St. Charles Madras temporarily stopped delivering babies as of Friday, July 10, due to a staffing shortage. While the hospital planned to have the situation resolved within 30 days, it is apparent now that this will not be possible, the hospital said.
That’s because St. Charles Madras still faces numerous challenges. For instance, the hospital said it has not yet been able to hire the additional nurses with the appropriate training needed to meet the core staffing requirements established by both the state of Oregon and the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. In addition, St. Charles Madras’ five obstetrical nurses-in-training will not complete their training until December, and the hospital has been unable to retain temporary nurses from staffing agencies due to a national shortage of OB nurses.
“Providing safe — and sustainable — obstetrical services at St. Charles Madras is a top priority for our health system,” St. Charles Health System President and CEO Joe Sluka said in a news release. “While we recognize this is a difficult and frustrating situation for the community, we want to make sure we are able to provide the highest level of care before we reopen. And we are absolutely committed to reopening.”
In the meantime, St. Charles Madras will continue to have one trained OB nurse on each shift in its emergency department. However, the hospital recommended that women continue to work directly with their physicians to develop clear plans of where to go when they are in labor.
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