As part of the plan, labor
and delivery (obstetrics) will consolidate to OGH in October 2019, while the
remaining aspects of the BRMC’s Women’s Health Services program will be
expanded and enhanced. Prenatal care and
postnatal care - medical services provided in the months leading up to birth
and immediately afterward - will continue to be provided at BRMC at its Women’s
Health Services office. Gynecological surgery, ancillary services and a full
time OB/GYN physician office – will remain in Bradford. In addition, enabled
by UAHS’s affiliation with Kaleida Health, Oishei Children’s Hospital, a
Kaleida Health facility and regional perinatal center is partnering with BRMC to
enhance care in the community by offering specialty pediatric clinics in
Bradford.
BRMC will lose the
services of its two current obstetricians by virtue of their retirements as of
October 2019. However, Theresa McClain,
DO, OB/GYN, has been hired by Universal Primary Care (UPC) and will see OB/GYN
patients on a full time basis at BRMC’s Women’s Health Services office in
Bradford. Dr. McClain will manage OB
patients and do gynecological surgery in Bradford while deliveries will occur
at OGH.
Judi Scott, RN, director
of Women’s Health Services at BRMC, has been named UAHS Director of Women’s Health
Services at BRMC and OGH and will oversee Women’s Health Services at both
facilities under the consolidated regional model. A resident of Bradford, Scott
has been a BRMC employee for 35 years and has overseen Women’s Health Services for
eight years at BRMC.
Consistent with the
declining national birthrate, which is currently at its lowest level in 30
years, BRMC has seen a continual decline in births from 325 births in 2009 to
179 in 2018, which is fewer than one obstetrical delivery every two days. Additionally,
the population of McKean County continues to decline, from 45,963 in 2000 to 40,450
in 2018, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the number of women of
childbearing age has declined by more than 15 percent in the county since 2009.
The declining birth rate and the region’s small population makes recruiting
obstetricians very difficult. The
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) cites a current
national shortage of approximately 8,800 obstetricians and gynecologists and
the shortage is predicted to significantly increase into the future. Absent a
cadre of obstetricians/gynecologists, it is not possible to provide 24/7/365
coverage for the hospital’s maternity unit.
Like BRMC, OGH is an Upper
Allegheny Health System member hospital and a Kaleida Health affiliate. OGH is located 23 miles from BRMC, delivers
more than 650 babies each year and has 12 obstetrical providers on staff. Each year approximately 75 to 80 women from
McKean County already deliver their babies at Olean General Hospital.
“The board of directors
understands that transitions like these are difficult,” said Brenda McGee, UAHS
board chair, “but we are confident that the BRMC Women’s Health Services
program will continue to provide excellent care to the Bradford population. We remain committed the community for the long
term,” she said.
BRMC joins a large number
of other community hospitals that have closed or consolidated their obstetrical
programs in recent years. Recently, both
Uniontown Hospital (800 births) in Uniontown, Pa., and Eastern Niagara Hospital
System (320 births), Lockport, NY, announced closures of their obstetrics
units. This past week, Columbia Memorial
Health in Hudson, NY, (less than 300 births) announced it would consolidate its
OB services with Albany Medical Center effective October 1 due to declining
births and lack of obstetricians. Additional
Western Pennsylvania hospital obstetric unit closures have included Elwood City
Hospital, Jameson Hospital in New Castle, Monongahela Valley Hospital in
Washington County and the old Frick Hospital – now Excela Health Frick Hospital
– in Mount Pleasant.“The consolidation of maternity services to OGH has been precipitated by a series of issues and market forces beyond our control that include a decreasing birth rate and significant difficulty and challenges in recruiting obstetricians. BRMC services provided for prenatal and postnatal care will not change. Neither will gynecological surgical services or ancillary testing; only the site of the actual delivery will change. And if a pregnant woman goes into labor and needs immediate assistance, BRMC’s ER is equipped to provide care,” said Timothy Finan, president and CEO of Upper Allegheny Health System, Bradford Regional Medical Center and Olean General Hospital.
“We remain very committed
to providing the best possible care for women in the community and we are
pleased and fortunate that, partnering with UPC, we were successful in
recruiting a new obstetrician/gynecologist physician for the Bradford community
who will operate a full time practice here, starting later this fall,” Finan
said.
“The consolidation and
closure of OB programs in rural hospitals has been a repeating story across the
nation, including Pennsylvania, for more than a decade,” Finan said. According to government reports, U.S. birth
rates have reached record lows resulting in four straight years of birth
declines and the fewest number of births in 32 years across the nation. “In Pennsylvania 144 hospitals had obstetrics
units in 2000 and by 2017 only 96 Pennsylvania hospitals had obstetrics units,
a reduction of 33 percent. Of these
closures, half (25) were in Western Pennsylvania,” he added.
“There simply are not
enough deliveries in the Bradford region to assure a viable program. Again, it’s not the fault of BRMC but rather
the reality of falling birth rates and a decreasing hospital service area
population, especially with respect to women of child bearing age. Additionally,
the physician retirements create a significant challenge. While we are pleased
to have a new OB/GYN provider for Bradford, one physician alone cannot provide
the 24/7/365 maternity coverage that a maternity unit needs and demands. Until
recently, we had three obstetricians who could provide coverage but will
shortly be down to one given the recently recruited obstetrician,” Finan said.
Finan said health
insurance coverage is not an issue for patients coming to OGH from
Pennsylvania, saying that both OGH and BRMC accept the same insurance plans,
including Pennsylvania Medicaid programs.
He noted that OGH already cares for many Pennsylvania residents,
including maternity patients.The consolidation of
obstetrics to Olean General Hospital is expected to impact 19 employees at
BRMC. Affected
staff will be provided the opportunity to assume other appropriate positions at
either BRMC or OGH.