Kankakee, Grundy, Iroquois and Livingston: NP clinicals south of Romeoville

Five hospitals, five sets of student rules

Riverside Healthcare, with Riverside Medical Center in Kankakee and an outpatient campus in Watseka, publishes a dedicated NP student page. Rotations may be available to NP students whose programs hold a Riverside affiliation agreement, and students generally rotate with a CNP or CCNS. Students apply online through the Graduate Medical Education Department rather than emailing the student coordinator, and placements follow the order applications arrive, preceptor availability and clinic volume. A school without an agreement should allow at least 90 days for one, and women's health rotations with Riverside Medical Group are closed indefinitely.

Morris Hospital & Healthcare Centers in Grundy County sends every student rotation request, preceptorships included, through Human Resources and an online form, and HR contacts the student and program director once the department agrees. Clearance hinges on a background check, a drug screen and onboarding paperwork, plus an affiliation agreement with the school that Morris says can take several weeks. Morris Hospital also appears on Lewis's BSN clinical agency list.

In Pontiac, OSF HealthCare Saint James-John W. Albrecht Medical Center falls under OSF's clinical education page, which gives APRN students a dedicated advanced practice contact and sends OSF Medical Group office requests down a separate channel. St. Mary's Hospital in Kankakee moved from Ascension to Prime Healthcare on March 1, 2025, and Iroquois Memorial in Watseka is independent; neither has a public NP student page, so both are landmarks where a preceptor may practice. In May 2026 the Board of Nursing renewed an out-of-state program's approval for nursing clinicals at Iroquois Memorial, a sign of competition for slots.

Fitting each Lewis practicum to the region

Primary care practicums, NURS 61100 and NURS 61800, suit family and internal medicine offices around Kankakee, Bourbonnais, Morris and Pontiac, the Kankakee health centers, and the rural clinics of Iroquois and Livingston.

FNP students should plan NURS 64100 early. With Riverside Medical Group's women's health rotations closed, a Kankakee County women's health preceptor will need to come from another OB-GYN, women's health or family practice; NURS 64300 needs pediatric primary care, and the women's and pediatric practicum guide explains each course.

AGACNP students in NURS 62500 and NURS 62700 have inpatient options at Riverside Medical Center, St. Mary's and Morris Hospital, with Riverside's GME application and Morris's HR form the two published routes. PMHNP students need psychiatric preceptors for NURS 63300, NURS 63500 and NURS 63700, each spanning the lifespan, and in Iroquois or Livingston may need to look toward Kankakee or north into Will County.

Every choice still goes through Lewis: your Clinical Coordinator or track lead faculty approves the preceptor and site, and a contract request goes into the CONHS portal, with Lewis drafting an agreement when none exists. Riverside's 90 days and Morris's several weeks are why the affiliation agreement guide matters here.