After a decade during which both of Missoula’s two hospitals delivered babies, only one will continue to do so after Friday, part of a nationwide trend of declining maternity care.
Providence St. Patrick Hospital will close its Family Maternity Center, effective Oct. 10, because of “external challenges” including a declining number of births at the hospital and workforce shortages, hospital officials said in announcing the decision.
Missoula’s other hospital, Community Medical Center, which delivered about 1,300 babies last year, has spent several months preparing to take on most of St. Patrick’s 400 to 450 annual births, said Hollie Nagel, Community’s chief nursing officer.
“All this was decided independent of us,” she said. “We’re going to continue to do what we need to do to care for our community. We’ve done maternity care for a long time, we’ve been known for it, and will add to it.”
St. Patrick Hospital, run by Catholic nonprofit health care organization Providence, reopened its $5 million maternity center in 2015 after a 40-year hiatus, the Missoulian reported at the time. Western Montana Clinic, an independent provider, housed its obstetrics and gynecology department at the hospital, and only clinic doctors delivered babies there. The clinic has since moved its OB-GYN department to Community Medical Center’s campus and will begin seeing patients there Oct. 13.
