Hialeah (Fla.) Hospital, owned by Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare, will close its maternity ward for good April 5, according to NBC Miami.
Tenet said that labor and delivery services will be consolidated into services offered by other nearby facilities, including North Shore Medical Center in Miami and Hialeah-based Palmetto General Hospital.
The for-profit operator added that the consolidation will allow patients to access more specialized services, such as neonatal intensive care, offered at nearby hospitals.
A group of labor and delivery physicians at Hialeah are protesting the closure, arguing it would affect patients who are uninsured and may not have the means to travel to a hospital farther away, according to the report.