OAK PARK, Ill. (WLS) — The ABC7 I-Team learned late Tuesday afternoon that a month before an Oak Park safety net hospital abruptly closed its doors, investigators working on behalf of the state performed an on-site audit with produced staggering results.<\/p>\n
West Suburban Medical Center is a private safety net hospital that served tens of thousands of patients a year and employed more than 700 people before it suddenly shut its doors March 25.<\/p>\n
ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24\/7. Click here to watch<\/a><\/p>\n But more than a month before that closure, an audit performed for state officials with the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) cited a failure of hospital management.<\/p>\n According to the report, obtained by the I-Team through a Freedom of Information Act request, auditors performed an on-site inspection and found West Suburban was broke.<\/p>\n Auditors found that West Suburban Medical Center management failed to implement a new electronic medical records system and had no cash reserves, with operating expenses of $10 million per month and significant debt.<\/p>\n This comes as the I-Team previously reported<\/a> the state poured at least $30 million into West Suburban through loans. A spokesperson for HFS told the I-Team there have been no repayments on those loans, or payments made on more than $100 million in tax debt owed by the facility.<\/p>\n The audit also noted “significant leadership gaps” and no “documented, realistic data-driven strategy to stabilize operations or rebuild service lines.”<\/p>\n “Finance team lacks basic cost accounting, budgeting, and revenue cycle capability,” the auditors noted.<\/p>\n Auditors working for the state also noted, “Leadership is unstable and overstretched, with the CEO filling multiple roles and newly hired leaders lacking experience in hospital administration.”<\/p>\n “Decision-making is solely with the CEO [Manoj Prasad], undermining the development of a competent, strong leadership team able to plan and implement necessary financial improvement plans,” the report states. “There is a board, but the depth of oversight is unclear.”<\/p>\n One slide of the presentation lists the heading, “Strategy (Lack of)”: Auditors finding there was no data-driven strategy to stabilize operations with no financial modeling, staffing plans or validated assumptions.<\/p>\n “There are proposed new but unvetted initiatives,” auditors noted. “Unclear if and how can be successful. Actions are determined day to day.”<\/p>\n Auditors ended the report by recommending the state request tax returns to learn more about how federal and state funds were distributed.<\/p>\n “Absent having audited financial statements to evaluate historical performance, and evaluate the reasonableness of 2026 budget assumptions, requesting tax returns is a sound alternative information sources,” auditors noted.<\/p>\n It’s unclear whether state officials requested copies of the facility’s tax returns.<\/p>\n To read the state’s full audit of West Suburban Medical Center, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Resilience Healthcare CEO Manoj Prasad tells the I-Team West Suburban welcomed this review and cooperated with the on-site visit.<\/p>\n “The report confirms what we have said which is that the failed EMR system caused revenue collection issues,” Prasad said through a spokesperson. “The hospital has since resumed outpatient services and is working toward a full reopening in July.”<\/p>\n Through a spokesperson, the property owner and part-operations owner of Resilience Healthcare, Reddy Rathnakar Patlola, told the I-Team, “The State’s findings reinforce what we’ve been saying-there is no realistic path for the current operator to safely reopen West Suburban Medical Center.”<\/p>\n Patlola has attempted to evict Prasad over unpaid rent<\/a>, which in turn led to Prasad filing a lawsuit<\/a> over preserving the hospital’s current management, as the I-Team previously reported.<\/p>\n Through a spokesperson, Patlola said, “Our focus is on securing a qualified new operator who can quickly restore care and ensure long-term stability for the community.”<\/p>\n Copyright \u00a9 2026 WLS-TV. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"OAK PARK, Ill. 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