Overview
- Mercedes Wells’ family says Franciscan Health Crown Point discharged her after hours of monitoring, and she delivered her daughter eight minutes later on the side of the road as her husband assisted.
- Cellphone video shows Wells in visible pain being wheeled out; the couple then drove to Community Hospital in Munster, where mother and baby were reported to be recovering.
- The family alleges racial discrimination, says a nurse documented three centimeters dilation with contractions a minute apart, and claims no doctor examined Wells before discharge.
- Franciscan Health’s president and CEO called the video and reactions “deeply troubling,” confirmed an internal investigation, and cited patient-privacy limits while asserting the system’s values.
- Attorney Cannon Lambert says the family is not seeking money and is demanding a meeting, staff accountability including the nurse’s dismissal, and protocol changes as experts point to EMTALA screening and stabilization requirements.