Oneonta, N.Y.-based A.O. Fox Memorial Hospital plans to stop delivering babies, according to a Daily Star report.
Hospital administrators seek to combine Fox's labor and delivery services with those provided at Bassett Medical Center in Cooperstown, N.Y. If approved by the New York Department of Health, Fox would stop delivering babies Jan. 1, officials said, according to the report.
Fox administrators told the Daily Star the changes — which also include developing an orthopedic center at Fox — are to address changing demographics, maintain sustainability and "take care of the community in the best way possible."
"The demographics in rural America are changing," Vance Brown, MD, president and CEO of Bassett Medical Center and Bassett Healthcare Network, told the publication. "Fewer people are giving birth. At the same time, we're getting older and our body parts — our hips, knees and spines — are wearing out. This is becoming a greater need."
Fox would still provide women with prenatal, post-pregnancy and general maternity care, Mr. Brown said, according to the report. No layoffs are anticipated with the changes.