The closure comes as the maternity unit has seen a drop in births. Steve Stephenson, MD, a physician executive within the system, told the Des Moines Register that the unit is currently averaging one birth a day after a steady decrease of births over the past few years.
Iowa Lutheran Hospital’s birthing unit will close July 31. All employees will transfer to two other hospitals that will house the consolidated birthing services: UnityPoint’s Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines and Methodist West Hospital in West Des Moines. The two hospitals’ birthing units have 45 and 24 beds, respectively.
Read the full article here.
More articles on patient flow:
1 killed, 4 injured after SUV crashes into Atlanta hospital ER
Tenet resumes plan to end inpatient care at Massachusetts hospital
Massachusetts hospital temporarily closed after flooding
