Here are four things to know about the decision.
1. Hospital CEO Caleb F. O’Rear sent out an official memo about the closure Friday — almost a month after four of the six physicians in the department and all three nurse midwives left Denton Regional, according to the report.
The physicians and midwives who left were from a nearby obstetrics and gynecology office called Caring for Women. In June, the physicians and midwives told management they wanted a full-time neonatal practitioner at the hospital, not just on call, and were told no, Joseph Valenti, MD, one of the physicians, told the Denton Record-Chronicle.
2. In a memo to providers and in a prepared statement to the Denton Record-Chronicle, Mr. O’Rear said the hospital and board chose to close the unit because “our deliveries have declined, and interest from the medical staff to provide obstetrical services has waned,” according to the report.
3. It is unclear exactly how many employees were affected by the decision. However, Mr. O’Rear told the Denton Record-Chronicle that the hospital’s parent company, Nashville, Tenn.-based Hospital Corporation of America, was working on placing the nurses.
4. Although Denton Regional is closing its obstetrics unit, the hospital will still have gynecological surgery, an obstetric nurse in the emergency room and an obstetrician on call for trauma cases.
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