Mayo Clinic Health System is ending labor and delivery services at its hospitals in Barron and Menomonie, Wis.
The health system — which has facilities in Southern Minnesota, Western Wisconsin and Northern Iowa — announced in a Sept. 1 news release that those services are transitioning from Mayo Clinic Health System-Northland in Barron and Mayo Clinic Health System-Red Cedar in Menomonie to Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire, Wis. The transition from Barron to Eau Claire occurred Aug. 26, and the transition from Menomonie to Eau Claire is scheduled to take effect Jan. 1.
Hospitals in Barron and Menomonie will continue to provide prenatal care and postpartum care, OB-Nest (a virtual prenatal program) and gynecological services.
Mayo Clinic Health System cited staffing shortages as the reasoning behind the move. The health system said it has been recruiting for several open OB-GYN positions in the last two years but has been unsuccessful in filling the openings.
"Our teams in Barron and Menomonie will continue to provide exceptional, high-quality prenatal and postnatal care, along with gynecological services to best serve the healthcare needs of our patients," Richard Helmers, MD, regional vice president of Mayo Clinic Health System in northwest Wisconsin, said in a news release. "Mayo Clinic Health System is not leaving Barron nor Menomonie. We have thriving clinical and surgical practices at both locations. Hospital-based labor and delivery are the only services transitioning."
Mayo Clinic Health System is part of Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic.
To learn more about the transition, click here.