest ideas for a new dog park in the city, which could open within a year.

Oak Forest may have a new place for its canines to cavort, dig and do their duty as early as Spring 2012, now that a dedicated group of residents is organizing to open a dog park in one of two locations. Late last month Ald. Laura Clemons (1st Ward), an owner of three dogs who's spearheading the project, proposed that the dog park be established on the corner of 165th Street and Knottingwood Avenue, near the Oak Forest Hospital. Read more: Patch's story from last month on plans for a new dog park in Oak Forest. “It's my feeling ... that in this kind of economy,” Clemons reiterated from the last meeting, “that it's very important to make a community not only liveable, but enjoyable.” After several residents living near the first proposed …

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Southland Stories

Cook County Resubmits Plan to Shut Down Oak Forest Hospital

A 24-hour non-emergency clinic is now part of the county's pitch.

The effort to shut down Oak Forest Hospital as an inpatient center hit a roadblock a few weeks ago when Cook County's plan failed to secure approval from the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board. A new pitch to the state regulators features a 24-hour-a-day clinic as well as a Southland advisory board, reports Greg Hinz on his blog at Crain's Chicago Business. Without public announcement, the county submitted paperwork for a crucial approval — known as a certificate of need — with the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board, which twice recently has said "no" to similar requests. The latest version is somewhat different. Oak Forest Hospital still would be closed as a medical center and be converted into an out-…

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Lorraine Swanson

3:57 am on Thursday, June 9, 2011

Joe, Please repost your comment without the profanity.   more ›

Crain's: State Lawmaker Tries to Help County Shut Down Oak Forest Hospital

Legislative move would let Cook County avoid a state panel in decisions about the county hospitals and health system.

State Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie submitted an amendment to legislation Wednesday that would let Cook County bypass the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board, allowing the county to do as it pleases at Oak Forest Hospital. On May 10, the board halted Cook County's plan to end inpatient services with a single "no vote." Reports Crain's Chicago Business, via AP: Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle supports the amendment, although she didn't ask Currie to introduce it, said Preckwinkle spokeswoman Jessey Neves. Supporters of keeping the hospital open criticized the amendment. Lynda DeLaforgue of Citizen Action Illinois called the move an attempt to make an "end run" around the state board. "Why should the area of …

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Southland Stories

Patient Care Has Been Gutted at Oak Forest Hospital. Now What?

Southtown columnist Phil Kadner asks the tough questions and introduces you to the people who rely on Oak Forest Hospital.

Cook County has been shutting down Oak Forest Hospital for months now, peeling away services as it prepares to turn the building at 159th Street and Cicero Avenue into an outpatient facility. All county officials needed was the approval of the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board. June 1 would be the fateful day. Sick, needy people now being cared for at the hospital and their families were earnest in their opposition. A south suburban pastor even staged a hunger strike in front of the building. Last week, one man from downstate Urbana thwarted the county's plan — 63-year-old Ronald Eaker, founder of the Consumers’ Health Care Task Force in Champaign County, a former United Methodist minister, a former nursing home …

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Orland Woman Says Planning for Oak Forest Hospital Transfers is Lax

At a Monday hearing, Diane Roth told public officials that Cook County is doing little to help patients find new inpatient facilities.

The end of inpatient services at Oak Forest Hospital continues to draw criticism from south suburban residents who use the medical center. Diane Roth, of Orland Park, says the planning for the move of patients to other facilities is insufficient. Her cousin, who's on a ventilator, has been in the facility for 17 years. “They say they’re working with families to help them relocate, but that’s not the case. They just peek their head in his door occasionally and ask if he’s made a plan. Mike’s been in the same hospital, in the same room, for the past 17 years and has received phenomenal care. “It would be near impossible to get everything squared away and moved in the time frame they’re talking,” She voiced her opinions on Monday at Oak …

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