By 1812Blockhouse
To some, it’s a casualty of hospital mergers and the cost of health care as another service has been reduced and will require, in this case at least, travel for expectant mothers.
OhioHealth has announced that OhioHealth Shelby Hospital will no longer provide maternity services as of Wednesday, March 1.
In a release, OhioHealth shared, “The (Shelby) hospital will continue to provide gynecologic procedures, such as hysterectomies or endometrial ablation. Women who typically chose to deliver at Shelby Hospital will be able to deliver close to home at OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital, which is 13 miles away.
“Changes such as these are never an easy decision to make. As we look at the continued trends in labor and delivery, we want to make sure the highest quality resources and support are available for our obstetric and newborn patients,” said Vinson Yates, president and CEO of OhioHealth Mansfield and Shelby hospitals. “Across the nation, less babies are being delivered in rural and suburban hospitals. Many women from the Shelby area already select Mansfield Hospital for obstetric and newborn care.”
OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital continues to offer the most comprehensive maternity services across a six-county service area with pediatric hospitalists from Nationwide Children’s, high-risk neonatal care in a Level 2 special care nursery, and outpatient lactation services.
In March, Mansfield Hospital will provide 24/7 on-site OBGYN coverage in addition to on-call coverage for newborn deliveries. This higher level of support and care is not typically provided by most community hospitals, the hospital said in its news release Monday.
Shelby Hospital will continue to be a cornerstone in northern Richland County to meet the health care needs of Shelby and its surrounding communities. Shelby Hospital emergency department will be prepared if a laboring patient arrives to the hospital or an emergency delivery is needed.
The OhioHealth Physician Group Obstetrics & Gynecology practice, which can be found at 24 Morris Road, Suite C (adjacent to Shelby Hospital) will continue to provide prenatal and postnatal care, in addition to gynecologic care, to the Shelby and surrounding communities. The practice, which also has locations in Mansfield and Lexington, will continue obstetric deliveries at Mansfield Hospital and gynecologic procedures at Shelby Hospital and Mansfield Hospital.”
Source: OhioHealth Release; Image by ErikaWittlieb from Pixabay
