Rep. Jeff Keicher | Facebook
Rep. Jeff Keicher | Facebook
On April 6, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed SB 168, a bill that creates a path to reopen Cook County's Westlake Hospital. The bill had bipartisan support.
State Rep. Jeff Keicher co-sponsored the bill.
"The Governor signed into law today a bipartisan bill I co-sponsored to ensure healthcare access to our most vulnerable in the western suburbs" Keicher said in an April 6 post on his Facebook account. "This is the kind of collaboration we need more of in state government -- working together to solve challenges that rise far above and beyond partisan distinctions."
Westlake Hospital was closed by its parent company in early 2019. Pritzker temporarily reopened the hospital in April 2020 in the wake of COVID-19.
SB 168 reopens it permanently.
The bill accelerates the process to reopen the hospital. Under the bill a health care provider no longer needs to file a certification of need. Instead, a certificate of exemption will be filed to open the hospital more quickly.
Much of the motivation for the bill is to promote equal health care access. In addition to reopening Westlake Hospital, it increases medical services and resources available in the western suburbs, which has traditionally had more limited access to health care than other areas.
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