By Hola Iowa
CHI Health Mercy will also move its Level II neonatal intensive care services to Omaha. Prenatal appointments will remain available locally, and another Council Bluffs hospital will continue delivering babies.
Council Buffs, IA – CHI Health Mercy Council Bluffs will stop providing labor and delivery services on Aug. 31, requiring patients who remain with the health system to give birth at a CHI Health facility in Omaha.
The hospital will also transfer its Level II neonatal intensive care unit services across the Missouri River. Prenatal care, OB-GYN appointments and other women’s health services will remain available in Council Bluffs through CHI Health Clinic.
The change does not leave Council Bluffs without hospital-based maternity care. Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital will continue operating its Women and Newborns unit at 933 E. Pierce St.
What changes for CHI Health patients after Aug. 31
Patients with delivery dates after Aug. 31 will no longer be admitted to CHI Health Mercy for childbirth. CHI Health is contacting expectant mothers individually to coordinate where they will deliver and how their hospital care will transfer.
The health system said patients will be able to continue seeing the same physicians. The location of each delivery will depend on the patient’s care plan and the Omaha facility selected with the medical team.
CHI Health operates maternity services at several Omaha hospitals, including Creighton University Medical Center-Bergan Mercy, Immanuel and Lakeside. The system has not assigned every Council Bluffs patient to a single Omaha location.
The Omaha birth centers collectively deliver more than 4,460 babies each year. CHI Health described the facilities as approximately 15 minutes from Mercy Council Bluffs, although travel time will vary depending on traffic and the patient’s starting location.
Level II newborn care will also move to Omaha
Mercy Council Bluffs will also stop operating its Level II neonatal intensive care unit after Aug. 31.
A Level II NICU provides specialized care for newborns who need additional monitoring or treatment after birth, including some premature babies and infants requiring respiratory support.
Mercy’s current unit cares for babies born at 36 weeks or later who need more assistance than a standard newborn nursery can provide. Babies who require a higher level of care can already be transferred to facilities with more advanced neonatal services.
CHI Health’s maternity centers at Bergan Mercy and Lakeside operate Level III NICUs in Omaha, which are equipped for more complex or high-risk newborn care.
Prenatal care will remain in Council Bluffs
Patients will still be able to attend prenatal appointments and receive women’s health care at CHI Health Clinic Women’s Health at 1288 Valley View Drive in Council Bluffs.
The clinic is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Its main phone number is (712) 388-2860.
Patients currently scheduled to deliver at Mercy can contact their obstetrician or clinic to confirm their delivery hospital, pre-registration requirements and any changes to their birth plan.
The transition could be particularly relevant for patients with due dates close to Aug. 31, since their prenatal appointments may remain in Iowa while the planned delivery moves to Nebraska.
Another Council Bluffs hospital will continue deliveries
Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital will continue providing labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum care in Council Bluffs.
Its Women and Newborns unit is located on the fifth floor at 933 E. Pierce St. and remains open 24 hours a day. The department can be reached at (712) 396-6037.
Methodist Jennie Edmundson provides private rooms where patients can remain through labor, delivery, recovery and their postpartum stay. The hospital also offers newborn care and Level II neonatal services.
Families considering a change between health systems may need to confirm physician availability, insurance coverage and medical-record transfers before scheduling care with a new provider.
Staffing and specialized coverage drove the decision
CHI Health attributed the closure to growing difficulty maintaining the physician coverage and specialized clinical support required to operate labor and delivery and Level II newborn services over the long term.
The health system said the decision was not caused by Medicaid reductions or reports that had identified hospitals considered vulnerable to future closure.
Mercy Council Bluffs itself will remain open. The Aug. 31 change applies specifically to labor and delivery and Level II NICU services, while the hospital’s other medical services will continue.
The transition follows a longer pattern of maternity unit closures and consolidations across Iowa, where hospitals have faced persistent challenges recruiting and retaining obstetric providers and maintaining around-the-clock staffing.
Related: Three Iowa hospitals listed at risk after federal Medicaid cuts
Key dates and contacts for expectant families
- Final day for labor and delivery at CHI Health Mercy: Aug. 31, 2026
- CHI Health Mercy address: 800 Mercy Drive, Council Bluffs
- CHI Health Women’s Health clinic: 1288 Valley View Drive
- CHI clinic phone: (712) 388-2860
- Methodist Jennie Edmundson Women and Newborns: 933 E. Pierce St.
- Methodist maternity unit phone: (712) 396-6037
CHI Health will continue working directly with patients scheduled to deliver after the transition. The final delivery location and admission plan will be coordinated between each patient and her medical team.
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