CHICAGO — It’s one of the busiest hospitals on the South side. But starting Saturday, Provident will no longer take ambulance calls, leaving area hospitals bracing for the impact on their own patient care.
The cost-cutting move is part of a mandate by Cook County officials to cut out about 20 percent from the health system’s operating budget. Hospitals within a five-mile radius to Provident at 500 E. 51st St., will receive the re-routed ambulance calls, county health system spokesman Lucio Guerrero said. He maintains, the decision will not have an impact on neighboring hospitals. “Just remember, Provident is not a Level 1 trauma center.” Guerrero said. “Even if there was a significant shooting or an accident, those patients never went to Provident because they don’t have a trauma center.”
But officials at the University of Chicago Medical Center say they already have all they can handle.
“If we were to receive the lion’s share of the ambulance volume of eight to ten runs per day at provident, that would be a 50 percent increase,” said U. of C. Medical Center spokesperson Richard Baron.
Of the 40,000 patients treated at Provident’s emergency room last year, Guerrero says less than 4,000 patients arrived by ambulance. The hospital will continue to treat people who walk into the ER. County officials say the change will result in a $20 to $25 million dollar savings, and allow Provident to focus on critical outpatient service.
Republished with permission from WGNTV