Roseland Community Hospital, located on Chicago’s South Side, will suspend its labor and delivery services by the month’s end. This decision follows similar actions by other South Side hospitals that have reduced obstetric care. The hospital’s President and CEO, Tim Egan, emphasized the pivot was not voluntary but arose from chronic underfunding of safety-net hospitals. Egan stated, “This closure will be felt far beyond our neighborhood.” Community women will face longer travel and wait times for obstetric care, he noted, which can be critical in emergencies.

Roseland had 17 obstetric/gynecology beds and accounted for 107 births in 2025, according to a report by the Health Facilities and Services Review Board. The hospital has long grappled with financial difficulties, exacerbated when Medicaid managed care organization payments arrived later than expected earlier this year. Roseland, like several safety-net hospitals, serves many Medicaid recipients, a program jointly funded by the state and federal government for low-income individuals and those with disabilities. Medicaid payments often fall short of covering hospitals’ expenses, creating financial strain.

In 2025, Medicaid contributed to about 51% of Roseland’s inpatient revenue. Safety net hospitals manage aging infrastructures and confront rising supply, medication, and staffing costs. The recent closure of obstetric units across South Side adds to concerns about disparate maternal health outcomes between Black and white women in the area. Since 2019, hospitals like Jackson Park, St. Bernard, and Insight (formerly Mercy Hospital) have shut their obstetric units as well.

Data from the Illinois Department of Health highlighted significant disparities, showing Black women were thrice as likely to die from pregnancy-related issues than white women between 2018 and 2020. Complications during pregnancy or delivery also occurred over twice as frequently in Black women. In 2025, about 89% of Roseland’s patients were Black. “Maternal mortality rates here are already too high,” Egan confirmed. “This will make them worse.”

This change at Roseland mirrors a statewide trend where community hospitals reduce obstetric services, often due to demographic shifts and preferences for larger hospitals’ birthing centers. In the prior month, Prime Healthcare disclosed plans to halt obstetric care at three of its Illinois hospitals: St. Joseph in Joliet, Mercy in Aurora, and Resurrection in Chicago. Prime intends to centralize labor and delivery at two different locations while enhancing community maternal health investments. This move faced critique from the Illinois Nurses Association, concerned about the community losing critical services.