The Pulaski Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees voted to close the hospital’s OB department in an emergency meeting December 14. This means the hospital will no longer offer maternity services beginning in mid-January 2022, according to a hospital press release.
Hospital CEO Tom Barry stated in that release that Pulaski Memorial Hospital (PMH) has had “significant difficulty recruiting additional staff to our OB/Maternity Department in order to maintain the high-quality standards that all patients deserve and expect from PMH.” He went on to say COVID-19 has impacted healthcare which has left a scarce availability for maternity nurses.
Hospital officials say patients with expected deliveries have been notified and alternate plans are being made. They are coordinating with Woodlawn Hospital in Rochester and Logansport Memorial Hospital. Pulaski Memorial Hospital will be able to handle emergency deliveries and stabilize patients before transferring them to other facilities.
Barry stated in the release that closing the department was one of the toughest decisions he has ever had to make but stated, “…We owe it to all of our patients not to compromise our overriding principle to always provide high quality healthcare services.”
