Obstetrical services at three major Chicago-area hospitals will soon be suspended by Prime Healthcare, the company announced in a new release.
Prime said it plans to consolidate and suspend OB services at Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet, Mercy Medical Center in Aurora and Resurrection Medical Center in Chicago.
“Many years of financial distress, changes in ownership, declining birth rates and volumes, with less than one delivery a day, have made it impossible to ensure the very best quality of care for the patients served. With this consolidation, we have ensured that access to quality care and capacity is available at nearby hospitals withlarge and well-established birthing centers,” the group said in a statement.
It comes as Prime also announced plans to develop a Centers of Excellence for Maternal Care at Saint Mary of Nazareth Hospital in Chicago and Olympia Fields Hospital. The center will aim to “centralize and strengthenobstetrical services where experienced multidisciplinary teams can provide mothers andnewborns with the highest level of coordinated obstetrical and neonatal care,” Prime said in a release.
“We know how important it is for families to have access to trusted, high-quality maternity care close to home; concentrating maternity services at established centers like Saint Mary’s ensures the highest levels of quality and patient safety, addressing maternal health disparities,” Dr. Devyani Chawla, a board-certified OBGYN and director of the birthing center at Saint Mary of Nazareth, said in a statement. “We stand ready to work with our system and community partners and do everything we can to provide safe and compassionate care for mothers and children.”
Prime said it plans to offer employees impacted by the move other positions within the hospitals, with “over three times the number of impacted positions” currently open.
In addition to the new center, Prime plans to offer $1 million in grants for maternal health initiatives in the community.
“This is what a truly regionalized system of maternal care should accomplish: better quality care and outcomes for moms and babies,” Dr. Sunny Bhatia, president and chief medical officer of Prime Healthcare, said in a release.
Tuesday’s announcement follows several changes at area hospitals now owned by Prime Healthcare.
Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet also last month filed paperwork with the state of Illinois to permanently close its pediatric inpatient unit citing low patient volume at the 13-bed unit.
At the time, a spokesperson for the hospital said newborn, NICU and maternity services at Saint Joseph’s would not be impacted.
In March of 2025, Prime Healthcare purchased eight Ascension Illinois hospitals in a deal worth over $370 million. Four months later, the system’s new owner said it planned to cut 100 jobs across several of its newly acquired hospitals, prompting a letter of concern from Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin.
Nurses at Saint Joseph’s, who are represented by the Illinois Nurses Association, previously alleged “chronic understaffing at the hospital” has led to emotional distress for the nurses who work there. In June, some moved to file a class action lawsuit against Prime, saying the hospital has refused to meet safe nurse-to-patient needs.
In response to the latest service change, the Illinois Nurses Association said Prime Healthcare has made “it clear that they do not care about children and families in Illinois.”
“We find it shameful that the only hospital in Illinois’ third largest city will soon abandon medical care for mothers and babies simply because those services won’t maximize their profits,” the group said in a statement to NBC Chicago. “As this process unfolds, the INA will continue to advocate for our members, the tireless nurses who protect the health of the Joliet community against corporate greed.”
Last year, Ascension Alexian Brothers Hospital in Elk Grove Village also announced plans to eliminate its labor and delivery units and Vista Medical Center East in suburban Waukegan ended certain maternity, obstetrics and gynecology services.
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