Southeast Iowa Regional Medical Center in Fort Madison, operated by West Burlington, Iowa-based Great River Health, will end inpatient labor and delivery services by the end of 2026, the system said in a Jan. 8 news release shared with Becker’s.
The move is part of the system’s transition to a hub-and-spoke maternal care model, which Great River Health is already using at Henry County Health Center in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. The approach consolidates labor and delivery care at a central site, with pre- and postnatal services offered locally in outpatient settings, according to the release.
As part of the shift, the system plans to:
- Enhance women’s health services and pre- and postnatal outpatient care at Women’s Health—Southeast Iowa Regional Medical Center in Fort Madison and the Keokuk (Iowa) Clinic, with additional advanced practice professionals, including nurse midwives;
- Expand labor and delivery care at the Women & Family Center at Southeast Iowa Regional Medical Center in West Burlington;
- Discontinue inpatient labor and delivery services at the Birthplace at SEIRMC, Fort Madison, after Dec. 31, 2026.
The change coincides with the planned retirement of Timothy Staudte, DO, the sole obstetrician at the Fort Madison clinic, who will retire at the end of 2026 after more than two decades in the community.
Great River Health said it has been unable to recruit a replacement OB-GYN, citing a national physician shortage and particularly low availability in Iowa. The system added that employees affected by the changes “will be supported throughout the transition.”
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