NEWS RELEASES
Home
>
About
>
News & Media
>
For the Media
>
News Releases
>
Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center Family Birth Center Closure
News Releases
Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center Family Birth Center Closure
PORTLAND, ORE — Jan. 27, 2023 — Legacy Health, like hospitals across the country, faces a concerning trend of financial losses in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, we are taking actions that will allow us to continue fulfilling our mission and offering essential services for our patients.
For the last several months, we have been reviewing our operations across our system to identify areas for improvement. The Family Birth Center at Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center stood out because it maintains a low volume of births with an unusually high-cost care model.
We explored all possible options to continue operating the Family Birth Center to deliver safe, quality care in a cost-efficient and sustainable model. Unfortunately, we could not identify a model that met all the criteria for Legacy and our providers.
This evaluation process led to unanticipated staffing vacancies and the departures of providers who are essential to a safe, quality and sustainable care model.
After much discussion, planning, and working with our staff, we have made the difficult decision to stop delivering babies at Legacy Mount Hood’s Family Birth Center. The date for that change is tentatively set for Friday, March 17. Pregnant people who arrive at the emergency department will be transferred to Randall Children’s Hospital or other local hospitals.
Our plan is to close the Mount Hood Family Birth Center, pending approval by the State of Oregon. We will be working with the state to review the situation and seek their guidance on our plan for a temporary or permanent closure of the Family Birth Center.
We understand that this a difficult and unanticipated change for our staff, providers, patients, the East County community, and for Legacy Health.
We have more than 50 staff members at the Family Birth Center, and our plan is to ensure that each one of them has a home at Legacy. Our clinical leaders will be working with our health care partners to ensure our patients continue to receive safe, quality care close to home.
Across the Legacy system, we will continue to maintain high-quality maternity care to serve our patients across the region.
As we make this transition, our mission remains steadfast — to care for our people, our patients and our community.
# # #
Media Contact: media@lhs.org
For the last several months, we have been reviewing our operations across our system to identify areas for improvement. The Family Birth Center at Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center stood out because it maintains a low volume of births with an unusually high-cost care model.
We explored all possible options to continue operating the Family Birth Center to deliver safe, quality care in a cost-efficient and sustainable model. Unfortunately, we could not identify a model that met all the criteria for Legacy and our providers.
This evaluation process led to unanticipated staffing vacancies and the departures of providers who are essential to a safe, quality and sustainable care model.
After much discussion, planning, and working with our staff, we have made the difficult decision to stop delivering babies at Legacy Mount Hood’s Family Birth Center. The date for that change is tentatively set for Friday, March 17. Pregnant people who arrive at the emergency department will be transferred to Randall Children’s Hospital or other local hospitals.
Our plan is to close the Mount Hood Family Birth Center, pending approval by the State of Oregon. We will be working with the state to review the situation and seek their guidance on our plan for a temporary or permanent closure of the Family Birth Center.
We understand that this a difficult and unanticipated change for our staff, providers, patients, the East County community, and for Legacy Health.
We have more than 50 staff members at the Family Birth Center, and our plan is to ensure that each one of them has a home at Legacy. Our clinical leaders will be working with our health care partners to ensure our patients continue to receive safe, quality care close to home.
Across the Legacy system, we will continue to maintain high-quality maternity care to serve our patients across the region.
As we make this transition, our mission remains steadfast — to care for our people, our patients and our community.
# # #
Media Contact: media@lhs.org
