Pregnant women in Springfield may have a long trip to hospital now

By JEFF EPSTEIN
[email protected]
SPRINGFIELD, Vt. — With the pending closure of the childbirth center at Springfield Hospital, expected in May or June according to hospital officials, expecting families and those who help them are suddenly looking for a new place to go.

They have few options. In Vermont, Mt. Ascutney Hospital in Windsor offers pediatric care but not a dedicated obstetrics unit. Dartmouth-Hitchcock hospital offers obstetrics at several centers in the region including Lebanon, and Brattleboro Memorial Hospital to the south has a dedicated birthing center. To the west, Rutland Regional Medical Center does not have a birthing center as such, but offers pregnancy and birthing services as part of its Women’s Health Center, and through affiliated hospitals.

But all these places are at least an hour’s drive away from Springfield, and for women on Medicaid, transportation to these places may be an obstacle, said Margot Holmes, the executive director of the Springfield Area Parent-Child Center, a nonprofit group that provides information and resources to families. It serves southern Windsor and northern Windham counties.

The closing of the Springfield Hospital center may have a negative impact on women in the area, she said, but it is not clear what form it will take. 

“That’s one of the big questions,” she said. “I understand they are making tough decisions [at the hospital] … but this will disproportionately affect people on Medicaid.”

“Transportation … is an issue,” she said in that in may be difficult to travel outside of the Springfield area for some people.

“Pregnant women are welcome to walk in or give our center a call … we’re struggling to figure out how to get them pre-natal care … we have a collection of resources,” Holmes said.

For hospitals, birthing centers place traditional obstetrics services in a dedicated center similar to the freestanding centers that have become popular in the United States. According to the American Association of Birth Centers, there were 345 such freestanding centers in 37 states and Washington, DC as of 2017. They have grown 76 percent since 2010, the association says.

The state maintains a Women’s Health Initiative, that “helps ensure that women’s health providers, Patient Centered Medical Homes, and community partners have the resources they need to help women be well, avoid unintended pregnancies, and build thriving families,” but according to the information available, its focus is mostly about payments for treatement, not transporation or logistics.

Calls by the Eagle Times to the Vermont Department of Health maternal health office and others were not returned Thursday.

Update: Rutland Regional Medical Center offers private rooms for delivery and post-partum treatment. It says these facilities are a “birthing center.”