Pueblo, Colo.-based St. Mary-Corwin Medical Center will close its obstetrics and neonatal intensive care units Dec. 15, directly contradicting an announcement made last month, according to the Pueblo Chieftain.
In September, St. Mary-Corwin's CEO Brian Moore stated the hospital would continue to offer birthing and labor services after a stakeholder's meeting deemed the services worthwhile. However, the stakeholders and hospital executives changed their minds.
"Because of changes in the marketplace and decisions made by some of the physician groups to consolidate their practices into one location, we've been forced to take a new look at this thing. As a result of that, we've made the very difficult, and somewhat emotional, decision to close the OB and NICU units here," St. Mary-Corwin Interim Administrator Mike Cafasso told the Pueblo Chieftain.
Hospital administrators looked at alternatives such as hiring additional OB physicians or moving OB physicians from its sister hospitals, but determined neither of those options would be fruitful or productive.
The decision to close the unit comes from a lack of providers and financial viability concerns. Approximately 35 employees will be impacted by the closure, according to the report.
"We'll do everything we can from outplacement services to finding what we can within our own house here to provide these folks jobs, as well as providing them with after-exit packages," Mr. Cafasso told the Pueblo Chieftain.