As the rural maternity care crisis roars on, a northwest Connecticut-based hospital could soon be shutting down their birthing unit, CT Insider reported on Nov. 27.
Sharon Hospital, a 78-bed general hospital owned by Nuvance Heath of Danbury, is seeing $3 million in annual losses on their labor and delivery unit staffing due to demand decline and staffing difficulties, a Nuvance attorney told state Office of Health Strategy (OHS) officials during a Nov. 8 hearing.
A push to close the hospital's maternity unit isn't new. In January 2022, Nuvance formally petitioned state closure of the birthing unit, citing financial issues, declining births and aging area demographic. Sharon Hospital saw operating losses hit $23 million in fiscal 2022.
The move has been met with community resistance, as Sharon Hospital acts as the town's largest employer. "We're a hospital town – everything's interconnected," Brent Colley, outgoing first selectman of Sharon, told CT Insider.
Following the Nov. 8 hearing, the state is expected to issue a decision on the health system's appeal in 90 days.