Nurses at St. Joseph Medical Center in Joliet have filed a class-action lawsuit this week, arguing that years of staffing cuts have left the hospital chronically understaffed and put patients in harm’s way. The complaint, brought by current and former nurses, accuses Ascension Healthcare and Prime Healthcare of violating the hospital’s staffing plan and forcing staff to shoulder unsafe patient loads, the latest flare-up in a months-long dispute between union nurses and the hospital’s new for-profit owner.
According to CBS Chicago, the nurses, who are represented by the Illinois Nurses Association, allege that Ascension and Prime "repeatedly breached St. Joseph’s legally mandated staffing plan" and pushed nurses into shifts that "put nurses and patients in danger." The complaint also claims the defendants caused staff "severe emotional distress" as patient needs went unmet.
Union Says Problems Spiked After Prime Takeover
Nurses and union leaders have been publicly protesting staffing and service reductions since Prime Healthcare acquired several former Ascension hospitals, including the Joliet facility, in March 2025. Reporting from Shaw Local notes that St. Joseph is licensed for 489 beds but is operating at roughly 185 to 198. At a May press event, nurses described suspended units, including inpatient pediatrics, and said they were being assigned heavier patient loads on the remaining open floors.
State Staffing Rules At Issue
Illinois law requires every hospital to adopt a written, hospital-wide staffing plan created by a nursing care committee, and to make that plan available to staff and the public. The lawsuit leans on those requirements, arguing the hospital fell short of what the law demands. The administrative rules that spell out those staffing obligations are detailed in the Illinois Administrative Code.
Hospital Owners Respond
Ascension has told reporters it "cannot comment on ongoing litigation" but said it is committed to "vigorously defending the allegations," according to CBS Chicago. Prime, for its part, has defended its decisions, saying it moved in to stabilize a financially distressed hospital and that "hundreds of jobs have been saved and created" since the sale, a point reported by Shaw Local.
What Comes Next
The Illinois Nurses Association and the Illinois Department of Public Health have thrown their support behind legislation that would give state reviewers more authority over future hospital sales, a push the INA has highlighted on its website. Local coverage from WJOL notes that nurses say they will continue public pickets and have filed unfair labor practice charges with the NLRB as part of a broader strategy that mixes legal action with public pressure.
Legal Implications
Legal guidance notes that under state rules the Illinois Department of Public Health can order corrective action plans and impose penalties if a hospital is found to be in violation of staffing requirements. The statutory baseline for the nurses’ claims is set out in the law itself; the full text is available from the Illinois General Assembly.
