Morris Hospital, a 89-bed facility in northern Illinois, has discontinued its voluntary state designation as a Level II trauma center, according to a hospital press release. The change in trauma center status was effective July 1, 2025.
Morris Hospital is located 55 miles southwest of Chicago in the town Morris, Illinois. According to Tom Dohm, president and CEO of Morris Hospital & Healthcare Centers, the decision to drop the hospital’s trauma designation was prompted by changes in state trauma center requirements and the loss of trauma surgery coverage.
“Dohm said the decision is the result of multiple factors including recent changes to IDPH rules that require neurosurgery coverage for Level II trauma centers,” the press release stated. “In addition, two of the three trauma surgeons on the Morris Hospital medical staff are discontinuing trauma surgery call coverage, leaving the hospital with just one trauma surgeon to provide 24-hour daily coverage.”
According to Illinois designation criteria for Level II trauma centers, “When the need for neurosurgical intervention has been identified, the neurosurgeon must arrive and be available in a fully staffed operating room within 60 minutes after the identification of the need for operative intervention.”
Only one trauma surgery was performed at Morris Hospital during 2024. “All of the other trauma patients who required surgery last year were transferred to other trauma centers for a higher level of care,” according to the release.
“After evaluating our Level II Trauma Center status over the past few years, we believe this is the right time to discontinue the designation based on our inability to provide all of the required resources,” Dohm said.
Morris Hospital will continue to accept injured patients for stabilization and transfer, according to the press release.
