Pending closure of popular birthing unit has mothers scrambling to find options

A popular birthing center at Fort Logan Hospital will close Monday, leaving expectant mothers in southern Kentucky searching for alternatives.

Danville-based Ephraim McDowell Health announced it is closing the unit at Fort Logan Hospital in Stanford. The decision affects numerous mothers, including the wife of Kentucky singer Tyler Childers, who had their first baby at the facility and planned to deliver their second there.

Dr. Jay Miller, who has delivered 5,000 babies since 1986 in Stanford, said he and others at the local practice were told Wednesday they are no longer allowed to deliver babies at Ephraim McDowell Health.

“The hospital can come up with their own by laws and say, we can make a rule blocking that,” Miller said.

Jordan Hamm, an expecting mother, said the hospital’s decision also affects her midwife. She was first told the hospital would no longer have a birthing unit, and now other options are in question.

“What are we supposed to do? My options are, I deliver at home, have no access to health care. Hope for the best. Or I could go walk into a hospital and have someone who has never seen me before. No idea of my medical history,” Hamm said.

Hamm said she was “honestly at a loss for words” about the closure.

She said what Childers posted was a breath of fresh air.

“I was literally praying to God that this gets more attention. Not just Stanford this is affecting,” she said.

Cumberland Family Medical Center announced Friday they were not made aware of the decision to close the birthing unit. As a result, Women’s Care of the Commonwealth has withdrawn from labor and delivery services for all OB-GYN patients at Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center.

They said the “sudden, unplanned increase in patient care responsibilities” that would come from Fort Logan’s closure is not safe or acceptable for patients.

Mothers like Hamm said they cannot understand why the closure is happening given the facility has won awards and is popular.

“It’s something that is affecting people all over the country. Might not today, but could be tomorrow,” Hamm said.

In a statement. Ephraim McDowell said there will not be any disruptions to OBGYN services in Danville. They also called the statement from Cumberland Family Medical Center misleading, saying they want to reassure the community that access to care will be “seamless and unobstructed.

As part of Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center’s (EMRMC) dedication to best serve the needs of mothers and babies in the community and provide higher acuity services, board-certified Obstetrics and Gynecology (OB-GYN) physicians will continue to provide the highest quality care and the safest birthing experience possible to our mothers and babies.

Ongoing and uninterrupted OB-GYN coverage delivers on EMRMC’s promise to protect access and ensures that there will be no disruption in OB care and services.

“Committed and dedicated OB-GYNs will safeguard the comfort and safety of our patients and newborns ensuring there is no disruption to maternal care services at EMRMC,” said Daniel McKay, President and CEO of Ephraim McDowell Health. “We are aware of the misleading statement issued by Cumberland Family Medical Center, Inc, and we want to reassure our community that access to obstetrics care will be seamless and unobstructed.”

OB-GYNs currently employed by Cumberland Family Medical Center, Inc., will continue to provide seamless care and obstetrics coverage through March 15. Ephraim McDowell Health will announce a long-term specialized provider solution for maternal health services within the next few weeks.

The on-site specialist physician coverage will also serve to provide a seamless transition for expectant mothers that had planned to deliver at Fort Logan Hospital’s OB unit.

Credit: Phil Pendelton/WKYT