Alabama birthing units are closing to save money and get funding

One of the last remaining birthing units in southern Alabama will close next month to qualify for federal funding that will save the hospital’s emergency services, but doctors warn the move may cost newborns and pregnant patients essential access to obstetric care.

Nestled in rural Clarke County, the small, nonprofit Grove Hill Memorial Hospital will discontinue its labor and delivery services in mid-August, the governing board announced earlier this month.

The board said closure was necessary for the hospital to qualify for much needed federal funding that is designated for rural emergency hospitals, defined as facilities with fewer than 50 beds that provide 24/7 emergency care and no inpatient services, including obstetrics.

But the federal funding comes at a steep cost. The closure marks the fourth labor and delivery unit to close statewide in less than a year, including a facility in a neighboring county that referred many patients to Grove Hill after closing in November.

In the coming months, a large part of southern Alabama will no longer have close access to hospital obstetric delivery services.