Maternal care advocates, midwives and nurses are concerned about the potential closure of Siler City, N.C.-based UNC Chatham's Maternity Care Center, Chatham News and Record reported Aug. 25.
The center, which is operating at a 35 percent vacancy rate, is currently the only medical facility in Chatham County providing maternity care. Eric Wolak, chief operating officer and chief nursing officer of the hospital, told nurses and others who attended an Aug. 16 Board of Trustees meeting that the center "is just one nurse resignation away from needing to close its doors."
Fareedat Oluyadi, MD, a family medicine physician at the hospital, wrote a letter to Jeffrey Strickler, the hospital's president, which was cosigned by more than 60 community members.
"It is with deepest fervor that we write in protest of the impending closure of the Maternity Care Center (MCC) at UNC Chatham Hospital," the letter said. "We are voicing our concern as not only healthcare workers of the maternity care center, but also as representatives of the community we serve and are committed to caring for."