HSHS St. Mary's closing labor and delivery floor on Thursday

DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) — The labor and delivery floor at St. Mary's Hospital is closing this Thursday.

The hospital announced in late January that it was seeking approval to discontinue multiple departments within the hospital.

Reasons for the discontinuations were listed in a statement from St. Mary's and included effects of the pandemic, lagging patient volumes, and rising labor costs.

The unit was set to close later this spring but WAND News learned that HSHS will be closing obstetrics this week.

HSHS St. Mary's told WAND their labor and delivery floor will temporarily suspend its labor and delivery unit effective Thursday at 5 p.m.

In a statement, the hospital says that there has been a decline in staff and patients in the unit because of the impending closure and believe this interim action will be the most appropriate for the care of patients.

The statement continues, "HSHS St. Mary's Hospital has been working closely with Decatur Memorial Hospital to help patients affected by these changes. Affected patients will be contacted by the Benefi Office and assisted in transitioning to service providers to meet their needs."

In their filing with the Illinois Health Facilities Board, St. Mary's said they have 18 obstetric beds and served 706 patients in the unit in the year 2020.

The Board is scheduled to consider St. Mary's proposal on May 9.

St. Mary's full statement regarding the closure can be found below:

"In January, HSHS St. Mary’s Hospital announced the expected closure of several units at the hospital, including obstetrics and newborn nursery.

"Since the announcement of these closures, HSHS has determined obstetrics will be temporarily suspended effective March 9, 2023 at 5 p.m. due to declining volumes, staffing and climbing expenses. This interim action is appropriate for the care of patients and the transitions of our colleagues.

"HSHS St. Mary’s Hospital has been working closely with Decatur Memorial Hospital to help patients affected by these changes. Affected patients will be contacted by the Benefi office and assisted in transitioning to service providers to meet their needs. St. Mary’s is confident in partners like Memorial Health to meet the needs of our community and deliver high quality care.

"Obstetrics and newborn nursery services are planned to close permanently subject to approval of the Illinois Health Facilities Board which is expected later this spring. This decision was not come to lightly and had to be made to ensure the longevity of Catholic health care in the Decatur community. HSHS St. Mary’s looks forward to carefully transitioning to this new era of healthcare to maintain a presence in Decatur that is sustainable and financially stable."

WAND News will continue to follow this developing story.