Provena Health v. Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board

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State: Illinois

Court: 1st District Appellate

Docket No: 1-07-1952 Rel

Case Date: 03/31/2008

Preview:FIRST DIVISION March 31, 2008

No. 1-07-1952 PROVENA HEALTH and PROVENA HOSPITALS, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. ILLINOIS HEALTH BOARD, ILLINOIS HEALTH, SHERMAN HEALTH SYSTEMS, FACILITIES PLANNING DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HOSPITAL, SHERMAN and REEVEN J. ELFMAN, ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) Appeal from the Circuit Court of Cook County.

Defendants-Appellees.

Honorable Peter J. Flynn, Judge Presiding.

JUSTICE WOLFSON delivered the opinion of the court: The Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board (Board) approved a certificate of need (CON) permit for Sherman Hospital and Sherman Health Systems (Sherman) to discontinue its old hospital facility in east Elgin, Illinois, and construct a new facility in west Elgin. Provena Health and Provena Hospitals

(Provena) operate the only other hospital in the planning area, located in west Elgin. Provena filed a complaint for

administrative review opposing the construction of Sherman's new hospital, contending it would have a devastating impact on Provena Saint Joseph Hospital (St. Joseph). We are called on to

decide whether the Board's decision to grant the permit was clearly erroneous. FACTS On October 24, 2005, Sherman submitted to the Board its It was not.

1-07-1952 application for a permit to construct a new hospital at 1425 North Randall Road in Elgin. The site for the proposed project

is approximately 4.5 miles from its current location at 934 Center Street in Elgin. The new facility would contain all the A small portion of

services offered at the existing hospital.

the old facility would remain open for scheduling, outpatient testing, and immediate care; the older functionally obsolete buildings would be demolished. The Board treated the application

as a proposal for the discontinuation of the old hospital and construction of a new hospital. project was $310,352,103. The estimated cost of the

Sherman proposed decreasing the total

number of beds from 363 in the old hospital to 263 in the new hospital. Service Medical/Surgical Pediatrics Obstetrics Intensive Care Total The beds would be divided as follows: Existing Beds 293 18 24 28 363 Proposed Beds 196 9 28 30 263

Pursuant to the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Act (Act), 20 ILCS 3960/8 (West 2004), Sherman requested a public hearing, which was held on December 7, 2005. Members of the

public, including local officials and representatives from Sherman, Provena, and other hospitals, attended the hearing and 2

1-07-1952 testified for and against the project. St. Joseph is located in west Elgin. The Fox River

separates St. Joseph from Sherman's current hospital in east Elgin. St. Joseph and Sherman Hospital are the only two The proposed site for Sherman's

hospitals in the planning area.

new hospital is in west Elgin, approximately 3.7 miles north of St. Joseph, about the same distance between St. Joseph and the current Sherman Hospital. On February 21, 2006, Provena submitted written letters and reports opposing the project, including a study by Deloitte Financial Advisory Services, LLP (Deloitte), concluding the proposed relocation of Sherman would cause Provena to lose $8 million or more annually. Other reports concluded the move would

affect patients' access to Sherman and negatively impact the ability of emergency responders to transport patients from east Elgin to Sherman's proposed new location in west Elgin. The Board considered the application at a meeting on March 14, 2006. The Board members discussed area bed needs, the

suitability of alternate locations, the infeasibility of renovating Sherman's existing facility, and the impact of the proposed project on Provena. The Board also considered the State

Agency Report (SAR) prepared by the Illinois Department of Public Health, which provides staff assistance to the Board. The

Department reviewed Sherman's application for compliance with the 3

1-07-1952 general review criteria set out in the State regulations. It

found the proposed project "did not appear to be in conformance" with 7 of the 21 review criteria related to establishment of the new hospital in part 1110 of the regulations.

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