McLaren St. Luke’s will end baby deliveries at the hospital and close its obstetrics offices in Perrysburg and Holland, as of September.
Hospital officials said the decision was made due to challenges from COVID-19, a national staffing shortage and exclusion from the Paramount insurance product.
Jennifer Montgomery, McLaren St. Luke’s president and CEO, described the ending as “particularly difficult and emotional.”
“We made every effort to avoid eliminating the program, but the loss of a large managed care health plan and other economic conditions have significantly reduced the number of patients who choose McLaren St. Luke’s for birthing services,” she explained.
Birth rates in Lucas County have been slowly trending downward for several years, but McLaren St. Luke’s has experienced a 20 percent precipitous drop in births so far this year, and a 40 percent decline in March.
Since becoming out of network with Paramount on January 1, overall patient visits have decreased by 20 to 30 percent.
“It is simply not financially feasible to continue operating our birthing unit with such steeply declining volume,” Ms. Montgomery said.
She noted there are many options for expectant women to deliver locally. A number of local hospitals have larger obstetrics programs, NICU and special care nurseries, as well as pediatrics services.
Obstetrics patients currently in the care of McLaren St. Luke’s physicians will be contacted directly. Patients with questions should contact their primary OB/GYN provider.
Patients experiencing a medical emergency–obstetricsrelated or otherwise–may still visit the McLaren St. Luke’s emergency room after the family birthing center closure.
“The hospital has an experienced emergency department team trained to provide emergency medical care and, if needed, will make arrangements for a transfer,” Ms. Montgomery said.
McLaren St. Luke’s will continue to provide mammography and other radiology services.
Since 2021, the hospital has been incrementally restructuring several departments, reassigning employees to areas with higher volume, eliminating unfilled positions and aligning workforce levels with current volume levels.
Dr. Stephen Bazeley, chief medical officer, said the hospital is concentrating on “highquality services like cardiovascular care and open-heart surgery, spine and neurological care, robotic surgery and orthopedic services. We are committed to delivering compassionate, high-quality care and continuing to be a partner to the communities we serve.”