PCC has a rich history of delivering maternal-child health care. Providers (OB/GYNs, family medicine physicians, and certified nurse-midwives) work collaboratively to meet the varied needs of pregnant women and their families. PCC introduced midwifery services in 2007. They primarily provided prenatal care at PCC South Family Health Center at 6030 West Roosevelt Road, Oak Park, IL. Patients presenting with low risk gained access to the midwifery model of care and were given the opportunity to have natural deliveries in the Alternative Birthing Center at West Suburban Medical Center. Recognizing that some families desire this type of care in an out-of-hospital setting, PCC’s former Director of Midwifery and Advanced Practice Nursing, Cecelia Bacom, advocated for PCC to establish a freestanding birth center.
Health care activists in Illinois had long been attempting to pass legislation allowing the existence of freestanding birth centers in Illinois. After 25 years of advocacy and public health initiatives, the objective was finally achieved. The support of local politicians and advocacy groups like the Health and Medicine Policy Research Group, helped pass Illinois’ Alternative Health Care Delivery Act in 2007. With the possibility of a birth center now a reality, PCC relocated and reopened PCC South Family Health Center at 6201 Roosevelt Road, Berwyn, IL 60402 in 2011.
Construction of the birthing center was completed in the summer of 2014. After multiple levels of inspection and approval by Illinois Department of Public Health, the Birth Center at PCC finally opened its doors on October 15, 2014. The first two births occurred on October 18 and since then, the Birth Center at PCC has helped nearly 200 mothers and their families welcome new babies.
