California hospital closes maternity ward, lays off 87

Southwest Healthcare’s Palmdale (Calif.) Regional Medical Center has laid off 87 employees following the suspension of maternity services at the facility, according to WARN documents filed with the state Nov. 14.

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The 184-bed hospital north of Los Angeles opened its maternity ward in 2021 and later expanded with a NICU and obstetrical emergent care services.

“Unfortunately, Palmdale Regional has continued to experience lower than anticipated utilization of the maternity services by the community,” the facility wrote online, resulting in an Oct. 30 closure of the unit. 

The hospital said it will convert the maternity unit into a medical-surgical unit and all terminated employees will be encouraged to apply for open positions within the organization.

Becker’s has reached out to Southwest Healthcare and will update this article if more information becomes available.

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