On December 19, Centra Southside Community Hospital in Farmville will discontinue its Obstetrical and Gynecological services, including its labor and delivery unit.
Centra Health, Inc. made the announcement on Nov. 5, citing “significant financial and operational challenges, including recently enacted reductions in federal healthcare funding” as a primary reason for the discontinuation of services. The announcement was met with criticism and concern, particularly after the company had just broke ground on a project focused on expanding the Southside Community hospital’s emergency department.
Centra Health’s announcement cited the declining number of patients and deliveries happening at the Labor and Delivery Unit, stating deliveries have reached “fewer than 275 in recent years, a level where it is increasingly difficult for us to recruit and retain physicians and cover on-call coverage gaps in order to sustain high-quality, safe OB/GYN care.”
Longwood nursing professor and Farmville resident Dr. Elizabeth Parker said Centra’s decision reflects a national trend as less than half of U.S. rural hospitals continue to operate a labor and delivery department. “Honestly, the closure of the OB unit in the hospital does not surprise any of us. This is a thing that's been happening in rural America for a while, and the changes to Medicaid, we all knew this was going to happen,” she said.
The closure of the Southside Community Hospital’s Labor and Delivery unit means pregnant patients in Farmville will now have to travel to Lynchburg, Charlottesville or Richmond with the closest birthing centers at the St. Francis Medical Center in Midlothian, or the Centra Virginia Baptist Hospital in Lynchburg, both of which are over an hour’s drive.
Dr. Michelle Wagner is a board-certified pediatrician in Fishersville who specializes in neonatal resuscitation. She provides information to new and expecting parents on her Instagram page, @tuckahoepediatrics. On November 17, she posted a video warning residents of the change, garnering nearly 10,000 likes and catching the attention of many Longwood students.
In an interview with The Rotunda, Wagner said, “We know from years of data and experience that the best way to make sure mom and baby are healthy is to make sure that mom has access to prenatal care throughout her pregnancy, and also that she has a safe place to deliver, preferably in under 30 minutes, in case there's an emergency.”
Wagner believes this increased travel time will affect babies as well as expecting parents. “Pregnancy is an extremely high-risk health condition for both mom and baby, and the faster mom can get to care, the better that is for the outcome of her and her baby,” she said.
Patients will still be able to deliver in ambulances or the emergency room in extreme cases. Wagner said, “ER doctors do a great job in emergencies, but the only people who are really qualified to make sure moms and babies have the best outcomes are going to be OB/GYN’s working with pediatricians and neonatologists, midwives, also do a phenomenal job.”
Along with the closure of Southside Community Hospital's Labor and Delivery Unit, the hospital's Gynecological Services will also close., Parker said, “STI [Sexually Transmitted Infections] screening, pap smears for cervical cancer, breast screening — people are going to have to choose to not receive those because of the limited access to them now.”
Screening can find “things we can usually address, especially if they're caught early,” Parker said. She added that limited access is “going to lead to more long-term issues and more negative outcomes.”
“A lot of these people suffer from transportation or income issues,” Parker said. “So people will just stop getting certain services; if they can, they will drive, and if they can't, they will cease getting all services.”
Parker recognized federal healthcare funding cuts and their impact on healthcare company decisions to end these services. “All hospitals rely heavily on payouts from insurances, Medicare and Medicaid being big umbrellas of that, because those are federally funded… And unfortunately, if people voted to not have Medicaid anymore, we are all impacted by that decision, because if we don't have Medicaid, we don't have services.”
“Too many people in politics do not have healthcare experience or background, and they're making decisions that directly affect healthcare,” Parker said.
For citizens concerned about the changes, Parker said, “My best advice is for people to get involved and get their voices heard and vote. The only way we can reverse any of these decisions is if more people are involved.”
