Prime Healthcare ending obstetrics services at 3 Chicago-area hospitals on Thursday

Prime Healthcare will end obstetrics services at three Chicago area hospitals on Thursday. 

Obstetric services will end at St. Joseph Medical Center in Joliet, Resurrection Medical Center in Chicago, and Mercy Medical Center in Aurora.

The company plans to centralize OB care at two other hospitals — St. Mary of Nazareth in Ukrainian Village and Olympia Fields Hospital in south suburban Olympia Fields.  

A prime health care spokesperson said consolidating care will be better for parents and babies in the long run because it centralizes care by a huge team of specialists.  

Registered nurses at St. Joseph held a rally on Wednesday to condemn the closure of the obstetrics and special care nursery departments.

Nurses worry traveling farther for maternal care will have a negative impact. The closest options for would-be St. Joseph patients are Silver Cross Hospital, which is about 10 miles away, or Olympia Fields Hospital, nearly 30 miles away.

Mercy Medical Center's expecting moms in Aurora will be welcomed at Edward Hospital in Naperville, 12 miles away.   

People planning to deliver at Resurrection in Norwood Park will go to Saint Mary of Nazareth in Humboldt Park.  

The nurses said the closures threaten the health of mothers and babies.  

"You can have a completely normal pregnancy and suddenly have a serious complication. A mother can start bleeding, her blood pressure can suddenly become dangerously high, a baby can suddenly be in distress," Kim Craig, special care nursery RN, said. 

A spokesperson for Prime Healthcare said Resurrection averages less than one birth a day, which makes it "difficult to sustain." However, low delivery rates and financial distress are not acceptable reasons to stop maternal care, according to these nurses.  

The union is urging Prime to come to the bargaining table to negotiate with the nurses on a new contract. Their current contract with Prime expires in January.

Prime Healthcare took over eight Ascension Illinois hospitals in 2025.