The hospitals in Peru and Spring Valley will be allowed to operate under one license. That’ll save money and simplify some of the behind-the-scenes business of running both hospitals.
Gov. Pritzker signed a bill Tuesday that lets a hospital in a county of fewer than 125,000 residents have a license that includes a hospital in a neighboring county with less than 35,000 people. That means the former Illinois Valley Community Hospital in Peru wouldn’t need a separate license from St. Margaret’s Health Spring Valley. They’re just a few miles away, have both been operated by St. Margaret’s Health since last year, and share resources, but the county line between them meant two licenses were required.
The governor’s office says the new law sets up a path for a fully fledged merger.