The order to keep Hammond's emergency room open could be heading for the Indiana Court of Appeals. That's after a judge on Thursday denied Franciscan Alliance's request to reverse his order keeping the ER open for another nine months.
In an emergency motion filed Wednesday, Franciscan's attorneys argued that staying open after Saturday would be unlawful and "dangerous to the public," since its state hospital license expires December 31.
Franciscan said it had already notified its doctors, ambulance provider, security company and snow removal contractor that it would be ending services Saturday. Anyone who shows up to the ER after that would have to be transferred to other hospitals, Franciscan said, putting patients at risk.
The attorneys argued that the city of Hammond hasn't been harmed by the hospital's decision to close, but the harm to Franciscan Alliance would be "enormous."
In an order Thursday, Lake Superior Court Judge Bruce Parent said Franciscan's assertion that it can't operate the emergency room safely is "untestable" and "largely unprovable," and it's "simply a series of statements made by the Defendants, insisting that they are true."
