Family Maternity Suites at Lincoln Memorial Hospital to Close

[November 16, 2022] 

Pending approval by the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board, the Family Maternity Suites at Lincoln Memorial Hospital will close on Dec. 31, 2022, ending labor and delivery services at the nonprofit hospital.

“In past decades, there was a major demand for labor and delivery at our hospital,” said LMH President and CEO Dolan Dalpoas. “Today, that demand has decreased and our focus has shifted to providing different kinds of care that better meet the needs of our community.”

For more than 25 years, the number of babies born annually at LMH has declined steadily to its current low of about two per week. At the same time, the need for other inpatient services at LMH has risen. During the past two years, demand for acute care beds has increased 30 percent.

As a critical access hospital, LMH is permitted 25 inpatient beds under federal law. Three of those beds are currently reserved for labor and delivery patients – and, Dalpoas said, they are often empty. “By reallocating those beds to other areas, we can better meet our growing demand,” he added.

All members of the unit’s nursing staff have been offered roles elsewhere at LMH or within another Memorial Health hospital.

Springfield Clinic physicians Kristen Green, MD, and Don Sielaff, MD, currently deliver babies at LMH. They will work with patients who planned to deliver at LMH after Dec. 31 to choose another hospital.

Dalpoas met in person with LMH employees earlier today to talk about the factors that went into the decision.

“Throughout our 120-year history, we’ve constantly evolved and adapted to meet the needs of our patients, and this is the latest chapter in that story,” he said. “While this was a difficult decision, it will allow us to focus our resources where the community needs them the most.”

[ Angie Muhs]