Franciscan Health Hammond emergency room to shut down Saturday after Indiana appellate court stays Lake County judge’s decision

George Wiebe, Chicago Tribune
Updated ·2 min read

The emergency room for Franciscan Health Hammond will see its last patients midday Saturday following a last-second stay issued by the Indiana Court of Appeals.

The stay, issued Friday afternoon by Chief Judge Cale Bradford, halts a Lake County judge’s ruling that would have postponed the closure of Franciscan Health Hammond’s emergency room for nine months while the city of Hammond searched for another operator.

As a result, ambulances will be diverted starting at midnight Saturday and the hospital’s ER is set to close to walk-ins at noon Saturday, according to Franciscan officials.

Following Lake County Superior Court Civil Division Judge Bruce Parent’s Dec. 22 decision, Franciscan Alliance filed an emergency motion Wednesday to appeal Parent’s ruling, which the appellate court granted Friday afternoon.

“Franciscan Alliance is grateful for the Court of Appeals order,” Franciscan Health Hammond Interim President and CEO Barbara Anderson said in a news release Friday. “As such, Franciscan will proceed with ceasing operations and closing the emergency department as of Dec. 31, 2022.”

The decision to close the Franciscan Health Hammond emergency room at the end of the year was announced abruptly Nov. 3, leaving many Hammond city officials and residents blindsided.

Hammond Mayor Tom McDermott called the decision an “indictment on the American health care system,” leaving a weakened health care system for the poor. “They’re abandoning their mission to help the poor and they’re moving where the rich people are,” he said.

McDermott said there is no worthwhile legal recourse for the city to pursue following the appeal.

“They’re going to tear everything out of there, and I wouldn’t be shocked if they threw a grenade in there on their way out,” he said.

In November, Anderson said the hospital’s closure was a result of staffing shortages and dwindling patient numbers.

During the Dec. 21 hearing to extend Franciscan Health Hammond’s emergency room, Franciscan’s legal counsel argued that even if ordered to do so, the emergency room would not be able to function following the Dec. 31 deadline.

“As most ambulances have already stopped bringing patients to Franciscan Health Hammond, we do not expect that closing the Emergency Department will cause disruption in emergency medical care for residents,” Anderson said.