TVCC President offers plan for Baker City maternity care
By Joe Hathaway on Friday, July 21st, 2023 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
ONTARIO – As St. Alphonsus prepares to shutter its birthing center at its Baker City hospital, officials at Treasure Valley Community College in Ontario are working with Senator Ron Wyden to try and help.
After St. Alphonsus announced that the center will be closing on July 31, Wyden, along with Sen. Jeff Merkley, have been urging the hospital to continue those services and work with federal and state agencies on developing alternative solutions
Wyden says he has reached out to several businesses and industries to see what they can provide to help Baker City residents needing maternity care. That included Wyden reaching out to TVCC to see how it might be able to help. Wyden received a reply from TVCC President Dr. Dana M. Young this week, which was shared with Elkhorn Media Group.
“As we consider the closure of several obstetrical services in our region, specifically at Saint Alphonsus-Baker City, we are quickly looking for ways we can partner with providers and local hospitals to meet changing needs,” it reads. “While these issues are complex and varied, Treasure Valley Community College appreciates your invitation to consider what we might do to address this need.”
TVCC clarified to Elkhorn Media Group that it is referring to the closure of the birthing center at Valor Health Hospital in Emmet, Idaho.
TVCC’s letter to Wyden also affirms the college’s unwavering commitment to implementing immediate measures. These steps include revising the current job announcement to prioritize obstetric experience as a preferred qualification for the new nursing instructor, ensuring a strong foundation for the program. Moreover, TVCC plans to collaborate with Blue Mountain Community College to establish clinical locations in Baker City, offering valuable hands-on experience for both TVCC faculty and nursing students.
To explore further options, TVCC says it is actively engaging with Saint Alphonsus to seek potential solutions to the maternity care challenges. Additionally, the college is embarking on an ambitious endeavor to expand its nursing program significantly. This expansion will materialize through the construction of a new Nursing & Allied Health Professions Center, creating opportunities for doubling the number of nursing students in each cohort, as indicated in the letter.
Saint Alphonsus announced the closure in June, attributing the decision to a staggering 60% decrease in deliveries, plummeting from 128 per year since the 2020 fiscal year to a projected 75 deliveries in 2023. The hospital also pointed to critical staffing challenges, intensified by recent staff resignations and operational changes. The hospital highlighted a four-year declining trend and emphasized an unsustainable crisis in adequately staffing the Obstetrics Department, both with temporary and permanent personnel, despite offering significantly high compensation rates.
The hospital also recently announced it is working on solutions to keep the center open “for a short time longer” but that the center will still close on July 31st if no solutions are found.
Below is a copy of the Dr. Young’s letter to Sen. Wyden:
