The Times from Munster, Indiana • A1

00 1 OBITUARIES A6 BUSINESS A9 ENTERTAINMENT B2 SPORTS C1 ADVICE C9 D4 $3 Vol. 114, No. 93 (USPS 629-960) and Vol. 112, No. 53 (629-960).

A Lee Enterprises Newspaper Copyright 2022 Follow us online: facebook.com/nwitimes twitter.com/nwi BREEZY WITH A SHOWER 74 62 FORECAST, A4 FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2022 nwi.com Subscribers: In this rapidly changing news environment, make sure your digital account is activated so you can read the latest local news. Visit nwi.com/activate to activate your account. Sentence scrutinized Indiana Supreme Court to decide whether to reinstate murder conviction, LOCAL, PAGE A3 School supply delivery Enchanted Backpack visits NWI, LOCAL, PAGE A3 Smoot a force for Merrillville Two-way lineman sparks Pirates, SPORTS, PAGE C1 MOLLY DEVORE molly.devore@nwi.com 219-798-7150 EAST CHICAGO Known for being a residential island in a sea of industry, East his- toric Marktown neighborhood may soon see some renovations. Built as a planned worker community by industrialist Clayton Mark in 1917, Marktown was famed for its European ar- chitecture. The neighborhood was modeled after a Swiss vil- lage with pitched gabled roofs and roads so narrow people park on the sidewalks and walk in the streets.

Over the years the unique homes have deteriorated, and some have been boarded up or demolished by the nearby BP Whiting nery. Lourdes Hicks raised her six children in Marktown and has lived in the community for 21 years. She said the homes, which are almost all over 100 years old, a lot of wear and tear on Chipped paint, rotted window frames and aging roofs are issues throughout the neigh- borhood. Though residents try to up- keep their homes, the high peaks are di cult for elderly neighbors to reach, and status as a Historic Place means reno- vations can be complex. seen the highs and lows of this town, and I know it has a lot of Hicks said.

East Chicago is in the be- ginning stages of a Neighborhood Housing that could help restore the aging homes. Frank Rivera, executive director of redevelopment, led an infor- mational meeting detailing the project Wednesday afternoon. Rivera explained that the city is looking to er qualifying A is how public health experts are describing what we may be facing as season returns to converge with COVID-19 variants and the reemergence of respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, a largely unfamiliar acro- nym that is beginning to infect our vocabulary. has existed for a long time. However, it is making a resurgence this Dr.

Alan Kumar, chief medical cer of Community Healthcare Sys- tem, said. we head into the season, we have an added complication with the Current cases of RSV are higher than usual as the public health community investigates the causes. hypothesis is that this is due to a lack of RSV in young children over the last few years, leading to a rise in susceptible said Dr. Erica Kaufman West, medical director of Franciscan infectious diseases division in our Region. is up for grabs this season because of RSV, COVID and said Dr.

Carl Toren, chief medical Flu season converges with RSV, COVID-19 JOSEPH S. PETE joseph.pete@nwi.com 219-933-3316 HAMMOND Franciscan Health now plans to cease inpa- tient care and emergency room services at Franciscan Health Hammond, effectively closing the downtown Hammond hos- pital, which has served north Lake County and neighboring communities in Illinois for more than 120 years. It will continue to maintain primary care and other medical services at the site, but hospitals are typically distinguished from clinics and other medical facilities by being able to take in patients overnight for inpatient care and by having emergency rooms that er urgent, life-saving treat- ment. The Mishawaka-based non- hospital chain plans instead to direct patients to its hospitals more than six miles south in Mun- ster and Dyer. 2021, Franciscan Health an- nounced that the Franciscan Alli- ance Board of Trustees approved a $30 million investment in the 100-year-old Hammond campus to renovate some buildings, and $15 million to demolish buildings that no longer have a useful Franciscan Health Hammond, Dyer and Munster Interim Pres- ident and CEO Barbara Anderson said in a statement issued Thurs- day.

scaled down, 10-bed inpatient unit and Emergency Department would continue to serve the needs of the Hammond But Franciscan is now changing course, planning to stop treating patients in downtown Hammond. the last 15 months, we have seen inpatient volume at Francis- can Health Hammond drop to an average of 2.5 patients per day. Of the 54 patients who present to the emergency room each day, more than would be better served in a lower-cost setting, such as an urgent care or primary care she said. is di cult to maintain operational ciency at these volumes. Had we been able to predict the dramatic de- crease in volumes, we would have planned di erently at the outset.

As a result, Franciscan Health is consolidating its hospital-based services in Munster and Dyer and continuing to er ambulatory services in Hammond Mayor Thomas Mc- Dermott Jr. said Franciscan had been disinvesting in downtown Hammond for years and direct- ing patients elsewhere, then using the decline in tra as an excuse to further disinvest. are not acting like a t. This is inconsistent with their stated he said. is a perfect example of wrong with health care in America.

You have two health care systems: one for the poor and Hammond hospital to close JONATHAN MIANO, FILE, THE TIMES An aerial view of the Marktown neighborhood in East Chicago, taken in 2016, is shown. The city hopes to start a program that will help Marktown residents renovate their aging homes. STAN MADDUX Times Correspondent LAPORTE COUNTY A manufacturing company in northern LaPorte County was heavily damaged by re over- night. The eld Township Volunteer Fire Department was dispatched before 1:30 a.m. to GTW Enterprises at 183 W.

800 North. eld Township Fire Chief Steve Marvel said re departments from throughout LaPorte County and New Buf- falo were called to assist with the blaze about three miles east of Indiana 39. Marvel said the burning met- al-sided facility measured close to 300,000 square feet and numerous tanker trucks were needed to keep shuttling water to the scene. The nearest hydrants were several miles away at Linde Welding Gas and Equipment Center and near eld El- ementary School, he said. Marvel said the sometimes curvy route to those hydrants also required venturing up and down other roads.

was no straight he said. Marvel said the size of the re Blaze heavily damages facility PROVIDED BY LISA PIERZAKOWSKI Fire damage is estimated in the millions at GTW Enterprises north of LaPorte, cials say. Renovating historic Marktown Mayor condemns Franciscan decision to disinvest Public health experts warn of Chief: Roughly half of building destroyed EC begins housing study, details plans for grant program Marktown East Chicago is considering ways to revitalize the Marktown neighborhood. OSM.org, Lee Enterprises graphic Indiana Harbor Cleveland-Clis BP Whiting Marktown 129th Chicago Ave. Dickey Road Indianapolis Blvd.

Cline Ave. Please see HOSPITAL, Page A4 JERRY DAVICH Please see TRIPLE-DEMIC, Page A5 Please see BLAZE, Page A5 Please see MARKTOWN, Page A5.