Prime Healthcare suspends OB services at 3 Illinois hospitals, consolidating births at two centers

Prime Healthcare will suspend obstetric services at three Illinois hospitals—St. Joseph Medical Center in Joliet, Mercy Medical Center in Aurora, and Resurrection Medical Center in Chicago—effective Oct. 1, centralizing OB care at Saint Mary of Nazareth Hospital in Chicago and Olympia Fields Hospital in Olympia Fields. The move follows years of financial distress, ownership changes, and declining birth volumes, with each hospital averaging fewer than one delivery per day. About 75 full‑time OB nurses will be affected, though they’ll be offered other Prime positions; the system notes 331 open roles overall, including 11 OB positions. Prime also commits $1 million in maternal‑health grants and says suspensions could be reversed if demand rises, while unions and critics warn the consolidation could reduce local access to care.