An Illinois review board has rescinded Advocate Sherman Hospital's permit to build a $12.7 million ASC that originally was approved in 2017, the Chicago Tribune reported Oct. 25.
Elgin, Ill.-based Advocate Sherman's application for an ASC with three operating rooms and 16 recovery rooms was approved almost five years ago. At the time, the ASC was a joint venture with Deerfield, Ill.-based Surgical Care Affiliates and local physicians.
The permit was renewed in March 2019, and hospital officials sought a renewal in 2021 to update the ASC to two operating rooms.
Since the original approval, Advocate Sherman bought out Surgical Care Affiliates; the hospital attributes the ASC delay to the SCA buyout, a series of hospital mergers and the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I think this permit needs to be relinquished, and there needs to be a new application," board member Gary Kaatz said, according to the Tribune. He said Advocate Sherman hasn't shown due diligence and that the permit is outdated.
Advocate Sherman also must find new supporters. Some physicians have withdrawn their support for the center, and Rockford-based OrthoIllinois has an application to build its own ASC.
The hospital plans to submit another application for a permit, according to the Tribune.