A state board approved the sale of Franciscan Health Olympia Fields hospital to Prime Healthcare for nearly $7 million on Tuesday despite concerns from some in recent months over Prime’s changes to other Illinois hospitals.
The Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board voted unanimously Tuesday in favor of the deal, after Prime leaders told the board about the company’s plans to sustain and improve the safety net hospital.
Prime is a California-based, for-profit system with more than 50 hospitals across the country, including eight in Illinois that it acquired from Ascension last year.
“At its core, this transaction is about saving and improving Olympia Fields hospital, ensuring its continued role as a vital access point for the south suburbs of Chicago,” said Dr. Sunny Bhatia, president and chief medical officer of Prime.
The 214-bed hospital, which is now owned by Franciscan Alliance, has been running in the red for years, according to a state board staff report. The hospital lost more than $47 million in 2024 alone.
Prime leaders said Tuesday they specialize in saving struggling hospitals by reducing inefficiencies and overhead and bringing in services that communities need.
Dr. Sunil Patel, chief medical officer at Prime’s St. Joseph Medical Center in Joliet, said he grew up in Olympia Fields and worked at the hospital in the past.
“I know Olympia Fields hospital is in financial distress, and I understand what is at stake if we do not get this right. … Prime is the only system able to not only save but improve the hospital,” Patel said.
Several board members praised Prime for stepping in to run challenged hospitals. The recent, sudden closure of West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park loomed over the discussions, with board members occasionally referring to it as an example of how plans to save a hospital can go wrong.
“We know that coming in to save and invest in distressed hospitals is a challenging business, but I’m impressed,” said board member David Fox. “You really do seem to be fulfilling the promises that you made to us back in 2024.”
Prime pledged to invest $250 million in its Illinois hospitals when it purchased them last year.
Board Chair Debra Savage, however, questioned Prime’s actions at the Illinois hospitals it bought last year.
Prime faced criticism from the Illinois Nurses Association last year after it decided to suspend inpatient pediatric care at St. Joseph Medical Center in Joliet shortly after buying the hospital. It also faced concerns after Mercy Medical Center in Aurora lost its designation as a Level II trauma center and after it suspended obstetrical services at St. Mary’s Hospital in Kankakee.
Savage asked Prime leaders if they also planned to open or close units at Olympia Fields.
Bhatia said there’s “tremendous opportunity for sustaining these programs, growing programs, especially in behavioral health.”
He added: “We are continuing our diligence and, again, our emphasis always has been if there’s an unmet community need, we focus on quality, safety and cost-effectiveness, and we’ll certainly continue to consider these programs.”
Prime leaders explained that they shuttered the inpatient pediatric unit in Joliet because it had an average of only one patient a day, putting the quality of care at risk.
Before the board’s vote Tuesday, nurse Lludid Maxinez spoke in favor of the deal, praising Prime’s investment in her hospital, St. Francis Hospital in Evanston.
“Things are different now that Prime Healthcare is at the helm, and none of this would be possible without their support and dedication to our staff,” Maxinez said.
Bridgett Carter, with the Southland Ministerial Health Network, also expressed excitement Tuesday to have Prime take over the Olympia Fields hospital.
No one spoke against the sale at the meeting Tuesday, but some had expressed concerns at a previous public hearing about Prime’s moves at other Illinois hospitals.
The ACLU of Illinois also previously wrote a letter to the board, asking it to carefully evaluate the transaction’s effects on reproductive health care and gender-affirming care. The ACLU wrote about its concerns that Catholic hospitals typically don’t offer certain services that conflict with Catholic beliefs. The Olympia Fields hospital is currently part of a Catholic system.
Bhatia told the board Tuesday that Olympia Fields would maintain its Catholic affiliation.
With the sale of the Olympia Fields hospital, Franciscan Alliance would no longer own any hospitals in Illinois.
Tuesday’s meeting also came amid a contract dispute between Prime and the largest health insurer in Illinois, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois. If they’re unable to reach agreement by June 1, Prime will be out-of-network for people with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois health insurance — a situation that means those patients would either have to find new doctors or, in some cases, pay more out-of-pocket for care at Prime hospitals.
Prime spokesperson Fred Ortega told the Tribune after the board vote that “we believe we’re close to a resolution.”
Separately, on Tuesday, the state board approved two projects by Northwestern Memorial Hospital. One project entails spending nearly $265 million to add 11 operating rooms to the hospital as well as additional recovery space and areas to help support surgeries. The second project would see Northwestern spend $51 million to demolish a three-story basement in Streeterville in anticipation of building a new, 1.2 million-square-foot tower on the site with more than 200 beds. The board has not yet approved the tower’s actual construction.
In addition, the state board on Tuesday approved a plan by Advocate Lutheran General Hospital to spend $99 million to build a two-floor, 77,000-square-foot addition to an existing outpatient facility creating a Comprehensive Cancer Center. The project is expected to be completed and operational by the end of 2028. With the project, Advocate Lutheran joins a growing number of Chicago-area hospitals expanding their cancer care.
