Bar Harbor, Maine-based Mount Desert Island Hospital will close its labor and delivery unit July 1 due to a “dramatic decline in births.”
The hospital saw only 33 babies born in 2024 and nine to date in 2025. A decade ago, the hospital averaged around 100 deliveries annually, according to an MDI Hospital news release.
The release also pointed to “skyrocketing” costs, a decreasing population, and inadequate federal and state reimbursement.
“This decision was not made lightly,” Chrissi Maguire, president and CEO of MDI Hospital, said in a statement shared with Becker’s. “It follows a comprehensive evaluation of our ability to sustain the high standards of safety, quality, and 24/7 staffing that our patients deserve. Like many rural hospitals across the nation, we face declining birth rates, persistent workforce shortages, and the growing complexity of maintaining specialized services in remote areas. After exhausting all viable options, we determined that transitioning these services to nearby partner hospitals is in the best interest of patient safety and long-term sustainability.”
Following the closure, MDI Hospital plans to double its emergency department through a grant and donor funds, which will ensure labor and delivery equipment for emergency births in one of the new rooms. The hospital also plans to maintain labor and delivery expertise, develop a new program to guide expecting mothers through prenatal, delivery and postpartum care, and will work with nearby facilities for smooth delivery transfers.
