“Oh, you live in Edgewater? You know, I used to work at that hospital in your neighborhood,” a woman explained to Todd. “I was a nurse there in the early-’90s, and it was the shadiest place I ever worked in my career. I was so happy when it finally closed down,” she added. 

“Really?” Todd responded…almost in disbelief. “I’ve always wondered what happened there.”

This conversation happened in 2008. By then, the Edgewater Hospital campus had been closed for six years and sat boarded up and abandoned in the middle of the residential Edgewater neighborhood. It closed shortly after the September 11th attacks in 2001. By then, the feds uncovered a massive fraud scheme that went on there in the 1990s-2000s and cut off Medicare and Medicaid payments to the hospital. The hospital went bankrupt a short time later.

“They used to pay people from the streets to come in and pretend they had heart problems,” the nurse explained. “Usually they would promise them 50 bucks or some cigarettes for a warm place to sleep for a couple nights. But while they were in the hospital, they’d do all kinds of procedures on them. It was awful. Oh, and the hospital was definitely haunted,” she said.

Todd couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

This nurse shared how she had moved from Minneapolis to Chicago and thought working at Edgewater Hospital would be a huge step up in her career. Instead, the job turned into a nightmare. It was the longest 18-months of her young career…it’s something she rarely speaks about and still omits from her resume. 

That night, Todd scoured the internet for stories about Edgewater Hospital. Other than some neighborhood blogs, he didn’t find much. The few articles he found reported on the ongoing saga with the former owner. In 2008, he fled the country despite owing some $180 million for the crimes that happened there. He then openly “hid” from authorities — who struggled to bring him to justice. This unexpected conversation with a stranger sparked a curiosity that eventually led to If the Walls Could Talk Podcast.  

Years later, Todd reached out to that nurse and asked if she would share her experience for this podcast.

   * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

If the Walls Could Talk Podcast™ is a series about the history of Chicago’s Edgewater Hospital and the true crimes that destroyed it.

After opening in 1929, Edgewater Hospital established itself as Chicago’s premiere hospital. Under the guidance of its co-founder, Dr. Maurice Mazel, it was a leader in cardiac health and even developed the first ambulance for those suffering from a heart attack. Mazel steered the hospital for over half a century until his death in 1980. Then, things quickly fell apart. 

Dr. Maurice Mazel

Without a true successor to Mazel, the dated and aging hospital couldn’t keep up with the evolving healthcare industry. Edgewater Hospital was bleeding cash — it didn’t help that there were stories of employees embezzling money.

A new owner named Peter Rogan wound up “saving” Edgewater from closing in 1989, but did so in the worst possible way. After he took over, the hospital did just about anything to fill up its beds — including luring in seniors and those suffering from homelessness and addictions — and then subjected them to invasive and unnecessary heart procedures. This fraud scheme continued throughout the 1990s into the 2000s. The FBI investigated and learned that one Edgewater Cardiologist named Dr. Andrew Cubria performed hundreds of unnecessary procedures on his patients…just to ring up their medical bills. As a result, at least 2 patients died. 

Medicare cut off reimbursement in late-2001 — which accounted for the majority of the hospital’s income. Edgewater Hospital abruptly closed shortly thereafter. But the drama didn’t end there. The hospital’s former owner, Peter Rogan, lost a $64 million civil suit brought on by the US government and, less than two weeks later, he fled to Canada. In all, Rogan owed civil judgments totaling over $188 million.

Edgewater Hospital filed for bankruptcy in 2002 meaning the city of Chicago was left to deal with an abandoned and decaying hospital…loaded with toxic medical waste, patient medical records and equipment. The hospital campus then became a magnet for crime and trespassers while those in the neighborhood begged for it to be torn down. Plans for redevelopment dragged on for years while the feds tried to bring the former owner to justice. All the while, a local politician’s wife made got rich selling real estate built on the hospital’s former land. 

Sarah Hoag Photography

Narrated by Todd Ganz and Stephani Young, If the Walls Could Talk Podcast™  recounts Edgewater Hospital’s tangled history and the true crimes that destroyed it.

Since debuting in 2021, there have been more than 100,000 downloads of If the Walls Could Talk Podcast. Released independently, it peaked at #16 on Apple Podcasts History Chart and has been heard in countries all over the world. 

Multiple bonus episodes feature additional Edgewater Hospital history and an unbelievable story about the mysterious murder of a hospital employee named Teresita Basa whose ghost is said to have returned from the dead to identify her killer. Her accused killer, by the way, was another Edgewater Hospital employee! A second bonus episode covers the accused killer’s 1979 trial.