ELGIN, Ill. (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A top surgeon at Sherman Hospital in Elgin asked the city to intervene in a labor dispute that has reduced surgeries by 90 percent.
Dr. Tom Stanley, vice chair of surgery at the hospital, said he wanted to clear up some rumors. During a meeting of the Elgin City Council, he said there are now no anesthesiologists on staff.
A labor dispute led the hospital to end an agreement with a staffing provider and a new agency doesn’t have any anesthesiologists licensed in Illinois.
"Sherman leadership contracted with an agency that doesn't have any anesthesiologists that can come to Sherman licensed in the State of Illinois, so it's a little bit crazy," Dr. Stanley said.
He said anesthesiologists who “were kicked out,” in his words, are willing to come back, but they can’t under the new contract.
"Sherman normally does close to 2,000 cases a month, and this month we are on track to do less than 200. That's more than a 90 percent reduction in capacity. Now, we are being told it's probably going to take nine to 12 months before we are able to be at the same capacity that we were back in August," Dr. Stanley said.
"So this capacity crisis is going to continue to a long time and the hospital is broken."
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