Grove Hill Memorial Hospital set to end its labor and delivery services

CLARKE COUNTY, Ala. ( WKRG ) — There is growing concern as the only hospital in rural Southwest Alabama that provides labor and delivery services shared that it is set to shut the doors on its obstetrics unit.

In mid-August, Grove Hill Memorial Hospital located in Grove Hill, just off of State Highway 295, will end its maternity services.

Dr. Max Rogers, the head of OB/GYN at Grove Hill Memorial, says the decision was not made lightly. He explained that to achieve Rural Emergency Hospital Status, Rogers says the hospital had to give up certain services, including OB, mental health, and long-term stays.

“It was not a decision to leave obstetrics as much as it was a decision to keep the hospital doors open. And in order to do that, the hospital felt it would be necessary to apply for rural emergency hospital status,” Dr. Rogers said.

The closure of the maternity services means expecting mothers in Clarke and surrounding counties will now be forced to travel farther to receive care.

“With just us, it’s like, basically from Grove Hill almost 90 miles to any facility that does offer delivery services, and that’s pretty much unacceptable, especially in an OB emergency,” said Michaela McClure, a registered nurse at GHMH.

Many are calling the southwest Alabama region a maternity desert.

“I was using Mobile; I was going back and forth. I was living in Thomasville at the time, which is 100 miles away from Mobile but I couldn’t make it to the hospital. I had to stop at Grove Hill,” Mallory Parnell, a patient with GHMH recalled. “So, being an hour away with my second pregnancy, from Grove Hill, and that was literally the closest hospital, it was a little scary and now that that’s going to be gone, I don’t know what people will do.”

Grove Hill Memorial will still be available for emergencies.

“Once we stop our services, we’re basically like any other available ER that she may pass but there’s no guarantee they’ll be able to provide exactly what she needs,” McClure said.

Rogers says he’s doing what he can to serve his patients.

“After the 16th, truly, there is not a place for them to be able to get care. I’m going to remain in my office in Grove Hill until mid-September, and during that time I’ll be able to see them in the office but they are going to need to be delivered and I’m going to do everything I can to be the delivering physician in North Baldwin,” Rogers explained.

For many, this does not change the urgent need for more available options for women wanting children in rural southwest Alabama.

“There will be mothers and there will be babies who will not make it if their only option is to go 100 miles away for a hospital if something’s wrong. It’s not going to be a good situation,” Parnell said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRG News 5.