Advocate Health Care Pulls Doctors from Mercy Medical Center
TL/DR –
Advocate Health Care, a non-profit medical group with a significant presence in Aurora, Illinois, has withdrawn its doctors from Mercy Medical Center. This move has not been widely communicated to patients, potentially leading to unexpected changes in their healthcare provisions. Advocate stated that it is shifting all its hospital-based services to Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove and surrounding hospitals, with the aim to provide the best quality care for its patients and coordinate care for those who need hospital-based services.
Patient Care Complications As Advocate Health Pulls Doctors from Mercy Medical Center
On Christmas Eve 2023, Rick Albright dialed emergency services for his wife, Rose Anne, experiencing severe discomfort. The ambulance took her to Mercy Medical Center in Aurora, just four minutes from their residence. Despite their previous exposure to this hospital – Rose Anne’s surgery and Rick’s stroke treatment – they faced an unexpected challenge.Advocate Health Care, their healthcare provider, could no longer supply a doctor for Rose at Mercy Medical Center.
Changes in Healthcare Service Availability
Advocate’s decision to withdraw its doctors from Mercy Medical Center could lead to more scenarios like the Albrights’. Several present and former Mercy employees confirm that Advocate is pulling its doctors from the facility. Advocate plans to move hospital-based services to Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove and other surrounding hospitals, aiming to provide quality care and integrated services for hospital-based patients.
Communication Concerns and Impact on Patient Care
Patient notification of this change is done during the scheduling process, according to an Advocate spokesperson. Prime Healthcare, which recently acquired Mercy Medical Center among other hospitals from Ascension, confirms Advocate’s decision to pull out its physicians. Despite no immediate impact on emergency care, patients like the Albrights are feeling the repercussions of these changes.
Impact on Medical Specialties and Service Providers
Several medical specialties at Mercy had relied heavily on Advocate doctors, including pulmonology, orthopedic surgery, and ear, nose, and throat services. With Advocate’s pullout, the gaps in these services have become evident. Some departments, like podiatry, had alternate service providers which could continue to cater to patients, hence not creating much of a gap.
Unstable Hospital Infrastructure and Patient Discontent
The Advocate roll-out, coupled with Prime’s acquisition, has resulted in instability at Mercy Medical Center. There are ongoing efforts to cover orthopedics and urology, but gaps remain in pulmonology coverage, and questions linger about ear, nose, and throat coverage. This situation has frustrated patients like Rick Albright, who found the arrangement “silly” and exorbitantly expensive.
Advocate Pullout from Other Hospitals
Advocate Health Care has also pulled out doctors from Rush Copley Medical Center in Aurora, albeit at a slower pace. Advocate doctors used to account for around 50% of Rush Copley’s patient care revenue, but that has reduced to about 5% now. Despite this, Rush Copley has managed to fill the gaps and expand its medical group to keep up with community growth.
Mercy Medical Center’s Commitment to Patient Care
Mercy Medical Center reiterates its commitment to providing compassionate, accessible, and community-based care. It assures that despite Advocate’s pullout, the hospital continues to deliver uninterrupted services and assures the same level of diligence and dedication.
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