Roseland Community Hospital Suspends Labor and Delivery Services

Roseland Community Hospital is set to halt its labor and delivery services at the month’s end. This marks another instance of a South Side hospital withdrawing from obstetric care. Tim Egan, the hospital’s President and CEO, stated the decision wasn’t made voluntarily.

Egan highlighted a history of financial neglect toward safety-net hospitals, making it unsustainable to maintain essential services. According to him, “this community depends on and deserves” such services. The repercussions of this closure will be extensive. Egan emphasized the increased travel and wait times for women seeking obstetric care. “In labor and delivery, distance and delay cost lives,” he said.

Roseland had 17 obstetric/gynecology beds, with 107 births recorded in 2025, as reported by the Health Facilities and Services Review Board. The hospital, along with other Chicago safety-net hospitals, has faced ongoing financial difficulties. Earlier this year, payroll issues arose due to delays in Medicaid managed care payments.

“Women in this community will now have to travel farther and wait longer for obstetric care.” —Tim Egan, CEO

Safety-net hospitals typically provide care to a large number of Medicaid recipients. This government program supports low-income individuals and those with disabilities. Medicaid reimbursements are often lower than payments from private insurance, failing to cover the actual costs of care.

In 2025, Roseland received about 51% of its inpatient revenue from Medicaid. Safety-net hospitals struggle not only financially but also with aging infrastructure and increasing costs for supplies, medication, and staffing. The closure of obstetric units on Chicago’s South Side is particularly concerning given the stark disparities in maternal health outcomes.

Since 2019, hospitals like Jackson Park, St. Bernard, and Insight (formerly Mercy) have all ceased obstetric services. A state health report highlighted severe disparities: Black women in Illinois were thrice as likely as white women to die from pregnancy-related conditions between 2018 and 2020. Additionally, the rate of severe complications during pregnancy or delivery was over twice that of white women.

At Roseland, 89% of patients were Black in 2025. “Maternal mortality rates here are already too high,” Egan mentioned. He warned the situation would worsen without local obstetric services. This change at Roseland reflects a broader trend of community hospitals cutting obstetrics, citing low patient volumes due to demographic shifts and a preference for hospitals with major birthing centers.

Recently, Prime Healthcare announced its plan to suspend obstetric services at three Illinois hospitals, including St. Joseph, Mercy, and Resurrection. They aim to centralize these services at two other hospitals and invest in local maternal health. This decision faced criticism, with the Illinois Nurses Association expressing concern over communities losing vital health facilities.