As she was told to leave Franciscan Health Crown Point and had to give birth in her car, Mercedes Wells said she felt less than human.<\/p>\n
Now, she wants the hospital staff to be held accountable for their actions.<\/p>\n
\u201cEssentially, I was stripped of my dignity,\u201d Wells said. \u201cI was stripped of my dignity as a person and treated like an animal. I almost felt like (the nurse) wanted me to suffer because she watched me suffer and knows how hard labor can be.\u201d<\/p>\n
At about midnight on Sunday, Wells arrived at Franciscan Health Crown Point to give birth to her fourth daughter, Alena. She remained at the hospital for about six hours before hospital staff told her that labor wasn\u2019t progressing enough, and she was told to leave.<\/p>\n
While Wells and her husband were on their way to Community Hospital in Munster, the baby\u2019s head began showing, and Leon Wells had to deliver his youngest child.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know what to do,\u201d Leon Wells said. \u201cI don\u2019t have a medical license or anything to deliver a baby. I was just so scared.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
According to Google Maps, the two hospitals are about 26 miles away from each other, which can be about a 35-minute drive.<\/p>\n
Leon Wells posted videos on Facebook taken by Mercedes Wells\u2019 mother on Sunday. The videos show Mercedes Wells leaving the hospital, holding her baby in their car and crying while she\u2019s in labor.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore that recording, she cried unbearably,\u201d Leon Wells said. \u201cIt was a cry that I couldn\u2019t imagine, just pleading to stay. I was so upset, but I didn\u2019t want to show it.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Tuesday morning, Mercedes Wells, Leon Wells and their lawyer, Cannon Lambert, hosted a news conference in Chicago to address the issue with Franciscan Health. The family has yet to file a lawsuit, Lambert said, because they would like to have a conversation with the health system first to figure out how to proceed.<\/p>\n
Lambert said the Wells family shouldn\u2019t have been put in the position they were in.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not looking to invade (Franciscan Health\u2019s) investigation,\u201d Lambert said. \u201cBut what we\u2019re really looking for is accountability. Can we agree that a woman in active labor shouldn\u2019t be sent away? \u2026 Can we agree that a woman should not be deprived or a person should not be deprived of health care just because of their gender, race or economic status?\u201d<\/p>\n
The Wells family wants a meeting with Franciscan administrators, they said Tuesday. They also want the nurse fired for her actions and for the health system to review their protocols and ensure a similar situation will not happen again.<\/p>\n
Franciscan Health Crown Point President and CEO Raymond Grady said in a statement that the hospital is aware of the video and is grateful to see that Mercedes Wells and Alena are doing well.<\/p>\n
![\"Dolton,](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/CTC-L-baby-delivery-01.jpg\")
Dolton, Illinois resident Mercedes Wells was discharged from Franciscan Health Crown Point hospital early Sunday morning because nurses told her that labor wasn’t progressing and she was only dilated 3 cm, according to the family. They were driving to Munster’s Community Hospital about eight minutes later when they had to pull over the car where Mercedes delivered a healthy baby girl. (Wells Family)<\/p>\n
\u201cThe video and the comments it has generated are deeply troubling, and we understand the concern this has raised,\u201d Grady said in his statement. \u201cThe video is just one part of the information we are reviewing as part of a thorough investigation into this alleged incident.\u201d<\/p>\n
In his statement, Grady said patient privacy laws \u201cmake it difficult\u201d for the hospital to \u201ccomment more deeply,\u201d adding that \u201cthe videos and the narrative surrounding them do not accurately represent Franciscan Health\u00a0 Crown Point\u2019s Catholic healthcare ministry values, which include respect for life, compassionate concern and Christian stewardship.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOur goal is to make everyone who walks through our doors feel the love of Christ through our actions,\u201d Grady said in his statement. \u201cThe reality is disparities in healthcare outcomes exist and Franciscan Health Crown Point strives to be part of the solution, not the problem. We remain committed to meeting and exceeding all regulations and best practices for care, and we will take appropriate action based on the findings of our review.\u201d<\/p>\n
A representative for the hospital declined to comment on whether staff have heard communication from the Wells family or their lawyer, and if staff is planning to meet with the family and lawyer soon.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes, it can be fatal to give birth,\u201d Mercedes Wells said. \u201cAnd knowing that, (the nurse) still pushed me out of the hospital, and anything that could\u2019ve happened to me or my child could\u2019ve been fatal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercedes Wells gave birth to Alena about two weeks before the baby\u2019s due date, she said Tuesday morning. Because the couple wasn\u2019t expecting Mercedes Wells to go into labor, she said they went to the Crown Point location because it was closest at the time.<\/p>\n
She had given birth at a Franciscan Health hospital before, Mercedes Wells said, and she had no issues.<\/p>\n
Before arriving at the Crown Point hospital, Mercedes Wells called ahead and a nurse told her that she would go to the emergency room once she arrived. About 15 minutes after she arrived, Mercedes Wells was brought upstairs at the hospital and put in a room that wasn\u2019t for labor and delivery.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told them that I was about 10 minutes apart with my contractions,\u201d Mercedes Wells said. \u201cBy the time I got upstairs, I was about eight minutes apart with my contractions.\u201d<\/p>\n
The nurse told Mercedes Wells that she would check in about two hours to see where she was in labor, and if she hadn\u2019t progressed, the couple would be sent home.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe already had it in her mind to send me home,\u201d Mercedes Wells said. \u201cI didn\u2019t think much of it because I was like, \u2018I\u2019m having this baby right now. I\u2019m not going home.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
When the nurse returned, Mercedes Wells\u2019 contractions came closer together, and she was told to take a walk. After the walk, her contractions continued to come closer together, and she was in \u201cpain and agony.\u201d<\/p>\n
The nurse then told Mercedes Wells that she still wasn\u2019t far enough along and that she\u2019d have to be sent home, citing orders from a doctor that the couple never saw while at Franciscan Health Crown Point.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just thought, \u2018I can\u2019t have this baby at home,\u2019\u201d Mercedes Wells said. \u201cIt was hard to deal with a person with no empathy because she didn\u2019t show care as any nurse usually would. But, I couldn\u2019t focus on her because I was just focusing on getting through the process of labor.\u201d<\/p>\n
The couple left Franciscan Health Crown Point at about 6:20 a.m., Mercedes Wells said, and about eight minutes later, she gave birth to Alena. They went to Community Hospital in Munster for care after, and she said the experience was positive.<\/p>\n
![\"Dolton,](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/CTC-L-baby-delivery-03.jpg\")
Dolton, Illinois resident Mercedes Wells was discharged from Franciscan Health Crown Point hospital early Sunday morning because nurses told her that labor wasn’t progressing and she was only dilated 3 cm, according to the family. They were driving to Munster’s Community Hospital about eight minutes later when they had to pull over the car where Mercedes delivered a healthy baby girl. (Wells Family)<\/p>\n
Leon Wells said the nurse at Franciscan Health Crown Point set discharge papers down on Mercedes Wells\u2019 legs rather than handing them to him or his wife. He then had to ask for a wheelchair to take Mercedes Wells out of the hospital.<\/p>\n
While leaving the hospital, Leon Wells didn\u2019t say anything to staff, he said Tuesday, because \u201cnothing would be the right thing\u201d to say.<\/p>\n
The couple said they were shocked to have a negative experience at Franciscan Health, especially after Mercedes Wells had given birth with that health system before. She doesn\u2019t know how a doctor could give orders to release her when the couple never saw a doctor.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a lot of emotions about it,\u201d Leon Wells said. \u201cI\u2019m mentally messed up because as a husband, as a father, as a protector, I feel like I couldn\u2019t do anything inside the hospital, where it\u2019s proper for a baby to come out. Instead, I had (deliver the baby) when my hands were unsanitary, and I\u2019m holding the steering wheel of a car. It wasn\u2019t right.\u201d<\/p>\n
mwilkins@chicagotribune.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As she was told to leave Franciscan Health Crown Point and had to give birth in her car,…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":388851,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[5404,56951,14720,14683,33131,30214,56952,38106,210,1141,1142,56953,1818,2862,2765,4010,1370,728,56954,56955,50,56956,56957,56950,67,132,68,56958],"class_list":{"0":"post-388850","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health-care","8":"tag-cook-county","9":"tag-crown-point","10":"tag-daily-southtown","11":"tag-dolton","12":"tag-east-chicago","13":"tag-gary","14":"tag-griffith","15":"tag-hammond","16":"tag-health","17":"tag-health-care","18":"tag-healthcare","19":"tag-highland","20":"tag-illinois","21":"tag-indiana","22":"tag-keywee","23":"tag-lake-county","24":"tag-latest-headlines","25":"tag-local-news","26":"tag-merrillville","27":"tag-munster","28":"tag-news","29":"tag-portage","30":"tag-porter-county","31":"tag-post-tribune","32":"tag-united-states","33":"tag-unitedstates","34":"tag-us","35":"tag-valparaiso"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115573808058380609","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388850","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=388850"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388850\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/388851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=388850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=388850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=388850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}