Ascension St. Francis Hospital in Milwaukee, part of Ascension Wisconsin, has ended labor and delivery services and transitioned them to other Milwaukee locations.
Ascension Wisconsin, part of St. Louis-based Ascension, confirmed the news in a statement shared with Becker's Jan. 5.
Labor and delivery services at Ascension St. Francis transitioned to Ascension Columbia St. Mary's Hospital Milwaukee and Ascension SE Wisconsin Hospital-St. Joseph Campus in Milwaukee.
The last day for admission to the labor and delivery unit at Ascension St. Francis was Dec. 21, and the last planned discharge occurred on Dec. 23. Ascension St. Francis will continue to provide women's care services including prenatal and postpartum care, high-risk care for moms, and gynecologic and general health and wellness services for women. Additionally, emergency medicine physicians, nurses and other emergency room providers at Ascension St. Francis are available to provide emergent care to pregnant women.
Ascension Wisconsin said the clinical decision to consolidate labor and delivery services in Milwaukee was made after "a thoughtful discernment process with our clinical and medical leaders to ensure we continue to provide high quality care to the community."
Loss of obstetrical providers and low birthing volumes contributed to the move, according to a spokesperson.
"While we have had two providers delivering babies at Ascension St. Francis, one physician recently departed our system and the other announced retirement effective at the end of December 2022," the spokesperson said.
Ascension Wisconsin also sees the move as a way to decrease the risk of neonatal transfers.
But some healthcare workers, Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals members, and patients oppose the consolidation. During a protest Jan. 4 at the home of a senior Ascension Wisconsin executive, participants called on Ascension Wisconsin to restore labor and delivery services at Ascension St. Francis, CBS 58 reported.
According to the news station, Tracy Schwerdtfeger, the RN bargaining unit president at Ascension St. Francis, said at the protest, "They haven't been willing to invest in the community, but that's why we're out here. To say that they need to, they need to invest back into our labor and delivery unit."
Ascension St. Francis is located on Milwaukee's south side. Ascension Columbia St. Mary's Hospital Milwaukee and Ascension SE Wisconsin Hospital-St. Joseph Campus are farther north. Ascension Wisconsin has a relationship with Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers, which provides obstetrical care on the city's south side.