St. Mary’s Level II ER designation suspension pending

KANKAKEE – St. Mary’s Hospital has requested a voluntary suspension of its Level II trauma designation to the state based on its lack of OB surgical coverage.

The Illinois Department of Public Health, which oversees the designations, has not yet approved the request.

IDPH has 60-day review period regarding the request.

If the suspension is forthcoming, the region would be left with only Riverside Healthcare as having the Level II trauma designation.

Now under the ownership of Ontario, California-based Prime Healthcare, the hospital recently announced it would not renew its contract with the Westwood medical practice, which was the sole provider for the past several years of obstetric and gynecology services at St. Mary’s.

A ramification of that decision, however, is that to maintain a Level II designation in the trauma center, the hospital must have at least on-call OB/GYN specialty coverage.

Without Westwood, and specifically Dr. Roger Taylor, who largely covered the practice, the coverage is no longer available.

As a result, the hospital would likely have its Level II designation suspended. The designation can be restored if the state’s oversight body believes the requirements have been satisfied.

“This decision will not result in any service line changes or impact staff positions at St. Mary’s – Kankakee," according to an internal memo authored by Otis Story Sr., CEO of St. Mary’s and obtained by The Daily Journal.

It was further stated in the memo the hospital would maintain its emergency department and address the needs of its patients.

The memo dated May 15 was addressed to St. Mary’s board members, leadership, associates and physicians.

Prime formally took possession of St. Mary’s on March 1. The system also purchased St. Joseph Medical Center in Joliet.

Riverside Healthcare president and CEO Phil Kambic said 70% of all 2024 area Level II traumas had been directed to Riverside. In 2024, the hospital treated 159 Level II trauma cases.

In all, 1,112 trauma cases were treated at Riverside.

Riverside completed a massive rebuild of its emergency room. The new ER opened in January 2023, long before there were threats to the St. Mary’s trauma designation.

“We didn’t know this would be happening, but we plan for the future,” Kambic said Friday. “This pre-planning will hold the community today. ... We are here to meet the needs of the community.

“We are less than one mile from St. Mary’s and we are open for business.”

Riverside officials also noted annual emergency room visits are still below the pre-pandemic levels. To put it another way, Kambic said there is plenty of ER capacity available.

“We can handle the extra volume,” he said.

The lower trauma designation, the memo stated, would affect the location of care of only a minimal number of patients – basically meaning those with serious injury.

Certain levels of trauma, however, could not be addressed at the hospital. More serious trauma cases would need to be taken directly to Riverside Medical Center, which maintains a Level II trauma center, or transferred to Riverside if brought to St. Mary’s.

In an emergency room, a Level II trauma indicates a patient with injuries that are serious, but not immediately life-threatening. Level II trauma centers are equipped to provide initial definitive care for all injured patients, including stabilizing their condition and preparing them for transfer if necessary.

Level II ERs have 24-hour access to general surgeons and other specialists, such as orthopedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, anesthesiologists, OB/GYN and emergency medicine doctors.

A Level I trauma center is the top designation. The nearest Level I trauma center is in Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. There are only 15 Level I trauma centers statewide.

“This decision represents minimal change to prehospital processes or incoming ambulances, and we have been in contact with the Illinois Department of Public Health Office of Emergency Preparedness and Response to ensure appropriate disposition of patient,” according to the memo.

Prime further stated St. Mary’s priority is to ensure access to quality care and “address the evolving needs of our community, and we remain steadfast in that commitment.”

Therefore, the memo stated, Prime will continue to invest in and strengthen services needed by our community.

The group has previously stated it is investing $250 million to improve quality and access to state-of-the-art care across its Illinois market, which includes St. Joseph Medical Center in Joliet.

Prime said it is investing “tens of millions of dollars” for upgrades to the EPIC electronic medical records systems in Kankakee and at other Chicago area facilities.

The acquisition, which is the largest in the history of Prime Healthcare, in addition to St. Mary’s and Saint Joseph’s, included: Mercy Medical Center, Aurora; Holy Family Medical Center, Des Plaines; Resurrection Medical Center, Chicago; Saint Joseph Hospital, Elgin; Saint Francis Hospital, Evanston, and Saint Mary of Nazareth Hospital, Chicago.

Prime also acquired Heritage Village and Heritage Lodge in Kankakee and Ascension at Home Illinois in Kankakee.