PRINCETON, Illinois — Perry Memorial Hospital in Princeton, Illinois will be under new ownership come this summer. The hospital has been owned by the city of Princeton for the past 100 years. After two years of discussions OSF HealthCare will be the new owner of the small hospital.
Perry Memorial is a 25-bed critical access facility that is also one of Bureau Counties biggest employers. OSF owns 14 other hospitals across Illinois, adding Perry Memorial as the 15th. OSF says its goal is to keep the hospital localized. OSF Regional CEO Roxanna Crosser saying, “We know the importance of staying local and as much as we can that’s what we want to do and that’s also what Princeton was looking for.”
At a City Council meeting on January 18th citizens from Princeton had the chance to voice their opinions on the change in ownership of the hospital. Some worry that the change could result in a loss of jobs. Crosser responded to that idea saying, “There’s always the idea of keeping jobs local, so that has been a big part of this. As we work through this particular plan, we will do everything possible for individuals to keep their positions. We also have a lot of potential within the organization. We have a little over 24,000 employees within OSF HealthCare, so if there isn’t a position that is local, we can look at transferring within the ministry, which is also important to people in the community.”
One big goal of the partnership is the enhancement of services OSF hopes to bring to the hospital. This includes services that might be difficult to come by today or not at all available in Princeton. Crosser saying, “COVID has taught us all quite a bit about virtual visits so I think some of that technology and advancements will really help with the services that we have in the Princeton market today.”
OSF plans to focus on digital health in the hospital. Integration of the two systems will officially start on February 9th, 2021. The next few months will involve OFS officials meeting with physicians, advanced practice providers, employees, legal teams, finance teams, and establishing supply chain systems.
The city of Princeton hopes to continue to provide quality care to its community for years to come.