Connecticut's Office of Health Strategy has fined Stafford-based Johnson Memorial Hospital $153,500 for closing its labor and delivery unit without certificate-of-need approval.
As part of a settlement, Johnson Memorial, part of Livonia, Mich.-based Trinity Health, is required to fund a grant to support reproductive health, prenatal or postnatal care or other services related to childbirth in its service area.
OHS will seek community input on how the funds should be used and will provide final decisions to the hospital within 90 days.
Johnson Memorial, a 92-bed facility, initially closed labor and delivery services during the COVID-19 pandemic but did not resume services when the public health emergency ended. OHS initially issued a more substantial $394,000 penalty in 2022 but recently agreed to reduce the amount.
"The civil penalty covers a period of time when we did not have a quantifiable definition for termination of services in statute," OHC Commissioner Deidre Gifford, MD, said in a Jan. 3 news release. "The definition was codified in 2022 to define termination of services as 180 days of service closure. The reduction in the civil penalty from the initial determination reflects the standards prior to passage of House Bill 5506."
In November, OHS reached an agreement with Johnson Memorial permitting the permanent closure of the labor and delivery unit. The settlement also requires the hospital to assess the need for a birthing center, offer transportation for laboring parents to nearby hospitals, and implement various measures to support maternal and infant health.
"The agreement allows us to move forward in partnership with state officials to serve the healthcare needs of our community," a spokesperson for Trinity said in a statement shared with Becker's.