Mannington Township, N.J.-based Memorial Hospital of Salem County will close its maternity ward and end prenatal and obstetrics care May 31, according to a South Jersey Times report.
MHSC applied in November 2013 with the state to close the maternity ward, and the application was approved by the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services April 1.
The hospital has just one obstetrician on staff and has seen a major decline in births recently: They dropped from 385 in 2004 to 155 in 2012, according to the report. Closing the ward will allow the hospital to put more resources toward meeting demand for surgical services and improving its infrastructure.
MHSC is part of Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems.
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