Nurse’s complaint led to IDPH investigation, Vista Medical Center East losing trauma designation

WAUKEGAN, Ill. (WLS) — A Level 2 Trauma Center delivers life-saving emergency services for things like heart attack and stroke.

And while hospital officials vow to appeal the state’s decision to strip its designation, it stands for now, leaving Lake County officials worried about what this means for residents in Waukegan and around the area.

The only hospital in a city of nearly 100,000 people, Waukegan’s Vista Medical Center was dealt a hard blow Friday when the Illinois Department of Public Health stripped it of its ability to delivery Trauma 2 Level services. The decision came as a shock to many who believe they should have been warned, including the mayor.

“This would be like a company going under a consent decree and never having a warning letter. They knew. And why was this not discussed ahead of time?” said Waukegan Mayor Ann Taylor.

The decision, IDPH said, was made “due to its absence of essential services needed to maintain this designation, including lack of a blood bank, anesthesia, neurology, urology, or a full-time Trauma Coordinator.”

Jennifer Banek is the Lake County coroner. She also, until recently, provided her services as an anesthesia nurse at Vista Medical Center. It was her complaint that led to the IDPH investigation.

“I’ve seen a lot of the medical staff leave,” Banek said. “Anesthesia services have dissipated significantly. There was one particular case where a patient had to wait for emergency surgery for twice as much as she should have.”

The hospital’s California-based ownership is hitting back, refuting the state’s determinations and the accusations made against them.

“We are right now sending them all the agreements that we have for those services,” said American Healthcare Systems Chief Legal Officer Faisal Gill. “We are working with IDPH to get the certification back as soon as possible, because we think there was an error in taking it away. So that’s what we’re focused on. We’re focused on providing good, safe care to the citizens of Waukegan.”

But even as hospital officials vow to fight the state’s decision, for now, what this means is that patients seeking many life-saving emergency services will need to be transferred as much as 20 to 30 minutes farther, with the closest Trauma Centers located in Lake Forest, Libertyville, Highland Park and Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin.

While it’s not clear whether this is possible or not, hospital officials told ABC7 their hope is that the hospital could be recertified as a trauma center as quickly as this week.

The Waukegan City Council will meet on Monday night to discuss the hospital’s future.