Six hospitals and health systems have announced the closure of obstetric services since March 16; several of those moves are due to staffing challenges:

1. Beth Israel Lahey hospital's freestanding birth center to close Beverly (Mass.) Hospital, part of Cambridge, Mass.-based Beth Israel Lahey Health, will permanently close its freestanding birth center Sept. 9 because of staffing shortages, The Salem News reported May 13.

2. Wyoming hospital to end labor and delivery services amid staffing problems Memorial Hospital of Carbon County in Rawlins, Wyo., will end its labor and delivery services June 15, Wyoming Public Radio reported May 12.

3. Premier Health facility to transfer maternity services to main hospital campus Dayton, Ohio-based Premier Health said the health system is repurposing beds on its Miami Valley Hospital South campus in Centerville, Ohio, for medical/surgical care that are currently used for obstetrics.

The last day of deliveries on the Miami Valley Hospital South campus will be June 30, and the obstetrics unit on that campus is scheduled to cease operations by July 8, according to a statement shared with Becker's on May 11. 

4. Covenant Health to close maternity services at Maine hospital St. Mary's Health System will close its maternity and women's health service line at St. Mary's Regional Medical Center in Lewiston, Maine, in July, News Center Maine reported May 11.

5. New York hospital closing inpatient birthing unit Alice Hyde Medical Center in Malone, N.Y. — part of the University of Vermont Health Network — is closing its maternity unit and adopting a regional approach to obstetrical care, hospital officials said in a March 29 news release.  

6. Wyoming hospital to end obstetrics services over staffing South Lincoln Medical Center in Kemmerer, Wyo., will stop providing labor and delivery services beginning June 1 as the critical access hospital grapples with workforce challenges, according to the hospital's website.

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