Waukegan, Ill.-based Vista Medical Center East plans to cut hours at its specialized heart care and treatment facility, according to a March 22 report from NBC Chicago.
The hospital is cutting back hours of its catheter lab, which is utilized for patients having cardiac emergencies. The lab will be open to patients from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on weekdays and will not open outside of those hours, even for at-risk patients.
Now, patients will have to travel another 15 to 20 minutes for after-hours care, according to the report. The health system told NBC Chicago that the changes are temporary amid a shortage of healthcare professionals, and that it is working with local emergency medical services to be sure that patients have after-hours cardiology care.
The reduced hours will begin March 24 and are expected to last 60 days, though the system will work to restore services within that time frame.
In early March, Vista Medical Center East extended the six-week furlough of 69 non-medical employees amid ongoing financial challenges.
Vista East is also under investigation by state health officials and police for the late January death of a 28-year-old woman who was found unconscious on the hospital’s roof. The patient’s family has filed a wrongful death suit.
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