RN: “Illinois can halt Catholic health system’s pattern of divesting from maternal, infant health”

At a public hearing on Tuesday, Nov. 18, nurses from Ascension hospitals will note their deep opposition to the Catholic system’s proposed elimination of obstetrics services at Alexian Brothers in Elk Grove, Ill. to the state’s Health Facilities and Services Review Board (IHFSRB). Members of the IHFSRB are expected to announce whether they will approve Ascension Alexian Brothers’ application for an exemption to discontinue obstetric services.

National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU)–which represents Ascension nurses in Wichita, Kan., Austin, Texas, and Baltimore, Md.–had found, in a report published Jan. 2024, that Ascension closed a quarter of its labor and delivery over the past decade. Across the board, Ascension nurses fear more cuts will exacerbate the growing maternal and infant health crisis in Illinois, where the preterm birth rate was scored a D by national advocacy group March of Dimes.

“Ascension has no business, as a Catholic nonprofit hospital system that proclaims it provides ‘spiritually-centered holistic care’, creating obstetric health care deserts,” said Anastasia Villarreal, RN from Ascension Seton Medical Center in Austin, Texas and member of NNOC/NNU. “Texas nurses have seen the impact of Ascension’s obstetrics closures in our state, in addition to the hospital’s practice of understaffing and underresourcing units that serve babies and new parents. We’re calling on Illinois regulators to use this opportunity to halt the Catholic health chain’s pattern of divesting from maternal and infant health.”

What: Ascension RNs, community members, and health care workers testifying opposition to closure of obstetrics unit at Ascension Alexian Brothers at Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board public hearing
When: Tuesday, Nov. 18, 9:00 a.m.
Where: Bolingbrook Municipal Golf Club, 2001 Rodeo Dr, Bolingbrook, Ill.

Ascension’s divestment in Illinois is not just in maternal health care. Late last year, the IHFSRB approved the sale of eight Ascension hospitals in Illinois to for-profit healthcare system Prime Healthcare for more than $370 million, despite warnings and objections by local community members and NNU/NNOC of Prime’s history of health care cuts. Ascension executives called Prime the “best steward” for Ascension hospitals during a public hearing in September of 2024. However, since the sale, Prime has slashed pediatric and obstetrics care, along with cuts to staffing. NOC/NNU represents more than 2,500 registered nurses at four Ascension facilities across the country. 

National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the United States with more than 225,000 members nationwide. NNU affiliates include California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, DC Nurses Association, Michigan Nurses Association, Minnesota Nurses Association, and New York State Nurses Association.