3 Alabama hospitals to close maternity wards

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – Three Alabama hospitals will lose their maternity wards, forcing women to find another health care provider ahead of their deliveries.

Shelby Baptist in Alabaster and Monroe County Hospital will be the first two to close their units by the end of October. Princeton Baptist in Birmingham will stop deliveries a few weeks later.

This is happening while Alabama has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the country.

While the loss of Shelby’s and Princeton’s wards will have little direct impact, the loss of Monroe County’s maternity ward will force women to drive either 35 miles west to Grove Hill, 60 miles east to Andalusia or at least 80 miles to Mobile, making transportation a bigger barrier to access care.

Grove Hill Memorial Hospital is one of the only facilities that sits between Selma and Mobile with a maternity wing.

Alabama Hospital Association president and CEO Dr. Donald Williamson said hospitals have either been extremely short of personnel or have lost a substantial amount of money from uninsured patients.

“When you’ve got hospitals that are struggling to make payroll, and they’re losing money on delivery services, and you’ve got a shortage of providers, it becomes very, very difficult to keep some of those services alive,” Donaldson said.

A study by the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform shows that 29 of 52 rural hospitals are at risk of closing, with 19 at immediate risk due to financial or personnel loss.

Donaldson said finding a way to close the coverage gap could help fund these hospitals and keep services running.

In Alabama, 15% of women of child-birthing age do not have health coverage because they do not cannot afford premium health insurance and do not qualify for public assistance.

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