Impact of Private Equity on Hospitals

For over 20 years working in Chicago’s emergency departments, I have witnessed the effects of hospital closures in neighborhoods reliant on them. Without local hospitals, ambulances travel longer distances, waiting areas become more crowded, and patients often arrive in worse condition due to delayed care.

Surprisingly, these closures did not always stem from community inability to support the hospitals. Instead, they often resulted from the assets being more valuable when extracted than when used to provide healthcare. In these cases, patient care, community health, and the well-being of healthcare providers face serious risks.