Washington's rural maternity wards are struggling to stay afloat

While working in large, urban hospitals, Tracy Ryan has seen 25 to 30 babies delivered a day.

“I call those places baby factories. They provide incredible care — there’s incredible expertise because they do so much volume,” said Ryan.

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That’s a far cry from her current job at Jefferson Healthcare in Port Townsend, a rural hospital that delivered only 78 babies last year. Ryan started her job in May — but even though she’s been there for less than a year, she already feels like she’s caring for her neighbors.

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Places like Jefferson Healthcare are in a precarious position. Rural maternity wards are almost always financial black holes, a reality that has forced several in Washington to close in recent years, including one in Toppenish last year and at Naval Hospital Bremerton, which stopped delivering babies in 2022.

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2024/11/11/washingtons-rural-maternity-wards-are-struggling-to-stay-afloat/