As they walked out the main door of Mercy Medical Center in the early hours of Thursday morning, there were squeals of surprise – along with plenty of laughter and chatter as this army of labor and delivery nurses was greeted with posters, flowers and bear hugs from mothers who had given birth at the Aurora hospital.
More Top Picks Irlen Syndrome Symptoms In Adults You Might Be Missing
It seemed like a celebration.
Except for the tears.
“Bittersweet” is a word I heard frequently from these nearly two dozen healthcare workers who were marking the end of an era under the entrance canopy of the hospital they often refer to as a second home.
At 6 a.m. Oct. 1, Mercy’s labor and delivery department was officially closed, just the latest of headline-making changes hitting the hospital under a series of ownerships, including most recently, Prime Healthcare.
But the word I heard the most on Thursday morning was “sad.”
Sad that the place where some had worked for three, even four decades, would no longer be their workday destination.
Sad this tight-knit group, who had become more like family than co-workers, was splitting up – some taking early retirement, some going to different hospitals, a few still searching for a job since being informed Sept. 1 that the labor and delivery department where life began for tens of thousands of Aurora-area babies – including many of their own – was closing.
“We never thought this would happen. We did not have a lot of time to prepare,” said obstetrics technician Wendy Santana as tears streamed down her face.
“This was our family,” added nursery nurse Cris Nava, who was sobbing as she released what co-workers described as so many pent-up emotions.
Family. That was another word I heard repeatedly.
“Every single person is like my sister,” insisted nurse Julaine Cartwright, who put in 25 years at Mercy. “These girls have gotten me through the happiest moments of my life and the darkest,” including the loss of her 19-year-old daughter Brittany, who died of an aortic rupture last November.
Cartwright admits she doesn’t know how she would have navigated that unimaginable personal grief without those she worked with.
“This whole hospital is like a big family. And we gave such individual care to everyone who came through our doors. We were always there for our patients,” said Cartwright, who did not mind the drive from her home in Joliet because of these strong connections to her Mercy colleagues.
“It’s just terrible what Prime is doing … making it hard for the people of Aurora.”
Her sentiment is not unfamiliar to those who have noted the reduction in multiple specialty services at Mercy in recent years under a series of ownerships, including losing its status as a Level II trauma center in 2025.
The latest shakeup came last month when Prime announced it was closing down obstetrics as of Oct. 1, not only at Mercy but at St. Joseph Medical Center in Joliet and Resurrection Medical Center on Chicago’s Northwest Side.
More Top Picks Best Kegerators For Home Bars
In a news release last month, Prime said it decided to suspend OB services at the three hospitals because, “Many years of financial distress, changes in ownership, declining birth rates and volumes have made it impossible to ensure the very best quality of care for the patients served.”
It was news that again raised concerns of some legislators, including U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood, D-Naperville, about increased maternal healthcare disparities and longer travel times for patients.
“This just makes me so sad,” said Michele Lancaster, who decided to take an early retirement after working at Mercy for 38 years. “We love our patients. This is the second largest city in the state and it deserves better. But nobody is fighting for this hospital, not even the ones who own it.”
In a statement from Prime Healthcare, gratitude was expressed for the team remaining “focused on providing quality compassionate care,” and said that “we are working closely with Rush Copley Medical Center … to ensure seamless continuity of care for our obstetrics patients.”
Prime also said every affected employee is being offered another role in its Illinois system so “the transition should not lead to job loss.”
Specifically at Mercy Medical Center, the statement said, there are twice as many open full-time positions for the 16 full-time RNs being impacted, and that across Prime’s Illinois hospitals, there are 331 openings, including 11 in obstetrics.
The last baby at Mercy was delivered at 4:59 the morning of Sept. 24, which meant there was little to do on that last shift except reminisce. About 16 current and former nurses and techs shared a meal and lots of memories with the four who were officially working, then arrived again in the early hours of Thursday morning so they could take that final walk-out together.
Their combined 465 years of experience “can’t be replaced,” said Dr. Bryan Sweeney, who will work as a Mercy obstetrician and gynecologist until the end of next month, and who joined the nurses for this long goodbye.
“There have been a lot of tears, but we have also had a good time,” said nurse Michelle Thomas, who treasured her 38 years at Mercy but will finish our her career at Rush Copley Medical Center in Aurora.
Later, Lancaster described this closing chapter – which included a surprise retirement party for her on Thursday evening – as “wonderful.”
“It made something that has been so hard a little light,” she said, noting these women shared not only fun moments at work but “difficult ones that changed us as people.”
“But we always share all the moments of our lives outside of work, as well,” Lancaster added, which is why “we know each other probably better than most of our family know us.”
It is, she concluded, “the nature of the job and what makes being a nurse so rewarding.”