By HOLLY GASKILL
Bluffton Regional Medical Center will no longer offer inpatient labor and delivery services after Thursday, May 23.
In a press release on Tuesday, Lutheran Health Network announced it has “begun work to wind down” labor and delivery services at both BRMC and Dukes Memorial Hospital in Peru, Indiana. The release stated this was a direct result of the declining number of births at the hospitals, which reportedly could not support the staff and specialized care needed.
LHN reported births at the two hospitals had cumulatively declined by 30% from 2020-23, with BRMC currently averaging 11 or fewer deliveries per month.
“It has been a tremendous joy for our team to play a part in helping bring infants into the world,” BRMC chief administrative officer Julie Thompson said in the release. “However, the smaller numbers of births occurring in the region and at our hospital have made it difficult to secure and retain the specialized staff and providers necessary to provide this service. Our childbirth programs have been high performing through the years, but with the impact of fewer and fewer births here, we are taking this action now — always keeping what is best for our patients front and center.”
This announcement follows just three months after BRMC closed its RediMed location in northern Bluffton.
According to the release, hospital administrators are working with their teams to transition non-emergency deliveries to other network hospitals. LHN will continue to have birth services at their locations in Fort Wayne and Warsaw, and BRMC will continue to serve obstetric emergencies.
On a larger scale, LHN attributed some of the declining rates to national trends in fertility.
The release reads: “According to the CDC National Center for Health Statistics, the 2023 general fertility rate in the United States decreased by 3% from 2022, reaching a historic low and marking the second consecutive year of decline, following a brief 1% increase from 2020 to 2021. From 2014 to 2020, the rate consistently decreased by 2% annually. These downward trends have even greater impact in small community hospitals.”
All personnel will be able to transition to other LHN positions.
holly@news-banner.com
