This conversation is based on reporting from Delaware Source. Read more of their coverage on the closing of Grady Memorial Hospital’s maternity unit at delawaresource.com.
More than two dozen hospitals in Ohio have closed or consolidated maternity care since 2018, according to a count by the Ohio Hospital Association.
By the end of this month, another one will join the mix.
OhioHealth plans to close its labor and delivery unit at Grady Memorial Hospital in central Ohio’s Delaware County on July 31.
The hospital, located in one of the state’s fastest growing areas, delivered more than 260 babies last year. But OhioHealth says that’s a small percentage of the total number of infants born to Delaware County parents.
“So what the hospital is saying is, ‘According to our data, people are already choosing other hospitals,’” said Brittany Schock, regional editor of Delaware Source, a local publication that’s been covering the closure. “But the problem is: babies are unpredictable and birth is unpredictable. And when you have to drive 30 minutes away instead of ten, that introduces a lot of complications.”
Schock and Delaware Source reporter Jack Slemenda joined the Ohio Newsroom to discuss the maternity unit’s closure.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
On why the hospital is closing its maternity unit
SLEMENDA: “A lot of the reasons that [OhioHealth] gives are because they flat out want to use some of the different facilities or hospitals that they have in the area, whether it's the Dublin Hospital or the Riverside Hospital. They seem to think that consolidating their services there is just better. … And there's statistics out there that are showing them that a lot of people are just choosing to birth babies at hospitals other than Grady Memorial. That's why they're trying to push the needle more towards the two other facilities they have.”
On the impact to expecting parents
SCHOCK: “OhioHealth still has obstetric and gynecological practices in Delaware. They do have facilities open for prenatal and postpartum care here in Delaware County. But if you want to give birth in a hospital, we have to leave the county. If you don't want to give birth in a hospital, sure, you can stay and you can explore things like home birth. But home birth is definitely not a catch-all. It's not the default option for if you cannot give birth in a hospital because home births are for really low complication incidents, and birth goes really well until it doesn’t, so it’s just not a realistic option for everyone.
“OhioHealth has said their emergency room personnel are trained and ready to receive emergency births if that needs to happen. But that can be a scary thing to know that you have to be prepared to drive at least half an hour to get to a hospital if that's your birth plan.”
On what community members are saying
SCHOCK: “On June 22, there was quite a large group of people who came to Delaware City Council to voice their concerns about the fact that OhioHealth is closing Grady Memorial's maternity units. There was one mother named Monica, who she saw on the news on TV that this was happening, drove from her downtown home to city council chambers with her 16-month-old son, and talked about how, if it hadn't been for Grady Memorial, she would have given birth in her bedroom because it moved very quickly.
“There was another woman named Isabella, and she talked about how she wasn't planning on giving birth at Grady Memorial, but her birth was complicated. Her daughter ended up breaking her collarbone on the way out, and Isabella herself almost died on the table, she said. So these women were saying that Grady Memorial wasn't their first choice, it wasn't their initial plan in giving birth, but if it hadn't been for Grady Memorial, they're not sure what would have happened to them or their babies.”
On what health workers are saying
SCHOCK: “The Ohio Nurses Association has been very involved in advocating for the medical professionals that are being affected by this. And something that they said right off the bat was that this is going to negatively affect the health of mothers and babies. Again, birth goes really well until it doesn't. We know that the longer away a drive is to a birthing hospital, the more complications can be introduced. And, frankly, they said they're worried that there are going to be babies being born on the side of US 23, on the drive to Riverside. So, they're worried about the health of these mothers and these babies.”
Read more reporting on this subject from the Delaware Source here: https://www.delawaresource.com/tag/grady-memorial-hospital/
