LewisGale Hospital Montgomery will temporarily suspend obstetrics services for women during pregnancy and childbirth, effective April 1, a hospital spokesperson said Wednesday.
Amid a national shortage of health care workers, recruiting full-time providers at the Blacksburg facility has been challenging in recent years, leading to the decision to discontinue services.
“At this time, it is in the best interest of our patients to deliver their babies at our sister facility, LewisGale Medical Center, which delivers more than 1,200 babies each year,” according to a statement from the hospital’s spokesperson, Shayne Dwyer.
It’s not clear how many babies are typically delivered in a year at the facility in Blacksburg; Dwyer said he was unable to provide any information beyond what was in the written statement.
LewisGale is part of HCA Healthcare, one of the largest for-profit health systems in the United States with hundreds of hospitals and clinics across the country.
LewisGale Medical Center, located in Salem, recently opened a neonatal intensive care unit with six staffed beds, but it is about 34 miles from Blacksburg.
Longer travel distances to access care can increase risk of maternal morbidity, heighten prenatal stress and result in adverse infant outcomes, especially in emergency situations, according to the March of Dimes, a nonprofit organization that works to improve the health of mothers and babies.
In Virginia, about 15% of women do not have a birthing hospital within a 30-minute drive, according to data from the March of Dimes.
Carilion New River Valley Medical Center in Christiansburg, which is about a 15-minute drive from Blacksburg, is the closest facility offering maternal care services. The Carilion hospital could end up picking up the displaced patient load despite also feeling the effects of a national provider shortage.
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“There are healthcare worker shortages nationwide, and we are not immune,” Hannah Curtis, a spokesperson for Carilion, said via email. “Recruitment and retention always remain a priority. We have not seen any disruptions to our OB services, and we are working closely with patients to ensure uninterrupted, quality care close to home.”
Just last year, Sentara Halifax Regional Hospital in South Boston phased out its obstetrics department as fewer births meant the unit was unprofitable.
While LewisGale Hospital Montgomery will no longer deliver babies, patients can still receive gynecological care as well as pre- and-postnatal care at the Blacksburg facility, according to the hospital’s statement.
