Uptowns Weiss Memorial Hospital Loses Air Conditioning For Weeks, Forcing Patients To Be Relocated

Weiss Memorial Hospital in Uptown ceased patient admissions and transferred its 45 patients following a catastrophic air conditioning failure, which could leave the facility without cooling for weeks. The malfunction has prompted the hospital to redirect emergency room patients to West Suburban Hospital, which expanded its capacity to accommodate the influx. Weiss primarily serves geriatric patients, who are more vulnerable to heat-related ailments, intensifying the urgency of the situation as indoor temperatures soared to 92 degrees. Resilience Healthcare CEO Dr. Manoj Prasad highlighted the hospital's financial strain, stating it will incur roughly $250,000 in repair costs, with additional losses from canceled procedures anticipated.

Prasad noted that the hospital, built 73 years ago, suffered from neglected upgrades under previous ownership, contributing to the current crisis. Repairs are complicated by the need for specific parts and a boiler replacement, potentially extending the outage. Weiss and West Suburban were acquired by Resilience Healthcare for $92 million after Pipeline Health's bankruptcy, with both hospitals previously losing up to $40 million annually. Despite financial challenges, Prasad mentioned that the facilities have begun to break even since the acquisition.