OSF Healthcare signs letter of intent to buy former Peru hospital

St. Margaret’s Health has found a buyer for the former Illinois Valley Community Hospital in Peru and has signed a letter of intent to sell to OSF HealthCare of Peoria, according to a memo and news release.

The health care company has signed a letter of intent with OSF, which will purchase St. Margaret’s Health-Peru “and other locations across the Illinois Valley,” St. Margaret’s president and CEO Tim Muntz said in a Friday memorandum to employees.

“Our colleagues at OSF share our faith in God and respect for life,” Muntz wrote in the memorandum, which appeared on Peru Mayor Ken Kolowski’s Facebook page. “Together, we are exploring how the Illinois Valley can continue to access high quality, local health care for years to come.”

Soon after the memo circulated, St. Margaret’s and OSF issued a joint news release confirming the letter of intent.

“The Mission of OSF HealthCare to serve with the greatest care and love has always been extended to and inclusive of the Illinois Valley,” said August Querciagrossa, Chief Executive Officer Western Region, OSF HealthCare. “Our intent is to preserve and sustain access to high quality, local health care for the residents of these communities.”

Muntz said the process “will take time and approval from regulatory agencies,” but he expressed hope that OSF would make it possible to reopen the emergency room.

The Spring Valley hospital is not included in the transfer, St. Margaret’s confirmed later Friday.

Kolowski called this “a great day for the region” but raised a cautionary flag.

“We have to pump the brakes a little bit,” Kolowski said. “This is a long process. This is a positive development, but there’s a long road ahead. It’s not like it’s going to open up tomorrow.”

Nevertheless, Spring Valley Mayor Melanie Malooley Thompson called Friday’s announcement “a relief.”

“The residents of Spring Valley and the surrounding communities deserve a return to the level of care that we have enjoyed in the past,” she said. “I am confident that OSF will restore the medical services we all deserve and expect.

“The City of Spring Valley will continue to support St. Margaret’s as it navigates through this difficult situation in the hope that it will continue to provide medical services to residents at its Spring Valley location.”

No timeline was given for reopening the Peru hospital. Neither healthcare network disclosed a target opening date. The administrator of the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board said the regulatory process of transferring ownership typically requires 60-90 days and requires a change of ownership application, which has not yet been filed.

“We have been in touch with OSF briefly and will continue those dialogues in the coming week and work with them in an expedited fashion,” John Kniery, agency administrator.

Area lawmakers have pledged their help.

“Though there are undoubtedly more challenges ahead, I am hopeful that today’s announcement is a positive step in ensuring that the residents of the Illinois Valley region will continue to have access to comprehensive and quality healthcare within their own community,” state Sen. Sue Rezin, R-Morris, said. “I know that both Representative Lance Yednock and I stand ready to assist in this transition process however we can within our legislative powers.”

Patients, employees and first-responders are waiting for additional answers. Two EMS coordinators reached Friday had heard about the proposed OSF sale but said they had not been contacted with a target reopening date or to discuss ambulance routes.

OSF also did not immediately address whether an obstetrics unit would be included in the Peru hospital after reopening.

“Right now we are in the process of assessing community needs,” OSF spokesman Paul Arco said. “Aside from emergency services in Peru, other decisions about services and sites of care across the Illinois Valley are still to be determined.”