OhioHealth's hospital in Van Wert, Ohio, will stop inpatient maternity care, effective Sept. 30.
The Columbus, Ohio-based health system announced the service reduction at the 34-bed hospital Sept. 22.
"Women, who typically chose to deliver at Van Wert Hospital, can deliver at other area hospitals," the system said. Neighboring hospitals were not named. The system notes that Van Wert Hospital's emergency department will be prepared if a laboring patient arrives or an emergent delivery is needed.
Specific reasoning for the service reduction was not provided in the health system's announcement. Joy Bischoff, president of Van Wert Hospital, said the organization wants to ensure high quality care is available for obstetric and newborn patients, and trends in labor and delivery show adequate support and care "is not typically provided by most community hospitals."
"Across the nation, less babies are being delivered in rural and suburban hospitals," Ms. Bischoff said.
Van Wert Hospital became part of the OhioHealth network in December 2022, when its parent Van Wert Health joined the system through a membership agreement. The agreement moved the 34-bed hospital, its physicians, associations and four patient centers and physician practices under the OhioHealth umbrella. Van Wert is approximately 125 miles northwest of Columbus.
"Being part of the OhioHealth family ensures that Van Wert Health will continue to thrive thanks to the resources, scale and benefits inherent in a large, quality-driven health system like OhioHealth," OhioHealth Senior Vice President and COO John McWhorter said upon the combination.