When a hospital closes its labor and delivery services, expectant mothers may face longer travel times to care and difficult decisions about their providers and delivery plans, ACHI Health Policy Director Jennifer Wessel tells KATV in a story that aired Monday, July 27.
The story reports on an announcement by National Park Medical Center in Hot Springs that the hospital has closed its labor and delivery unit following the unexpected death of its only OB-GYN, Dr. Pitt Moore. It is the tenth closure of an Arkansas hospital’s obstetric unit since 2019, as shown on our Birthing Hospitals in Arkansas map.
For more:
See our interactive dashboard on the state’s OB-GYN workforce.
See our analysis of travel time to delivery facilities for Arkansas mothers.
Listen to our Healthy Birthing Journey Podcast episode featuring a discussion of our analysis of travel time to delivery facilities.
Listen to a story about Arkansas’s maternity care deserts by public radio station KUAF, featuring comments from ACHI President and CEO Craig Wilson.
See our Maternal and Infant Health topic page.
