Renton, Wash.-based Providence plans to at least partially close the Family Birthing Center at Petaluma (Calif.) Valley Hospital beginning May 1, the North Bay Business Journal reported March 30.
In a March 29 letter to nursing staff, chief human resources officer Kristina Holloway said Providence intends to enact a "permanent work reduction" due to staffing shortages, according to the report. The 51-hospital system acquired the hospital for $52.6 million in 2020.
Affected nurses will be given the option to transfer to another open nursing position at the hospital, or to the obstetrics department at either Santa Rosa (Calif.) Memorial Hospital or Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa, North Bay Business Journal reported.
Petaluma Valley is the latest in a string of hospitals that have ended or announced plans to end maternity services this year.