Machias – Down East Community Hospital in Machias has been experiencing the same reality as many hospitals across the state and the country – rising costs for temporary staff and declining birthrates. DECH leadership and nursing teams from OB and Med/Surg are working together to keep the only OB center in Washington county open.
As of April 23, 2023, DECH will combine its Obstetrics Department (OB) with its Med/Surg (inpatient) Department. This change is necessary and will make our OB services more sustainable by lessening our dependence on extremely expensive temporary staff. It will enable us to maintain our obstetrics department for the long term. Nationwide more than half of rural hospitals do not provide obstetric care, with 400 closures between 2016 to 2020. We are compelled to do all we can to not become a statistic.
We truly had one of two choices here, combine these departments or end obstetric services. It was important that we figured out a way to make this work. We know we can’t keep doing the same thing because that model is unsustainable. The decision to combine the departments is clearly the right thing to do.
Five hospitals in Maine have closed their obstetrics services since 2015:
- Rumford Hospital, Rumford — 2023.
- St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center, Lewiston — 2022.
- Bridgton Hospital, Bridgton — 2021.
- Calais Regional Hospital, Calais — 2018.
- Penobscot Valley Hospital, Lincoln — 2015.