Suburban Chicago Hospital System Cuts 100 Jobs Amid Ongoing Service Reductions

Prime Healthcare Announces Job Cuts Across Suburban Chicago Locations

CHICAGO — Prime Healthcare, the California-based for-profit group that recently acquired all Ascension hospitals in Illinois, is eliminating approximately 100 jobs across its eight hospital and clinic locations in the Chicago area.

The job cuts — described by the company as “staffing consolidations” — began last week and are expected to conclude next month. According to Prime, the positions being eliminated are either duplicated or not aligned with their revised care model and service offerings.

A Prime spokesperson emphasized that most of the affected roles are not direct patient-care positions and none are union jobs. The company stated it is offering comparable positions and encouraging affected employees to apply for the over 900 open positions across their Illinois facilities.

“These staffing changes will not affect the quality of care delivered,” the company said, claiming the decision is intended to expand best practices across its national network.

Lawmakers Express Concern Over Service Cuts

The move has prompted concern from U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, who recently sent a letter to Prime CEO Prem Reddy questioning the company’s decisions and commitment to preserving services.

The May 20 letter, shared publicly, criticized Prime for making substantial changes within just two months of acquiring the eight Illinois hospitals — including service suspensions, job cuts, and trauma center downgrades — despite prior assurances that no changes would be made for at least two years.

“Unfortunately, the decisions that have followed since have led to the discontinuation of several critical health care services,” the senators wrote. “There are already profound concerns about patients losing access to care.”

Hospital Acquisitions and Service Impacts

Prime finalized its $375 million acquisition of the Ascension Illinois hospital system in March 2025. The deal included eight hospitals:

• Holy Family Medical Center (Des Plaines)

• Mercy Medical Center (Aurora)

• Resurrection Medical Center (Chicago)

• Saint Francis Hospital (Evanston)

• Saint Joseph Medical Center (Joliet)

• Saint Joseph Hospital (Elgin)

• St. Mary’s Hospital (Kankakee)

• Saint Mary of Nazareth Hospital (Chicago)

It also included seven senior living centers across the region.

In the short months since the takeover:

• The Level II trauma center status at Mercy Medical Center in Aurora was revoked in April. Prime stated it had withdrawn the designation, saying it no longer aligned with the hospital’s emergency care needs.

• Pediatric inpatient care was suspended at another suburban hospital.

While Prime maintains these decisions are aimed at “improving care delivery, preserving access in underserved areas, and ensuring sustainability,” lawmakers and community members remain skeptical of the long-term impacts.

Have you or someone you know been affected by these hospital changes in suburban Chicago? Share your experiences in the comments below on ChicagoSuburbanFamily.com.