The hospital's CEO was served an eviction notice last week from the property's owner, citing millions of dollars in debt.
OAK PARK , Ill. -- The fight over an Oak Park safety net hospital that closed its doors abruptly last month will be moving into a court room. After weeks of finger-pointing between the hospital's property owner and CEO of operations, court records reveal a Cook County Circuit Court judge may soon be overseeing the dispute.
West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park served nearly 100,000 patients per year and employed hundreds when it suddenly shut down two weeks ago. State records show the safety net hospital is privately owned by two parties: Property owner Reddy Rathnakar Patlola and CEO of operations Manoj Prasad. Rathnaker owns a company called RAMCO Healthcare Holdings, while Prasad is a majority owner of Resilience Healthcare, which managed West Suburban Medical Center, Weiss Memorial Hospital, and the River Forest Medical Campus. Weiss Memorial Hospital closed its doors last summer, and offices at the River Forest Medical Campus closed the same day as West Suburban Medical Center on March 25. Prasad blamed the hospital's billing system for lost revenue, an allegation that the billing company has strongly denied., Prasad was served an eviction notice last week by the property owner, which stated Resilience Healthcare had five days to pay $10.2 million for use of the property. But on Tuesday, Resilience Healthcare filed a complaint in court, accusing the property owner of 'sabotage' and attempting to force out hospital management to protect his own financial gain. The complaint says the eviction notices served are 'baseless,' given a specific provision in the signed lease for the hospitals, stating, 'under no circumstances, including an Event of Default, shall Landlord have the right to unilaterally terminate the Lease.'that revealed in February the property owner, along with state officials and former hospital executives, met to discuss a plan to oust Prasad and Resilience Healthcare, given the hospital's dire financial situation.
Resilience Healthcare is now asking the court to issue a declaratory judgment in favor of Prasad's management. 'Faced with Patlola's and Ramco's continued malfeasance and its improper threat to evict them,' the complaint reads, 'Weiss Memorial and West Suburban were forced to file the instant action to protect their rights and their ability to eventually reopen and serve the communities that need their assistance.'
Through a spokesperson, Prasad told the I-Team by email his focus remains on reopening the closed hospital. 'Today's filing shows that Mr. Patlola signed a lease that explicitly prevents him from doing what he is now attempting to do,' Prasad said. 'Our focus remains on reopening this hospital for the community that depends on it.'
A spokesperson for RAMCO and Patlola said he had no comment on Tuesday's court filing, and a hearing date before a circuit court judge has been set for June 15. Illinois' 8th District state Rep. La Shawn Ford told the I-Team on Monday that several state agencies are probing the finances of West Suburban Medical Center leading up to its closure. The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services previously told the I-Team that Resilience Healthcare owes taxpayers at least $30 million in loans that were paid since 2023.
West Suburban Hospital West Suburban Medical Center Oak Park Oak Park News Oak Park Hospital Safety Net Hospital Oak Park Il Oak Park Illinois Reddy Rathnakar Patlola Manoj Prasad 18886979
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