CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — More than eleven years after Provident Hospital stopped accepting ambulances, the county-run facility in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood will resume ambulance service Wednesday morning.
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle announced the return of ambulances to Provident, which she called a “treasured and historic” hospital. Provident was the country’s first hospital to be owned and operated by African Americans.
“By accepting ambulance runs, Provident Hospital is reaffirming its clinical capabilities and commitment to those who live and work in and around Chicago’s South Side,” Preckwinkle said.
Cook County Health CEO Israel Rocha said they’ve been building to this point, with $8 million dollars in improvements at the safety-net hospital.
“These renovations include being able to install a new MRI, establish inpatient dialysis service, reopen our intensive care unit, and expand our medical surgical capacity,” Rocha said.
He added that the emergency department and MRI renovations cost approximately $2 million each.
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County Commissioner Bill Lowry said the importance of bringing back ambulance runs to the Bronzeville hospital cannot be overstated.
“Because when your loved one is experiencing a massive heart attack, they deserve to receive treatment within — not outside — the community,” said Lowry.
Although the county stopped ambulance service in 2011 in a cost-cutting move, Provident’s emergency room remained open. It cared for 19,000 patients who walked in or were dropped off by car. Rocha expects ambulances will bring a few thousand more patients each year.
As for what allowed the county to reverse the cost-cutting move, Rocha credited increased insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act, as well as federal pandemic funds.
Rocha said he’s hopeful the safety net hospital will be able to sustain itself financially this year, which hasn't happened in a long time.
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