Harrington Memorial Hospital in Southbridge, Ma., plans to close its obstetrics unit by Oct. 1 and lay off 39 people in the process, according to the Boston Business Journal.
The hospital's plan to close the unit requires approval by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, which has a hearing set for July 28 to consider the issue.
In a filing with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Harrington Memorial Hospital President and CEO Edward Moore said the number of annual deliveries at the hospital declined from 300 in 2011 to 217 last year.
"Harrington has been unable to convince the majority of expecting mothers in the obstetrics department's service area to choose the obstetrics department over alternative departments at larger city hospitals with neonatal intensive care units and other resources," Mr. Moore wrote in the filing, according to the report.
Mr. Moore said high nursing turnover and dwindling reimbursement rates also contributed to the decision to close the obstetrics department.
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