Families or women who have dealt with emergency situations while pregnant understand on a visceral level the fear that came with Southwest Health System’s recent announcement to close – however temporary – its family birthing center at the 13-bed, critical access Southwest Memorial Hospital in Cortez.
Fantastic news that the closure was canceled, announced on Monday. Still, we’re reeling from the boldness, swiftness and, quite frankly, the harshness in the previous decision to close the birthing center that did not include, in particular, OBGYNs, who couldn’t fathom abandoning their patients. Apparently, the volunteer board heard them. But this situation drives home the need for providers to a say in upstream decision-making.
We feel both relief and vulnerability. Harm has been done. Trust in terms of stable health care jobs for dedicated providers has been lost. Relationships between management and staff members need to be repaired.
A heartfelt thank you to doctors who publicly stood up for their patients and community despite possibilities of retribution. Not only did they share details of concerns, but the dire risks of transporting during labor, and the price tag of $20,000 for anyone who would have to be medevaced. At the most basic level, it would be malpractice to abandon pregnant patients without 30 days notice and no available doctors or opportunities for care at the ready.
Community members showed up in force and floated good ideas, such as more grant-writing, and a position to fundraise and chase money for this hospital. Before the announcement to remain open, local leaders organized to write letters, plan sit-ins and protests, and do whatever was needed.
It was a close call.
As a small, rural community looking to Community Hospital Corporation in Texas to manage finances, we are disconnected from remote consultants punching numbers and offering solutions that our community can’t bear. We couldn’t get our hands on a CHC contract before deadline, but we’re interested in one with an out-clause or shorter duration.
CHC did not offer details about how Southwest Memorial will remain financial viable. Minimal layoffs of low-wage employees won’t cut it. Are we facing an upcoming equally detrimental loss? How do we gain leverage?
Scrambling continues. Locums’ contracts were canceled. How to rehire? Physicians pointed out who is married to whom. If one lost a position, the other would go, too. They mentioned excellent providers who fled because of mismanagement. No one wants to work for an employer that doesn’t listen to staff members or have the priorities of the community at heart.
Yes, rural hospitals around the country are in financial trouble. A report from the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform found more than 600 rural hospitals are at risk of closing in 2023, citing persistent financial challenges related to patient services or depleted financial resources.
Rehoboth McKinley Christian Healthcare Services, a 60-bed acute care hospital in Gallup, New Mexico, serves patients from nearby Navajo and Zuni reservations. The region was one of the hardest hit by COVID-19. After CHC took over management in 2020, 80 health care workers were let go. Multiple providers resigned in protest over dangerous patient-care conditions and other CHC cost-cutting measures. Others were fired or forced to resign for speaking up.
The hospital closed its labor and delivery unit in July 2022.
We’ll take the win of the open birthing center, despite being shaken up. We need this community hospital and this hospital needs this community – it’s a symbiotic relationship. CHC’s website says: “Rural hospitals have an ally. Learn how we can help your hospital.”
We’d like more proof. We need real foresight into how to financially manage this hospital. CHC, show us business acumen with closing something as vital as our birthing center.
