Coronavirus: La Grange Hospital Ends Secrecy On Number Of Cases

LA GRANGE, IL — On Monday, Elmhurst Hospital quickly released the number of coronavirus patients it is treating upon an inquiry. This is information that Amita Health, the chain that runs the La Grange and Hinsdale hospitals, had been declining to release. But after Patch informed Amita of Elmhurst's transparency Monday morning, the hospital chain reversed itself.

According to Amita, the La Grange and Hinsdale hospitals are caring for 17 and 11 patients, respectively, spokeswoman Olga Solares said in an email. That compares to 54 at Elmhurst Hospital.

"Lastly, we have sufficient ventilator capacity as we are part of AMITA Health, and as previously shared with you, are working collaboratively as a system to address all needs related to our system response to the COVID-19 pandemic," Solares said. "Please know this is a very fluid situation and the health and safety of our patients, staff and the communities we are privileged to serve are our top priorities."

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Amita Health Adventist Medical Center La Grange reports having 196 beds. On Friday, Solares said the chain would only give the "collective" number across its 14 hospitals in Illinois. At the time, the chain had 220 coronavirus patients. She declined to provide hospital-specific figures.

This information may be relevant because governors around the country, including in Illinois, have issued stay-at-home orders to "flatten the curve" of patients at hospitals. This, they said, would prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed.

As of Sunday, La Grange and Western Springs had 18 and 8 coronavirus cases, respectively, according to the Cook County Department of Public Health.

At a March 23 La Grange Village Board meeting, member Bill Holder, a La Grange hospital foundation board member, said one person had tested positive for the coronavirus and a few people were under observation in "negative pressure rooms," which are meant to prevent cross-contamination from room to room. In an email to Patch on Friday, Holder questioned why the patient number was important.

"Of what use is that number anyway, when it changes daily?" he said. "If you really want to do the community a service, tell them that you think half the population of La Grange is infected, so everyone should stay away from everyone else so that you don't infect anyone you love or get it to give to others. Seriously, there is a surge coming. All this is far from over."

It's not clear exactly what percentage of the population is infected with the new coronavirus due to a lack of tests, but experts do expect numbers to peak in the coming weeks.

Amita's Midwest Adventist Health is a nonprofit, whose chairman, Randy Haffner, made $2.6 million in 2017, according to the latest tax forms available online.

Read more:

Illinois Coronavirus Update April 6: 11,256 Cases; 274 Deaths