November 22, 2025
Mercedes Wells’ experience at Franciscan Health Crown Point highlights disparities in Black women’s birth experiences.
Franciscan Health Crown Point in Crown Point, Indiana, has dismissed a doctor and nurse after a pregnant woman, Mercedes Wells, said she was wrongly discharged while in active labor, ultimately giving birth in a truck just minutes after leaving the hospital. The hospital’s CEO, Raymond Grady, acknowledged the incident in a statement on Nov. 21, calling the now-viral footage “difficult to watch.”
“We failed to listen to Mrs. Wells’ concerns,” Grady said, noting that “as an experienced mother who publicly acknowledged having previously given birth at our hospital with a positive experience, she knew something was not right.” He added that the hospital must correct the failures that led to what happened so that “no one experiences what happened to Mercedes Wells.”
Wells said she arrived at the Crown Point facility shortly after midnight on Nov. 16, believing labor had begun. In a Facebook post, she wrote that she never saw a doctor and that nurses told her she was not progressing. She told NBC Chicago that when a nurse returned to her room, she was told, “Well, if you’re not further along in your centimeters, then you know we’ve got to send you home.”
Wells and her husband, Leon, said they pleaded with staff not to discharge her, but were told it was the “doctor’s orders.” Viral videos posted to Leon’s social media show Mercedes being wheeled out of the hospital in tears.
The family left for Community Hospital in Munster, only to realize minutes into the drive that the baby was coming. Leon helped deliver their daughter in the truck. “I saw her pushing … pulled a little bit, baby came out and just didn’t know what to do,” he said. “I just prayed.”
Wells recalled being terrified. “I was scared,” she said. “I didn’t know what to do.”
Their daughter, Alena, was reported to be healthy by Nov. 18, though Wells said the experience could have ended far differently. “It could have gone any way and I wasn’t being cared for by a professional,” she said.
Grady said the video circulating online “does not reflect the values of Franciscan Health Crown Point,” and confirmed that both the nurse and physician involved “are no longer employed.” The hospital is introducing cultural competency training and now requires physicians—not only nurses—to assess any pregnant patient before discharge.
Wells’ family has said they believe racial bias played a role. Grady said he has reached out and hopes to meet with them soon.
Illinois Rep. Robin Kelly plans to stand with Wells next week as she introduces legislation addressing maternal health disparities. The CDC estimates that around 50,000 women nationwide deal with major pregnancy complications annually. The agency also notes a stark racial gap and reports that Black women are at least three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women.
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