OSF proposes deep cut to services at Urbana’s Heart of Mary, plans inpatient behavioral-health expansion; state hearing set Aug. 21

Urbana — OSF HealthCare has filed a certificate-of-need request to cut several inpatient services and reduce beds at Heart of Mary Medical Center in Urbana while converting space to expanded behavioral-health care, officials said at a public hearing Aug. 21 in Urbana.

JT Barnhart, president of OSF HealthCare for the Urbana and Danville hospitals, told the Illinois Department of Public Health–facilitated hearing that the system proposes to reduce the hospital’s medical-surgical bed complement from 110 to 25 beds, discontinue pediatrics, intensive care, comprehensive physical rehabilitation, open-heart surgery and cardiac catheterization services, and reduce the hospital’s overall licensed bed count from 156 to 40. The hospital’s street address listed in the filing is 1400 West Park Street, Urbana, and the applicants indicated there is no project cost listed for the conversion.

Why it matters: The change would remove several inpatient specialty services currently available in Urbana and redirect resources toward an expanded behavioral-health program OSF says is needed regionally. Public commenters at the hearing raised concerns that reducing medical and surgical services at Heart of Mary will increase transfers to other hospitals, limit local access to emergency admissions that require specialty care, and disproportionately affect low-income patients who face transportation barriers.

OSF’s proposal and planned behavioral-health program

Barnhart said OSF acquired…