Suburban hospital laying off 120 as number of patients drops

Officials at the MetroSouth Medical Center in Blue Island say they're laying off 120 employees because of a drop in the number of patients it serves.

CEO Arnold Kimmel says he believes the decrease is due to the troubled economy and that many people aren't going the doctor to get needed treatment.

Kimmel says the staff reduction won't affect the quality of care or efforts to recruit physicians.

Last summer, MetroSouth took over the struggling St. Francis Hospital and turned it into a for-profit company.

Congressman Bobby Rush issued a statement saying the layoffs undermined MetroSouth's pledge to maintain the same services once it took over the hospital.