Kindred Hospital to Close in Hammond
(photo courtesy of Kindred Healthcare)
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowKentucky-based Kindred Healthcare is planning to close its hospital in Hammond. In a notice to the state, the company says Kindred Hospital Northwest Indiana will shut its doors and lay off 110 employees as a result of the planned building reduction at the Franciscan Health Hammond campus.
Kindred says, as part of the $45 million project by Franciscan, the space occupied by Kindred will be eliminated. In May, Franciscan detailed plans to convert the 100-year-old facility, which currently has more than 200 beds, into an eight-bed acute care hospital, emergency department and primary care location.
The layoffs at Kindred are expected to take place over a two-week period beginning October 10. The company says the move is expected to be permanent and none of the employees are represented by a union.
The chief executive officer of Kindred Hospital Northwest Indiana provided the following statement to Inside INdiana Business on Wendesday:
In May, Franciscan Health announced plans to downsize and transform Franciscan Health Hospital into a smaller healthcare facility focused on acute care, emergency care and primary care. We were notified at that time that our lease would be terminated within the next 180 days.
Since the announcement, Kindred has explored various alternatives to move our long-term acute care hospital services to another location within Northern Indiana. Despite an exhaustive search we have been unable to find an acceptable alternative and therefore Kindred Hospital Northwest Indiana will be closing effective October 10, 2021.
This was a difficult decision and does not change our commitment to the Chicago area. We anticipate that all, or most, of our patients will be discharged home or to a less acute care setting prior to the closing. If any patients need continued care after the hospital closes, we will take every step possible to help them in relocating, including arranging for requested transfers. This decision has no impact on our four other Chicago area Kindred facilities.
During the transition, we will continue to provide our patients with care and services and tend to their medical needs.
In addition, we are equally committed to working with our hospital’s employees in an effort to assist them in their efforts to seek new employment, including positions within Kindred. Our goal is to retain as many of our valuable employees as possible and we anticipate being able to retain our front-line caregivers.
In June, Franciscan Alliance said more than 80 employees at the Hammond hospital would be laid off, though some may be moved to new positions. It is unclear if the Kindred employees will be offered new positions elsewhere.