Citing a 20 percent decrease in births this year and other factors, McLaren St. Luke's Hospital in Maumee, Ohio, said it will discontinue labor and delivery services.
Its obstetrics physician offices in Holland and Perrysburg, Ohio, also will close sometime between Aug. 31 and Sept. 30, according to a May 25 news release from Grand Blanc, Mich.-based McLaren Health Care.
The hospital also cited challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic, staff shortages and exclusion from Paramount insurance as reasons for the closure. But the decrease in births made it financially infeasible to continue labor and delivery services, according to the new release.
"The decision to discontinue delivering babies at our hospital has been particularly difficult and emotional," Jennifer Montgomery, McLaren St. Luke's president and CEO, said in the news release. "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."