Prime Healthcare officials are touting the praise they’ve received from a state review board following criticism from union nurses, including one Joliet nurse who said the company’s actions are “death by a thousand cuts.”

In a statement on Thursday, Prime Healthcare, a for-profit medical group, announced the completed acquisition of Franciscan Health Olympia Fields after the sale was unanimously approved by the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board.

“During the review board’s unanimous 8-0 vote, members repeatedly highlighted Prime’s track record of turning around financially distressed hospitals, fulfilling commitments made to Illinois communities and investing in expanded services,” according to the statement from Prime Healthcare.

In 2025, Prime Healthcare purchased eight Illinois hospitals from Ascension, including Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet, Mercy Hospital in Aurora and Saint Mary Medical Center in Kankakee.

On Monday, Illinois Nurses Association had joined Aurora Mayor John Laesch and others at a Joliet news conference where they denounced the cuts and unit closures at some Prime Healthcare hospitals, including the one in Joliet.

A Prime Healthcare spokesperson defended the cuts at the Joliet hospital, saying it experienced a “period of significant financial distress, including approximately $90 million in annual losses until it was saved by Prime Healthcare.”

The spokesperson said “despite significant challenges, hundreds of jobs have been saved and created.”

The Chicago Tribune reported in an April 14 story about the review board’s approval of the sale of the Olympia Fields hospital to Prime Healthcare.

The story said no one spoke against the sale at the review board meeting but Board Chair Debra Savage had questioned Prime Healthcare’s actions at the Illinois hospitals it bought in 2025.

Savage asked Prime Healthcare officials if they also planned to open or close units at Olympia Fields, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Dr. Sunny Bhatia, president and chief medical officer of Prime Healthcare, was quoted saying there is “tremendous opportunity for sustaining these programs, growing programs, especially in behavioral health.”

Bhatia said, “We are continuing our diligence and, again, our emphasis always has been if there’s an unmet community need, we focus on quality, safety and cost-effectiveness, and we’ll certainly continue to consider these programs,” according to the Chicago Tribune.

The statement on Thursday from Prime Healthcare highlighted praise from review board members David Fox, Gary Kaatz, Dr. Dennis Beedle.

The statement also cited support from state Rep. Debbie Meyers-Martin, D-Matteson, and Lludid Maxinez, a cardiac telemetry nurse at Saint Francis Hospital in Evanston.

The statement quoted Kaatz saying, “I think Illinois hospitals are fortunate to have you, Prime Health, enter our marketplace and be a player as we try to advance care.”

Maxinez was quoted saying Prime Healthcare “invested 10 million in capital improvements” for Saint Francis Hospital in Evanston.

Margot Gislain, Illinois Nurses Association lead legislative organizer, said the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board “doesn’t really have a mechanism to deny the sale,” stating “they have no real power.”

State Sen. Karina Villa, D-West Chicago, agreed. She represents parts of Aurora in the 25th District and serves as the chair of the Senate’s Health and Human Services Committee.

The committee will review House Bill 4757, which “will actually put teeth in and give the ability for us to fight back against Prime and the things they’re doing at Saint Joe’s and in places like Aurora,” Villa said at Monday’s news conference in Joliet.

The Illinois Nurses Association and the Illinois Department of Public Health are supporting HB 4757.

Gislain said that the bill will allow the board to deny acquisitions and “give them the ability to make requirements of hospital owners and enforce terms.”

She also said that although the bill would not be able to reopen facilities that have already been closed, it would allow the board to prevent further closures.

The bill already has passed the House and needs to be passed by the Senate by May 31 to reach the governor’s desk.

Although she was not present at the press conference, State Sen. Rachel Ventura, D-Joliet, said in a statement that she is a co-sponsor of the bill and would be supporting it.