Blue Island, IL, says goodbye, St. Francis Hospital; hello, MetroSouth Medical Center

As the new owners celebrated Blue Island, IL-based St. Francis Hospital's transition to the MetroSouth Medical Center, local residents, politicians, doctors and hospital staff cheered, clapped, hugged and gave one another high-fives. In April, SSM Health Care announced it was going to close the hospital because it was losing money and it couldn't find anyone to take over its operations. A month later, MSMC Investors LLC announced plans to take over the struggling hospital under a for-profit model, administrators say they plan to make the healthcare facility profitable by expanding services for women and children.