Franciscan Health Crown Point, a hospital in northwest Indiana, has taken the drastic step of firing both the doctor and nurse involved in the care of 38-year-old Mercedes Wells, the pregnant mother who gave birth on a highway just minutes after being discharged. The decision came after a formal internal review concluded that the staff members failed to properly assess and listen to the patient before sending her home.
According to Fox 32 Chicago, Raymond Grady, CEO of the hospital, announced the firings publicly, stating that the physician and nurse responsible for Wells’ evaluation “are no longer employed” at the hospital. Grady issued a direct apology to the family, acknowledging that the hospital “failed to listen to Mrs. Wells’ concerns” and emphasizing that no health system can call itself compassionate when it ignores a patient who is clearly in pain.
In response to the fallout, Grady also outlined immediate changes the hospital is implementing to prevent similar incidents from happening again. Those steps include mandatory cultural competency training for all labor and delivery staff and a new requirement that every pregnant patient must be examined by a physician before discharge, regardless of how routine the visit may seem. Grady stressed that reforms are necessary, saying the hospital must ensure “no one experiences what happened to Mercedes Wells.”
According to the family, Mercedes had been in the hospital for six hours when her water broke moments before discharge. She says a nurse dismissed her concerns, insisting she wasn’t dilated enough, and that the couple never saw a doctor during the entire visit. Just eight minutes after leaving the hospital, Mercedes went into full labor on the highway, forcing her husband, Leon, to deliver their baby girl, Alena, in their pickup truck without medical assistance.
While baby Alena is now healthy, the family says the trauma of the experience—and the risk it posed—could have ended very differently. Mercedes says she appreciates the hospital firing the staff involved but believes much more work is needed. Leon added that he had “no training” and relied only on instinct and prayer to deliver the baby safely. Their attorney, Cannon Lambert, is calling for a formal apology, a face-to-face meeting with senior hospital officials, and meaningful remedies for the family.
Although Grady said the hospital has reached out and hopes to meet with the family soon, the Wells family insists no one has contacted them. They say they plan to continue fighting for accountability to ensure other mothers do not experience the same negligence they endured.
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