Report: Hospital CEO's Oak Forest Church Got Vaccine Preference

OAK FOREST, IL —A Chicago hospital already under fire for providing COVID-19 vaccines to ineligible patients is now facing more criticism for vaccinating several members of an Oak Forest church that happens to be the congregation of the hospital's president and CEO, BlockClubChicago.org reported.

Loretto Hospital, located on Chicago's West Side, provided first and second-dose vaccines to over 200 members of Valley Kingdom Ministries during two off-site events in February. The hospital's president and CEO George Miller is a member of that church, and he confirmed in a hospital newsletter that 204 members of his church had received the vaccine.

A Loretto Hospital spokesperson said those receiving the shots in Oak Forest were eligible - 65 years old or frontline workers. Miller, meanwhile, said all recipients who received the vaccine live, work or receive health care in the city.

While reports suggest 40 percent percent of Chicago's vaccine doses have gone to people who live in the suburbs - a practice that will be ending on March 29- there are questions about why a hospital whose mission it is to serve Chicago's West Side, was providing shots to people in Oak Forest, a suburb 17 miles away.

"Helping to alleviate the health disparities that exist in Chicago is part of our mission and something Mr. (George) Miller harps on all the time," a Loretto staff member told BlockClubChicago.org. "And to see that we are going against that mission to the detriment of our own community, is infuriating to me."

The staff member added: "People are calling (the hospital) every day, waiting in line to get vaccinated. That makes me quite upset."

According to reports, the Loretto Board of Directors is conducting an audit of all off-site vaccination events and will share its findings with the Mayor's Office and Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH).

Loretto already is facing possible punishment for providing off-site vaccinations to ineligible recipients. On March 10, reports surfaced about Loretto holding a vaccination event for ineligible hotel workers at Trump Tower. Meanwhile, WBEZ reported earlier this week that ineligible Cook County judges and their spouses were offered doses at Loretto Hospital.

The city's health department is investigating the Trump Tower event, and first doses at the hospital have been cut off while that review takes place.

"Our city will not tolerate providers who blatantly disregard the Chicago Department of Public Health's distribution guidelines for the COVID-19 vaccine," Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said on Thursday after the Trump Tower controversy erupted. "Unfortunately, in recent days, stories have surfaced alleging providers who had an obligation to follow CDPH guidelines, ignored those restrictions and instead allowed well-connected individuals to jump the line to receive the vaccine instead of using it to service people who were more in need."

Lightfoot said the CDPH was looking into matters and would identify providers not following guidance, and deny them future allocations of vaccine.

Read more at BlockClubChicago.org.

Read more at WBEZ.org.