HSHS St. Anthony's, Sarah Bush Lincoln Offer Testimony on Proposed Building in Effingham

HSHS St. Anthony's Memorial Hospital and Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Systems offered testimony Wednesday against and for a new Bonutti Clinic in Effingham.

St. Anthony's witnesses before the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board contended that the proposed facility is too large and will provide unnecessary duplicate services. Sarah Bush witnesses suggested that they need the additional space the new building would provide and that CT service is the only addition to the project.

Sarah Bush Lincoln President and CEO Jerry Esker took St. Anthony's to task for objecting to the project. Esker, a native of Teutopolis, said he is "surprised" and "disappointed" in the opposition to the project. He said, "We have been providing services here for years", and added, "The additional space is required; there is no shell space in this building." 

Esker also said the project will do nothing to put St. Anthony's emergency services in jeopardy, saying, "My siblings and my parents live within 10 minutes of St. Anthony's."

HSHS St. Anthony's President and CEO Theresa Rutherford responded in her statement to Esker, saying the situation is "personal for me, too, Jerry." Rutherford contended that the project involves unnecessary duplicate service and that "the intent is to direct patients and services away from the hospital." Rutherford also said the size of the building will make space for outpatient services that Rutherford said "support and sustain critical services such as an emergency department, obstetric services and general intpatient care needed in the area.

Sarah Bush Director of Planning and Business Services Erica Stollard said that the current Bonutti Clinic is "undersized and dilapidated" and that St. Anthony's will continue to operate at healthy levels. 

Julie Goebel, Vice President for Strategy for the HSHS System, contended that Sarah Bush "did not follow the Review Board's rules" in filing their request for a Certificate of Need to build and operate the new facility. Goebel said the project could "highly impact the financial viability of St. Anthony's". 

55th District St. Sen. Dale Righter, who lives in Mattoon but represents both medical facilities, said "there is nothing to support" claims that St. Anthony would be harmed by the project and that he has never seen 'such a blatant and transparent attempt to the mislead the (health facilities) Board."

Dr. Ruben Boyajian said he "makes no apology for supporting my local hospital and community." Boyajian said in a community this size, "the gains of one can only come at the expense of another." He also noted that St. Anthony's helped recruit doctors now working at Sarah Bush.

Dr. Peter Bonutti was not present, but Nick Williams was present to read a statement from the doctor. The statement indicated that Bonutti had talked with St. Anthony's about a facility, but said HSHS wanted him to not only work at St. Anthony's but at other HSHS facilities. He also wrote that three years ago, he spoke with Esker about improving care and that led him to leave St. Anthony's and affiliate with Sarah Bush, adding that Sarah Bush was willing to pay for the new facility.

There has been discussion that HSHS has built a facility for Prairie Cardiovascular near Sarah Bush. Prairie Cardiovascular President Dr. John Scherschel said Sarah Bush terminated their agreement with Prairie, and they had patients in Coles County, so the new facility was constructed. Scherschel said that building is "one-fifth the size" of the building proposed in Effingham by Sarah Bush.

Dr. Scott Wilson, Immediate Past President of the Sarah Bush Lincoln Board of Directors, said there was "never a thought of converting (the new building in Effingham) to a 'micro hospital'".

Dr. Andrew Matani, hospitalist at St. Anthony's, stated that elective services were curtailed at the local hospital when the pandemic began in anticipation of a surge in COVID cases, in his words, "the rush that never came", which hurt revenues and said the volume of business today remains below past revenues.

Doug Wohltman of Wohltman Construction in Effingham testified in support of the Sarah Bush project, saying it would mean 18 months of construction jobs.

Meghan Rewers, Executive Director of Crisis Nursery of Effingham County, testified in opposition to the project. Rewers said Crisis Nursery "exists largely due to the support of St. Anthony's". 

Grunloh Construction President Tom Grunloh supports the project, saying "the math is pretty simple" as to why it would be good for the community. Grunloh also spoke about his support of the Sarah Bush Lincoln Dental Services made available in the area.

Catholic Charities Area Director Sr. Carol Beckermann said St. Anthony's has "been of great assistance to the organization for many years" and is concerned that the Sarah Bush project would direct resources away from organizations such as Catholic Charities.

Amy Dammerman is the Clinic Director of Sarah Bush Lincoln Clinic in Effingham. Dammerman said Sarah Bush has contributed millions of dollars in new buildings and land acquisitions in Effingham. She also spoke about the aging current facility, saying, "The underlying issue is space. I participated in the design, and there is no shell space and no surgeries will take place in the building."

Kingery Printing President John Kingery spoke in opposition to the Sarah Bush project, noting St. Anthony's is the largest employer in Effingham and that is provides all services, including emergency services. Kingery sought support for the "rightsizing of this project."

The testimony given at Wednesday's hearing compliments documentation that will be submitted for review by the Review Board. The hearing before the Board will take place September 22 at Bolingbrook Golf Club in Bolingbrook.

Several of those testifying on St. Anthony's behalf said they opposed the Sarah Bush project "in its current form". The Review Board could approve Sarah Bush's Certificate of Need, could deny it, and could deny it and point out where changes could be made that lead to a later approval.