Brattleboro (Vt.) Memorial Hospital’s board of directors approved a plan to close its obstetric service line, which includes the BMH Birthing Center, in the next six to nine months.
While no final closure date has been revealed, the hospital’s leadership will work with state leaders and stakeholders to find a way to preserve obstetric care access, according to a news release shared with Becker’s July 6.
The hospital pointed to challenges like the cost of delivering maternity care outpacing reimbursement and national birth rate declines for its decision.
“Reimbursement from payers and insurers that support women’s health services is consistently well below the actual cost of care, leaving many Vermont hospitals facing the same difficult financial reality,” the release said. “At the same time, labor and delivery services must maintain specialized clinical teams and 24-hour readiness regardless of patient volume.”
Brattleboro Memorial’s birthing center will remain open and operational during the planning period. The hospital will notify patients should any changes occur to ensure care continuity and will adjust its service timeline should certain circumstances like quality, safety or workforce availability be affected.
The hospital also plans to maintain comprehensive gynecological services, and is working to develop a plan to ensure they remain sustainable and local regardless of the obstetric services outcome.
“We have worked diligently to identify solutions, but without additional financial and workforce support, we cannot continue operating a service line that incurred a $3.8 million loss in 2025, with losses projected to grow to approximately $4.8 million this fiscal year,” Elizabeth McLarney, MD, acting co-CEO of Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, said in the release. “Without meaningful changes to reimbursement or significant external support, losses of this magnitude are not sustainable for a community hospital. This is an incredibly difficult situation, and we recognize how deeply this impacts our patients, families, and community.”
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