A hospital in Riverside County’s labor and delivery department is scheduled to close in the upcoming months, and nurses there express concern about their pregnant patients—many of whom come from underprivileged backgrounds.
During a Friday meeting last week, Hemet Global Medical Center officials informed the nurses assigned to the unit that the obstetrics department will be suspended for a minimum of one year and that women who require delivery will be directed to the hospital’s emergency department.
Employees at the labor and delivery center, some of whom have been there for decades, claim they are essentially laid off.
According to registered nurse Andrea Lunetta, “they said they were letting us all go,” from the institution. “However, if there were any positions in the hospital in other departments that were open, we could take those.”
Lunetta has worked as a postpartum nurse at Hemet Global Medical Center for many years, and she believes her job involves much more than just giving birth.
After delivery, there is also the treatment and care for the mother and infant.
Lunetta, who stated that the shutdown is scheduled for October 31, added that their labor and delivery positions require a high degree of specialization.
Therefore, moving to a cardiac or surgical department where they have never worked before makes little sense for a lot of the nurses. The hospital’s officials clarified that low volume and a lack of physician coverage were the reasons behind the decision.
In addition to their worries for their jobs, a large number of the nurses are also concerned about the decision’s potential effects on the local population, which is underprivileged in terms of healthcare.
Due to the high number of high-risk pregnancies treated at the hospital and the poor income of many of its patients, it is difficult, if not impossible, for them to travel to other, more remote and difficult-to-access institutions.
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Some of the patients the nurses care for arrive at the hospital prepared to give birth, despite never having had prenatal care.
“I think, too, that the closure was announced without a comprehensive plan,” Lunetta stated. “What happens when a mother has an emergency cesarean section immediately to save her life or the life of the baby? There are a lot of moving parts. There will not be an OB doctor. So, who’s going to do those surgeries? Who’s going to take the role of caring for the newborn?”
The RN’s demand that the obstetrics department stay open is part of a statement released by National Nurses United. For the people of Hemet, the department is a vital and invaluable resource.
The hospital claims that women who need to give birth can still use its emergency room, but the nurses are worried about the availability of specialist care—or, in this case, the possible lack of it.
