The sad saga of Vista Health System continues unabated, with only one outcome in the foreseeable future: A public takeover of the financially failing Waukegan hospital, which is close to foreclosure.
That may not sound as far-fetched as some may think, but only a public entity has enough cash to intercede and bring back first-rate care at Vista. Currently, Lake County is the second lienholder of Vista Medical Center at Sheridan Road and Glen Flora Avenue on the city’s North Side. Indeed, the West Coast owners of the property owe county taxing districts about $2.2 million in two years of unpaid property taxes and interest, which continues to accrue.
Additionally, American Healthcare Systems, the for-profit corporation based in Glendale, California, which owns Vista, owes the city of Waukegan $366,000 in unpaid water bills, according to last week’s front-page News-Sun story by Steve Sadin. If the hospital owes for water, they may also owe the North Shore Water Reclamation District for sewage treatment fees. ComEd sued the hospital last year for more than $800,000 in arrears for electricity charges.
Outside of one firm that purchases delinquent property taxes, First National Assets, with a Chicago office, other health-care firms appear to have no interest in the Vista network, which includes a satellite facility in Lindenhurst at Route 132 and Deep Lake Road. FNA, which purchased the hospital’s unpaid 2023 tax bill, didn’t even bid on the 2024 tax liability, which left Lake County the second lienholder.
Vista’s owners have until June 12 to pay the first tax lien. A court hearing is set for July 10, when a judge will determine what comes next if the tax bill isn’t paid. By then total taxes owed will probably be close to or more than $3 million.
American Healthcare purchased the 228-bed hospital, which most residents still consider as Victory Memorial, whose lineage dates to the early 1900s, in 2023. The company is known for purchasing distressed hospitals, hoping to return them to increased profit.
That business plan obviously is not working at Vista. A series of missteps and fiscal hiccups has plagued the hospital since the takeover three years ago.
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The hospital suspended its obstetrical and neonatal services; dozens of employees were laid off after Vista East had its trauma center designation temporarily revoked in February 2024; there have been other service cutbacks; and doctors have complained of not being paid. Then there was the case of the Waukegan woman who froze to death on the hospital’s roof after straying from her room.
Of course, purchasing the Vista site and its ancillary locations won’t be cheap: The chief lienholder and others owed money for services will want their just desserts. As will American Healthcare, no doubt.
But the possibility of leaving northeast Lake County — Beach Park, North Chicago, Park City, Wadsworth, Waukegan, Winthrop Harbor, and Zion — without a close-in medical center is too unnerving to consider. Even with the recent expansion at Northwestern Medicine Catherine Gratz Griffin Lake Forest Hospital, it and other county hospitals would need to enlarge their facilities greatly in order to service an expanded patient population.
There surely is precedent for publicly operated health facilities and hospitals. The Lake County Health Department operates a number of community health centers and clinics across the county.
Also, one need only look south to Cook County, where the John H. Stroger, Jr., Hospital is the flagship of that county’s health system, which also includes Provident Hospital. Stroger, a 450-bed teaching hospital, which dates to the founding in 1832 of Cook County Hospital, opened in 2002 next to the old building. In 2001, Cook County Hospital was renamed for Stroger who was a long-time Cook County Board president.
While county taxpayers might grumble over the acquisition of the Vista facility as a sop to Waukegan, they need to remember the system’s Lindenhurst satellite, which serves sections of west Lake County. Its surgical center is also used by area doctors for a variety of medical procedures.
Whatever is next for Vista, a safety-net status designation, increased financial input from a private source with a public partnership, or a combined county/city plan, patient trust will need to be rebuilt. A recent Illinois Hospital Report Card found only 38% of patients, 32% lower than the state average, would definitely recommend Vista Medical Center East for medical care.
Once, Waukegan had two hospitals that provided vital care for residents. It is vital that Vista East remain operational.
Charles Selle is a former News-Sun reporter, political editor and editor. [email protected]. X @sellenews