Posted on Mar 18, 2023
Rural Idaho Hospital to end labor, delivery services amidst staffing shortage
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A north Idaho Hospital will no longer provide labor and delivery services. The hospital said there are two factors at play: a drop-in birthrates and Idaho’s recently passed abortion laws.
Bonner General Health is a small healthcare system in Sandpoint, Idaho. It is no longer accepting new obstetrics patients and is working to transfer patients to Kootenai Health, one county over, or to hospitals in Montana, or Washington.
Unless they go to the emergency room, parents living in rural, Bonner County now have to drive between forty and eighty miles to give birth.
The hospital said the area’s population is aging, and the region has seen declining birthrates. There is now too few patients in the area to employ a full-time pediatrician.
It also said physicians with needed skills have left the state. Replacing them is likely impossible because of increasingly strict restrictions on reproductive care.
Bonner General Health is a small healthcare system in Sandpoint, Idaho. It is no longer accepting new obstetrics patients and is working to transfer patients to Kootenai Health, one county over, or to hospitals in Montana, or Washington.
Unless they go to the emergency room, parents living in rural, Bonner County now have to drive between forty and eighty miles to give birth.
The hospital said the area’s population is aging, and the region has seen declining birthrates. There is now too few patients in the area to employ a full-time pediatrician.
It also said physicians with needed skills have left the state. Replacing them is likely impossible because of increasingly strict restrictions on reproductive care.
Rural Idaho Hospital to end labor, delivery services amidst staffing shortage
Posted from spokanepublicradio.org
Medical
Health
Posted 1 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."In a statement, the hospital’s board president said shutting down labor and delivery services was a difficult decision.
"We have made every effort to avoid eliminating these services," said Ford Elsaesser, Bonner
General Health's Board President. "We hoped to be the exception, but our challenges are
impossible to overcome now."
Some women’s healthcare services will still be provided at Sandpoint Women’s Health, but those related to labor and delivery will be transferred elsewhere."
..."In a statement, the hospital’s board president said shutting down labor and delivery services was a difficult decision.
"We have made every effort to avoid eliminating these services," said Ford Elsaesser, Bonner
General Health's Board President. "We hoped to be the exception, but our challenges are
impossible to overcome now."
Some women’s healthcare services will still be provided at Sandpoint Women’s Health, but those related to labor and delivery will be transferred elsewhere."
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Sad that they are having issues replacing Drs who have left but I think its BS to say they are afraid of being sued if they terminate a pregnancy, just concentrate on helping women who have decided to have children. Tell anyone requesting an Abortion you don't perform them, Ta Da ! No lawsuit.
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel good day Brother William, always informational and of the most interesting. Thanks for sharing, have a blessed day!
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