THE
Daily Egyptian SERVING THE SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY SINCE 1916.
DAILYEGYPTIAN.COM
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2025
VOL. 108, ISSUE 21
Expectant parents left scrambling after Heartland Women’s Healthcare leaves SIH Enan Chediak Lylee Gibbs echediak@dailyegyptian.com lgibbs@dailyegyptian.com
Jaycee Davison, 19, stands for a portrait Feb. 7, 2025 at Herrin City Park in Herrin, Illinois. Davison, pregnant with her second child, was prepared to give birth at the end of February the same way she delivered her first -- in Carbondale with Heartland Women’s Healthcare. Following the withdrawal of Heartland’s labor and delivery services from SIH Memorial Hospital of Carbondale, she had to find a new plan with her due date just weeks away. Lylee Gibbs | @lyleegibbsphoto
Just weeks away from the birth of her second child, 19-year-old Jaycee Davison was set to deliver her second baby the way she did her first – in Carbondale with Heartland Women’s Healthcare. She received a notification from Facebook that a friend had tagged her in a post saying Heartland Women’s Healthcare is no longer offering labor and delivery services in Carbondale, Illinois. Now, so close to her due date, she had to find a new plan. “I was very scared,” Davison said. “I was nervous about being in a different environment other than Carbondale because Carbondale was so good to me… That still makes me nervous, but I think it should be all right.” On Jan. 21, Heartland Women’s Healthcare posted on their Facebook page that they would no longer be offering obstetrical and gynecological care at the SIH Memorial Hospital of Carbondale effective Jan. 31, just 10 days after their announcement. “It raised my issue, where is this going to happen? I don’t know what other hospitals take my insurance,” Davison said. She was planning to deliver with Dr. Elisabeth Nolan, who delivered her 2-year-old daughter, Zara. But following Heartland’s announcement,
Davison said she will stick with her provider but change her initial plans by delivering with Dr. Catherine Wikoff in Mt. Vernon, where Heartland Women’s Healthcare has referred patients, and she won’t meet her doctor until days before the delivery. Now the closest option for Davison, Mt. Vernon is about a 45-minute drive from where she lives in Herrin. For many in Carbondale, the announcement came as a surprise. But Dr. Michael Schifano, the director of Heartland Women’s Healthcare, said, “This is something that we knew was coming along for a period of time.” Southern Illinois Healthcare received a letter on Dec. 4, 2024, from Heartland Women’s Healthcare informing SIH of their intentions to withdraw their labor and delivery privileges from the Carbondale hospital. SIH proposed an extension of a few more months, but discovered on Jan. 21 through Facebook that the extension was off the table, SIH Director of Women and Children Services Terri Pursell said. Patients like Davison found out through social media just over a week before service would no longer be offered. To Davison, an email would have eased the burden and stress she said, but if they sent one, she said that she didn’t receive it. “I think maybe emailing their patients individually before they PARENTS | 2
SIU board remains committed to DEI, hints at Carbondale’s imminent R1 status Jackson Brandhorst jbrandhorst@dailyegyptian.com
The Southern Illinois University Board of Trustees met on Thursday, Feb. 6 for its regularly scheduled meeting to discuss the status of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives on its campuses, SIU Carbondale becoming a top tier research institution, increasing enrollment numbers and the expansion of the SIU School of Medicine. On the agenda were many things, including presentations from different chancellors and deans, but perhaps the most notable takeaway from Thursday’s meeting was Chancellor Austin Lane’s hesitant, off-thecuff remark about SIU Carbondale transcending into the “upper echelon of universities” by being categorized by the Carnegie Foundation as a Research 1 (R1) University. “Jeff, is it okay to say it?” Lane asked before being prompted by the board to “spill the beans.” “Well, I think there are only 146 Research 1 universities,” said Lane. “In the state of Illinois there are only two public R1’s: the University of Illinois Champaign and the University of Illinois Chicago. We’ll become the R1 STATUS | 4
‘The care that you provided saved my child’s life’: Illinois continues to protect youth transgender care Carly Gist cgist@dailyegyptian.com
Editor’s note: This story includes content related to suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline is available by calling or texting 988 or visiting the online chat at 988lifeline.org.
Connie Kathary is no stranger to road trips. It’s the first week of October 2024 when she makes the threehour drive from Indianapolis to Evansville, Indiana with her mother. Her family owns a business there, so they visit quite often. Plus, it’s fall festival week,
which she can’t miss. Two hundred thousand people are gathering on the west side’s Franklin Street for food, games and carnival rides. But for now, Connie settles into a booth at a quiet coffee shop on the east side, compliments the outfit of the woman sitting next to her, and
YOUTH CARE | 3
Julia Kathary (right) listens to her daughter, Connie Kathary (left), tell her about her day of school Jan. 31, 2025 at a marketplace in Indianapolis, Indiana. Carly Gist | @gistofthestory