Column: Prime Healthcare vows to keep Sisters of Mercy mission alive at medical center in Aurora

Chicago Tribune

10-07-2025

For years it has been said that the good Sisters of Mercy would be rolling over in their graves if they could see what's happened to the Aurora hospital they founded in 1911.
It's no secret Mercy Medical Center has struggled for years with an identity crisis as those wonderful – and aging — nuns relinquished their role in community health care to corporate America.
Under a series of new owners and/or names – starting with Provena Mercy in 1997, then Presence Mercy, then AMITA Health Mercy – the Aurora hospital went through so many changes it could not even keep up with the signage in front of this once-venerated facility.
But hope springs eternal.
In 2022, Ascension Health, which had been part of Presence and then AMITA, took sole ownership of Mercy. And hospital leaders, acknowledging Mercy's watered-down reputation, promised a return to its Catholic roots that were planted on the grounds of integrity and compassion for so many generations.
'People that come here need us, many don't have access to health care. We teach all staff members that everyone deserves the same high level of care. This is what our patients, our community deserves,' said then hospital President Rich Roehr as the medical center held a Blessing and Rebrand Celebration.
Unfortunately, Mercy didn't seem to have a prayer after Advocate Healthcare, which completed its takeover of Aurora's beloved Dreyer Medical Clinic in 2017, deserted this venerated hospital in the state's second-largest city by demanding its network of doctors bring patients to other Advocate hospitals, including Good Samaritan in Downer's Grove.
Enter Prime Healthcare, which claims to be the medical center's savior.
According to this California-based corporation, the eight Illinois Ascension hospitals Prime acquired in March were losing nearly nearly $200 million annually and in danger of closing. But Mercy Medical Center, according to spokesperson Michael Deering, faced particularly difficult circumstances when, in a 'deeply disruptive move,' Advocate required its physicians to relinquish privileges at Mercy, 'preventing them from continuing to care for their patients at the hospital' and requiring them to travel 45 minutes or more to the next closest Advocate facility.
It was indeed a tumultuous time – for patients and staff. But Prime's purchase of these Ascension hospitals for more than $370 million involved its own controversial changes, including the fact that six of these eight Illinois hospitals, Mercy among them, went from nonprofit to for-profit.
Prime also announced in June the elimination of more than 100 jobs collectively – including chief medical officer at Mercy, which is now under a regional CMO – with more cuts to come through July.
And in April Mercy lost its designation as a Level II trauma center from the Illinois Department of Public Health because of staffing shortages, which created more criticism, including from Illinois Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth and state Rep. Barbara Hernandez, D-Aurora.
So are the sisters once more on a roll?
We all realize health care across the board is far different than when the late Sister Dorothy Burns was CEO of this Aurora hospital that, even back in 1996, stood out among other Illinois Catholic hospitals because nuns still lived and worked on the Mercy campus.
So just how Catholic is Mercy Medical Center these days?
I posed that question to the Rockford Diocese, which specifically pointed out that Prime is a for-profit corporation and therefore Mercy and Elgin's St. Joseph Hospital are 'not Catholic institutions.' Nor will they be included in the next edition of the Official Catholic Directory of the United States, the diocese noted in a responding email.
However, the statement continued, Prime has 'committed to continue the moral, ethical and Catholic tradition, practices and teachings at those acquired hospitals, including the Ethical and Religious Directives approved by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.'
According to the diocese, this allows Prime to 'maintain the hospitals' Catholic names, maintain chapels where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved, and to continue to use Catholic symbols and imagery,' including, I might add, the beautiful life-size statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Mercy's surgery waiting room, which I wrote about a few years ago because her rosary would sometimes go missing.
While no money was exchanged to keep the hospital name, Prime owner Prem Reddy did seek and receive permission for the purchase of the hospitals, which included personally delivering the agreement to the Vatican Dicastery for the Clergy, according to Deering. That final step was completed just days before the sale, which 'underscored the trust placed in Prime Healthcare to the legacy and mission of these hospitals,' he added.
Charity of course was the focus of the Sisters of Mercy. And Prime had an immediate response, with its spokesman noting that the corporation 'has provided more than $14 billion in charity and uncompensated care,' which 'exceeds those previously in place under Ascension' while also 'going beyond state requirements.'
The statement also pointed out its focus on holistic healing, which includes meaningful investments in spiritual care services such as the continuation of chaplain programs, support for prayer/reflection spaces and resources 'to ensure patients of all faiths and belief systems receive respectful holistic care.'
Concerns continue, of course. I've heard from at least a dozen past and present employees, including doctors and nurses, who have been understandably shaken by the many changes at Mercy and worried about its future.
But on a positive note, in May the Aurora medical center received an 'A' ranking in patient safety from the independent hospital watchdog organization Leapfrog – from data compiled from 2024 and earlier. And on Thursday, a press release from Prime announced the Aurora hospital also earned top grades from the health care think tank Lown Institute in the areas of clinical outcomes, health equity, social responsibility, community benefit, pay equity, inclusivity and cost efficiency.
'Hospitals are facing unprecedented political and financial challenges,' said Dr. Vikas Saini, president of the Lown Institute, in the statement. 'In this uncertain environment, it's more important than ever to support socially responsible hospitals that are delivering high-quality care to all in their community.'
Prime, which touts its success in turning around struggling community hospitals across the nation, insists this quality will continue. In the first three months following acquisition, the health care group has already completed or initiated investments of more than $104 million in state of the art technology, equipment, systems and plant upgrades, Deering said. At Mercy specifically, early capital investments have included an elite electronic medical records system, advanced imaging and cardiovascular monitoring systems, as well as enhancements in its catheterization lab, officials said.
And just as Ascension Mercy leaders pointed out in that rebranding celebration a few years ago, Deering says Prime Healthcare is focused on addressing the gap in mental health, particularly for older residents. Already, he continued, Prime has budgeted over $10 million for preliminary construction costs for the expansion of senior behavioral health programs and facilities.
On that topic, Deering told me the Crisis Stabilization Unit – the first of its kind in Illinois when it opened a few years ago to deal with adults experiencing a critical mental health emergency – was closed by Ascension because of low volume and staffing shortages, but that Prime is 'reevaluating opening the CSU' as it considers improving access to behavioral health services.
'Mercy Medical Center continues to embody its founding spirit, now strengthened by Prime's investment, stewardship and unwavering dedication to healing the whole person with compassion, dignity and respect,' he added.
All of which sounds like a vow the sisters would approve of, along with all our prayers Mercy's new leaders give the Aurora community what it needs and deserves.