A doctor and a nurse accused of turning away a woman who was actively in labor at an Indiana hospital are no longer employed there, hospital leadership said.
Franciscan Health Crown Point President and CEO Raymond Grady confirmed that the two staff members involved in Mercedes Wells’ case have been terminated, explaining that their actions fell short of the hospital’s standards and values.
The incident began on Nov. 16, when Wells and her husband, Leon, went to Franciscan Health Crown Point after calling the day before to say she was nearing delivery. Wells said that once they arrived, hospital staff told them to return home and wait for labor to progress.
A cellphone video recorded inside the hospital shows Wells breathing heavily while seated in a wheelchair. Shortly afterward, security escorts her out of the building. The footage spread rapidly online, intensifying public concern about how Black women are treated in maternity care.
Wells told CBS News Chicago that she felt unwelcome upon arrival, saying she was met with “really stern faces” and none of the warmth she expected in a place meant to provide care.
According to Wells, she was in severe pain, but an admissions nurse told her she wasn’t far enough along to be admitted. Eight minutes after leaving the hospital, Wells delivered her baby girl in her husband’s car on the side of the road. She later received medical care at Community Hospital in Munster, Indiana.
The Wells family has since retained legal counsel, alleging the mistreatment was racially motivated.
Grady said the situation was painful to see and emphasized that what happened does not represent the hospital’s mission. He added that compassionate care requires listening to patients, especially when they are clearly in distress.
“We failed to listen to Mrs. Wells’ concerns,” Grady said, noting that Wells had previously delivered at the hospital with a positive experience and recognized that something was wrong this time. “We must fix what failed in our hospital so that no one experiences what happened to Mercedes Wells.”
In response, Grady ordered cultural competency training for all labor and delivery staff and implemented a new policy requiring that any pregnant patient leaving the Labor and Delivery unit be examined by a physician before discharge.
He also issued an apology to Wells and her family, saying the hospital is committed to accountability and to ensuring every patient receives equitable, compassionate care. Any behavior that undermines those standards, he said, will not be tolerated.
