ERIE, Illinois – The Erie Family Practice clinic that was set to close on June 16 by current parent Genesis Health Group will instead reopen on June 17 under the umbrella of Morrison Community Hospital.
The 80-year-old critical access hospital’s mission “is to improve the health of the residents of the hospital district and the surrounding area, focusing on personalized care.”
MCH said the reopened Erie office will continue to be run by the same nurse practitioner who has led it for a quarter century.
The hospital’s CEO Pam Fister said in a statement, “Ruth Fiedler-Eaton has been providing services to the Erie Community for 25 years with a strong commitment to patients and we are pleased that we will be able to continue the clinic operations and sustain healthcare services for this community.”
She added: “Ruth and her clinical team will complement our hospital and clinic services, and this new relationship reconfirms our community to support rural healthcare.”
A Genesis spokesman contacted late last week by the QCBJ declined to comment on the news that the clinic would reopen under the direction of MCH.
Genesis Health Group had originally announced the closing in a letter to patients of the clinic in April and in a statement that said, in part: “Like all health care systems across the country, Genesis has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, escalating costs, and staff shortages that have caused unprecedented financial pressures.
“We must address these economic realities and realign resources, so we can continue to fulfill our mission to serve the health care needs in our communities. With rising costs outpacing reimbursement, we had to make the difficult decision on what services we provide and the locations of those services. We are able to continue care for all patients and will work closely with them to transfer their care to another location.”
News of the potential closing spread quickly in April and community leaders – including Erie Mayor Marcia Smith – and patients from Rock Island and Whiteside counties gathered to protest the closing in person and on social media. They argued among other things that if the Erie family practice were closed the nearest medical clinic would be 30 miles away in the Quad Cities.
Late last week, supporters again took to social media this time to celebrate the decision by MCH to save the clinic and to laud the clinic’s current and future leader Ms. Fiedler-Eaton.
She also took to Facebook on Friday May 26, to share her gratitude over the clinic’s rescue.
“Thank you for fighting for us. For supporting us. For caring for us, as we care for you,” she wrote.
