Chief Communications Officer | Rural Health Rising Podcast Producer & Co-Host (Health Podcast Network) | Rural Hospital Leader | Healthcare Strategy & Market Development Pro | Rural Health Advocate
"These hospital systems have executives making seven figures a year deciding to close an OB unit that might be losing five to low six figures a year." The lack of maternity care in rural communities means more women dying in childbirth, more babies not surviving delivery, and--for those that do survive--more long-term health complications. According to the National Rural Health Association's latest white paper, "Maternal health in rural America," more than HALF of rural counties no longer have access to OB services and infant mortality rates DOUBLE in counties that have lost OB services. Something is WRONG with this picture. Like the specific scenario in Idaho that Senator Ron Wyden described at yesterday's Senate Finance Committee hearing on Rural Healthcare, many OB unit closures occur within just a few years of a large system's acquisition of a rural hospital. https://lnkd.in/gMAQhacR It's time we start fixing the reimbursement problems that drive these closures and do everything we can to help rural hospitals maintain local control so that the decisions about closing rural OB units aren't being made by people who are in no way impacted by those closures. #powerofrural #ruralhealthcare #maternitycare
On our recent episode with Maggie Sauer at the North Carolina Rural Health Association, we got candid about the issue of declining labor and delivery care services across the country. Listen at https://lnkd.in/ggKdaYRK or wherever you get your podcasts.
Thanks for highlighting such a critical issue. The disparity in maternity care is concerning, especially for rural communities. 🏥 Your call to address reimbursement problems is crucial. #RuralHealthcare