Philadelphia-Area Hospital Plans Maternity Unit Closure, Joins 15 Other Recent Closures In Region

Main Category: Pregnancy / Obstetrics
Also Included In: Nursing / Midwifery;  Public Health
Article Date: 08 Sep 2008 - 8:00 PST

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The maternity unit at Philadelphia's Chestnut Hill Hospital will close on Nov. 7, joining 15 other hospitals in the region in closing their maternity units since 1997, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Only seven hospitals in Philadelphia will offer obstetrical care after Chestnut Hill closes its maternity unit, according to the Inquirer. Most experts have said the maternity units have closed because of high malpractice insurance rates and low insurance reimbursements.

Chestnut Hill currently delivers about 1,000 infants annually, or about 2% of the 53,000 infants born in the region each year. Brooks Turkel, CEO of Chestnut Hill, said that the neonatal intensive care and maternity units were losing $2.5 million annually, adding that the hospital plans to expand gynecological treatments and care for aging people, which are in higher demand from nearby neighborhoods and are more profitable.

Chestnut Hill's decision "demonstrates the region's continuing crisis in obstetrical care," the Philadelphia Department of Public Health and the Delaware Valley Healthcare Council said in a joint news release. The organizations said they are tracking maternity volumes and working together to ensure access to obstetrical care in the region (Burling, Philadelphia Inquirer, 9/4).

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