The birthing center at UMass Memorial Hospital in Leominster, Massachusetts, closed at 7 a.m. on Saturday, despite major pushback from local leaders and community activists, including a legal challenge from the city. It appears vigils, protests and public pressure were not enough to keep the facility open. Staff at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester are bracing for an influx…
despite major pushback from local leaders and community activists,It appears vigils, protests and public pressure were not enough to keep the facility open. Staff at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester are bracing for an influx of labor and delivery patients.
"This is the one decision they've made that has everyone scratching their head, saying just don't get this," said Mazzarella."There's plenty of babies being born here in the area."Hospital administrators argue there's not enough staff and too few patients to keep labor and delivery open on the Leominster campus.
The City of Leominster has filed paperwork requesting a temporary restraining order to prevent the closure. In the lawsuit, the city names the hospital, UMass Memorial Health Care and the Department of Public Health. It claims that the health care group never presented a fully realized plan for transporting patients in need of birthing care, and ignored guidance from DPH on community engagement surrounding the changes to services.
But supporters of keeping the birthing unit open say this decision is putting an already underserved population more at risk.
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