Grundy Reporter

In a Jan. 27 Facebook post, Sen. Sue Rezin shared her frustration with the temporary closure of Peru's only hospital.

“I am extremely disappointed with St. Margaret’s Health’s decision and handling of the temporary closure for the Peru Hospital,” she wrote. “It was our understanding that Senate Bill 1435, which would have designated St. Margaret’s Health-Peru as the first Rural Emergency Hospital in the nation, was everything that the SMH management needed from the state to ensure that the Peru Hospital would remain operational.”

Peru's only hospital, run by St. Margaret's Health closed on Jan. 28 at 7 a.m. St. Margaret's says that it plans to reopen the hospital once it receives the Rural Emergency Hospital designation. Eligible hospitals can receive the designation as of Jan. 1, but officials at St. Margaret's say there's more work to do before they can get that designation and reopen. "We're all suffering from the same pressure financially about funding temporary nurses," VP of Community Services Linda Burt said. "Every hospital across the country, not just rural Illinois, across the country is struggling with that very same issue. And that's been brought on by COVID."

St. Margaret’s CEO Tim Muntz said to Shaw Local the hospital's finances suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic, causing staff shortages and a cyberattack. A spokesperson for the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board explained St. Margaret would have to complete an application to discontinue services to be considered closed.

Senate Bill 1435 was passed in May 2022, and changed the Hospital Licensing Act to allow "A hospital located in a county with fewer than 3 million inhabitants may apply to the Department for approval to conduct its operations from more than one location within the county under a single license."

Shaw Local reported St. Margaret’s hospital in Spring Valley remains open.

St. Margaret Health issued a letter to the community late last year regarding the shift to a Rural Emergency Hospital for not just the Peru hospital, but also Spring Valley. In the note it wrote "St. Margaret’s is pursuing conversion of one of its hospitals to a new type of hospital, called a Rural Emergency Hospital (REH). The REH designation was recently established by the federal government, to address the growing concern over closures of rural hospitals nationally. Either SMH-Spring Valley or SMH-Peru could potentially qualify for the REH designation. No determination has been made regarding which of its two hospitals may become an REH, but the intent would be for the other hospital to remain a full-service hospital."

WQAD reported approximately 400 St. Margaret’s Health Peru staff lost their positions.

The Rural Information Hub notes that the REH designation was created by the United States Congress in December 2022, in Section 125 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. This law is also known as Public Law 116-260.

“(Our employees) are the most important assets we have, and without them, we cannot achieve our mission,” St. Margaret’s posted, Shaw Local reported. “As such, we would like to apologize to our employees and the community for not delivering our announcement in the best way possible.”

Facilities with the REH designation are meant to provide more outpatient type service, and long inpatient stays aren't typical. They are required to provide these services: 24-hour emergency services, laboratory services identified in the Critical Access Hospital Conditions of Participation and consistent with the needs of the patient population, diagnostic radiologic services, pharmacy or drug storage area, discharge planning by, or under the supervision of, a registered nurse, social worker, or other qualified professional.

“Together, we had shared a vision for more efficient delivery of high quality healthcare in the region and an opportunity to combine resources to enhance the services provided,” the hospital added, Shaw Local reported. “Despite our efforts to consolidate and streamline services to encourage a stronger financial position, factors beyond our control have brought about many unforeseen fiscal hardships.”

Workers rallied at St. Margaret's in Peru at 6:45 a.m. on Jan. 28, according to WQAD. The news organization spoke with former employee Deb Puetz, who worked at the hospital for 45 years, and attended the rally to show support and protest in solidarity. "The hospital is the heart of our community. And the loss of it is just so saddening, you know. I really hope that it's temporary as they say but it will never be as it was. It will never host in-patients. All my children, I have three children, they were born here. My in-laws passed away here. It's just so sad."