CT Hospital Requests To Close Labor, Delivery Services

SHARON, CT — The proposed closure of labor and delivery services at Sharon Hospital could have a significant impact on public health, according to a statement from Attorney General William Tong. He urged regulators to thoroughly review the community impact the move would have.

His office received over 300 petitions from concerned community members in opposition to the closure.

The Office of Health Strategy held a public hearing Monday on the requested closure and is the state regulatory body charged with either granting or denying the “Certificate of Need” required for Sharon Hospital to proceed with the closure.

The hospital is facing challenges such as limited financial resources, a declining birth rate, and difficulty attracting and retaining staff, according to the statement.

However, Tong said the hospital’s own 2022 Community Health Needs Assessment identifies “women’s and maternal healthcare” as an issue of high importance to area residents. The report cites “wide disparities” in access to prenatal care among people of color, as well as a disproportionate number of people in the hospital’s service area receiving late or no prenatal care as compared to the state average.

“The applicant’s proposal to close labor and delivery services risks exacerbating the very health disparities identified in the applicant’s own CHNA," Tong said in a statement. "In the absence of labor and delivery services at Sharon Hospital, patients, particularly Medicaid and other low-income patients, will have to seek these services elsewhere and may face new access and cost barriers.”

The closest alternative labor and delivery locations are 25 miles away: Charlotte Hungerford Hospital in Torrington and Fairview Hospital in Great Barrington, MA.

“Before requiring parents without transportation to travel 25+ miles to another labor and delivery unit, asking a mother in active labor to travel to travel 40 minutes or more for maternity services, perhaps paying thousands of dollars for emergency transport, or asking a family living paycheck to paycheck to pay thousands of dollars for out-of-network care, the applicant should demonstrate that there is a clear public need for the proposal,” Tong said in a statement.

Elsewhere in Connecticut, several maternity units have closed, and hospitals are seeking approval to close others.

Rockville Hospital announced the closure of its maternity unit in 2010, citing declining birth rates, the departure of an obstetrician, and difficulty recruiting physicians. Since then, Milford and New Milford Hospitals have closed their maternity wards, according to the statement.

In addition to Sharon Hospital, Windham Hospital and Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford Springs are currently proposing to close their maternity units.