Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan will be shutting down its child labor and delivery services starting late next month due to millions of dollars in losses each year.
Vista Health System told its staff on Thursday that Vista Medical Center East, located at 1324 North Sheridan Road in Waukegan, will suspend its obstetrical and neonatal services effective October 28.
The decision follows a “comprehensive internal review” of patient needs and healthcare trends in Lake County, the hospital system said, adding that birth rates in the county have steadily declined.
The latest data from the Illinois Department of Public Health shows Lake County recorded 6,722 live births in 2022, averaging about 18 per day countywide.
Vista Medical Center East reportedly averages one infant birth per day.
“This was a very difficult decision, but one that had to be made,” Vista Health System CEO Kim Needham said.
Vista said a labor and delivery program requires more than 100 births per month to cover the cost of specialized staff, 24/7 coverage and neonatal resources.
The hospital system said that the significantly lower volumes have led to difficulty in sustaining the ongoing investment maternity care requires, “particularly in communities facing health disparities.”
Vista said they incur annual losses of more than $4.2 million from obstetric services, “significantly impacting” the hospital’s ability to sustain and invest in other critical services for the community.
“At the same time, we are committed to putting our community’s primary medical needs at the forefront —focusing our investments in emergency medicine, chronic disease management, and preventive health, where demand continues to grow and the need is crucial,” the hospital system said.
Vista said they remain “committed to families across Lake County” and that by consolidating services to hospitals with higher delivery volumes, mothers and babies will benefit from “greater resources and specialized teams.”
The health system will continue to provide services to families through Vista Physician Group, including family medicine, primary care, specialty medicine and lab and diagnostic services.
“This transition reflects Vista’s ongoing commitment to put patients first by focusing resources where they are most needed and ensuring that the community continues to have access to high-quality, sustainable healthcare services,” Vista said.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) was not immediately available to provide further details on the loss of hospital services.
In January, dozens of employees were furloughed at Vista Medical Center East as the hospital sought emergency funding and applied for safety net status a year after it had its trauma center designation temporarily revoked.
Vista said at that time that they have encountered significant economic challenges over the years, largely due to the local community that “faces adverse challenges that often require more complex care due to acute illnesses, comorbid conditions, and challenging social and financial circumstances with many being self-insured and uninsured patients.”
The hospital had its Level 2 trauma designation revoked in early February 2024. The state reinstated the designation a month later in March 2024.
The change resulted in ambulances having to transport patients with serious injuries to other hospitals besides Vista, such as Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital or Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, which are further away.
It also meant patients with serious injuries who walked into Vista had to be transferred to other hospitals.
The temporary revocation of the trauma center designation came following an Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) on-site investigation at Vista, which included observations, record reviews and interviews.
The state’s investigation, initiated following a complaint, showed the hospital failed to meet the federal requirements for participation as a hospital in the Medicare program.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said in a letter that Vista Medical Center East failed to ensure appropriate providers were available to provide necessary services for patients and that the hospital failed to ensure an institutional plan and budget existed.
“This impacted the availability of services and supplies necessary for patient care,” the HHS said in a letter.